beginning fretwork

I'm going to make a couple ukuleles. Likely, less than 5.

My question is, what do I actually need to get, equipment wise, for fretwork. With being as small scale as I will be, I know there are a lot of high end tools, that I just don't need. On the other hand, I'm sure there are tools that not having them will cause a serious detriment to quality.

So from cutting to polishing. What does the forum advise?

Also, unrelated. Thank all of you for being an amazing resource, for all things ukulele. It gets said a lot, but no where near enough.

There are lots of folks here who know much more than I, but for me, the thing that turned setting frets from pain-in-the-behind to a quick, easy task was an arbor press. As soon as I got the press, I put my fret hammer away and have never picked it up again.

You can get presses for super cheap from Grizzly or, if you have a drill press, you can use that instead.

The cigar box nation site is the best spot for tips on fretting for the frugal home builder. I use a vernier caliper and pencil for marking out frets. I sharpen the pencil to a fine wedge shape with sandpaper.
I start the slots by clamping a piece of wood the same width as the fretboard next to the line, I use a junior hacksaw, with a second piece of small scrap to hold it flat against the clamped on bit. I only cut a small amount to prepare for the final cut.
After all the frets have been started I clamp firmly to the workbench and switch to a junior hack saw blade sandwiched between two scraps of wood bolted together. This I have set to stick out the depth of the fret tang and the end of the blade sticks out a small amount so I can see where things are at more clearly.
If the saw binds take it out and blow the sawdust clear. Make sure all frets are clear of sawdust before trying to put frets in.
Test your slot width, file the side of the saw slightly if the slots (kerf) is too wide, or squeeze it flatter to bend the teeth back more in line. Saw teeth are usually give a slight angle out called the set, to increase the width of the kerf to reduce binding.
I just use a regular hammer to tap the frets home. And as big a file as I can find to file the ends flush with the sides, keeping the file in contact with as many frets as possible to avoid damaging the wood. Leveling the frets is done with sandpaper on hardwood. And or a file. I have had to remove a fret and saw the slot again because I either did not cut deep enough the first time or there was sawdust clogging the slot, or probably both. Superglue and sawdust was needed to fix the tear out.
Practice first on scrap!
The blades that came with my junior hacksaw just go blunt when used to cut metal but were perfect for fret slots. The Eclipse brand cut through metal like butter but were a tad wide for fret slots.

Well. You know what they say. You can't have just one. And if you think that you are going to stop ant just 5, then my bet is that you are seriously mistaken

However, if that is your goal, then you really don't need much. If you get your fret boards pre slotted, you only need a small hammer to install then. A cheap set of needle files will do lots of tasks such as putting a bevel on the fret slots in order to aid in installing the frets. Also rounding over the fret ends.

A set of side cutters for trimming the fret wire.

A short diamond stone 6" or less. Like you would find in a tackle box for sharpening hooks or knife. Or alternately a short piece (6") or wood or metal that you would glue some fine wet dry paper on for levelling frets.

A fret profiling file is nice, but you could also just other methods. I'm not a fan of them, but I've seen others do it. The above recommendations probably have some info on them. I like Japarts 1R fret file. It's the best I've used.

For polishing, you an go through the super fine grits of wet/dry paper, but I really like the nail buffs with 4 different grits on a firm foam backing. I get them 50 at a time on Ebay. They also work a treat on bone nut and saddles. Brings them up to a high gloss.

I agree with Allen, get some preslotted fretboards like the ones sold on Hanalima ukulele website. they also sell the nickel fret wire as well.

Small dead blow hammer.

Bastard file with a bit of shaped wood stuck to it (copy the stew mac one) for the fret ends

If your doing bound FB's, the stew mac clipper thingys are pretty good but frets need further clean up.

I agree with Beau forgo a fretting hammer and get the small black dead blow hammer. I gave my fretting hammer to my wife hanging pictures.

Its easy to get a good fret job without fancy tools. I think the only specialty item you really need is a saw with the right kerf size....but that's still a multi-tasking tool.
Here's my list....

