Absolutely hate installing frets

Matt Clara

Matt Clara

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Just ruined a lovely fretboard when one of the frets turned sideways on the first tap with a hammer and a big chip came out of the top of the board. Out of all the frustrating steps to building a ukulele, none is more frustrating than installing fretwire. I even have the stewmac press for my drill press and find it helpful not at all. Not in the least.

/rant
 
Matt Clara said:
I even have the stewmac press for my drill press and find it helpful not at all. Not in the least. /rant
Click to expand...

I love my stewmac cauls for my drill press and it made fretting so much easier than hammering. Consistent depth which made leveling a thing of the past.

Here is what I do: prior to setting the fret, I run the tip of a worn screwdriver into the fret kerf opening it up slightly and creating a slight bevel and taking that sharp edge off. I apply a significant amount of downward pressure and sometimes do it twice. Then I just barely tap the fret in place on the end and then put it under the caul and seat until the caul makes contact with the fretboard. Fast easy and no