WFret template generator and printer. http://handmademusicclubhouse.com/group/noobsthebasics/forum/topics/measure-fret-spacingprintable-1
Spray adhesive or paste to glue the template to the fretboard
Saw that cuts a .023" kerf. Japanese pull saw, Stewmac saw, backsaw, anything that cuts a fine kerf
Some sort of miter box set up. I just use a square and a clamp to guide the saw
Wire cutters
Hammer and a scrap of soft wood to protect the fret, or a plastic dead blow hammer
6-8" file to clean up the ends and make the taper on the edge. Also for fret leveling
Black Sharpie to mark the fret tops when leveling
Needle file set for the fine tuning work and re-crowning
Sandpaper and steel wool to shine them up. You can also use sandpaper instead of the files if you have a good straight block
Plastic sheet to protect other things while you file. An old credit card works well, cut up food container lids, etc.

The only special tool I use is the fret tang nipper from Stewmac. Works great for bound fretboards or just to recess the tang a bit so you don't see it at the edge.

Its easy to get a good fret job without fancy tools.

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I respectfully disagree. It is easy to get a good fret job with the RIGHT tools. Doing a good job becomes much more difficult without them, and the learning curve becomes much steeper for beginners like the OP. Especially important is a small file with safe edges for dressing fret ends. Using a standard needle file is a recipe for nicking up the fretboard.

Here's a quick 2 minute video that I made to show how to make your own fret end file with flat and safe sides and how to finish the fret ends.



I've gone from using a hammer to using a fret arbor and then returned to using a hammer. If you learn how to use a hammer it's just as fast as a fret arbor press, plus it's a lot more adaptable if you're doing a wide range of instruments and uses. When you have an instrument requiring a bit of fretwork over the body you'll realize how useful a hammer and good technique really are.

Once you understand the mechanics of fret installation there is no advantage to pressing frets IMHO.

First of all, thank you everyone for the information. Now hopefully I reply to everything I mean to.

JamieFromOntario: Looking through the forum there seems to be a division between pressing, or hammering frets. I'll do more research on the pro's and con's of both. Since I already have a drill press, it may not be too hard for me to do quick, small test pieces with both methods. So, we'll see.

Titchtheclown: [edit: I completely take back this next comment. I just went back to cigarboxnation. I was asking the wrong questions of its search engine.] I found a lot of the cigar box nation fretting methods used cotterpins, toothpicks, or other scrap. While I really do like many of the things that have popped up on that site, serious ingenuity, they didn't really seem to fit my needs as much.

Allen and tangimango: Maybe I'll stick to my 5 maybe I won't, we'll see. The reason it's so small a number, is because I'm only intending on making a single final uke, but I'm making them from carbon fiber composites. I need to make a few prototypes so I can see what materials to use to get the sound I want. It's the same reason I can't get pre-slotted fretboards, I don't want them made from wood.

Beau Hannam Ukuleles and dofthesea: If I go the hammered route, I will definitely look into a dead blow hammer. Also, no bindings for me.

ksquine: Thank you for the clean laid out complete list, I really appreciate that. Also thank you for the link to the template generator.

mzuch: I will be using a file like Beau Hannam Ukuleles or rudy bring up. I see no reason to run the risk of damaging my fret board when the solution is so simple.

rudy: Thank you for the video, I'll remember the techique for finishing, later. Question though. In the video you said you sanded the corners of the file to make them safe. What sandpaper did you used to shape the hard steel of a file?

And again, thank you to everyone for your help so far. I'm sure I'll have many questions in the future.

rudy: Thank you for the video, I'll remember the techique for finishing, later. Question though. In the video you said you sanded the corners of the file to make them safe. What sandpaper did you used to shape the hard steel of a file?

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Files aren't as hard as what you would think. This file was flattened/smoothed on opposite sides and edges rounded on one side with a small 4" belt sander with a 80 grit belt, no problem. Stop often and don't over-heat the file so you preserve the file's temper.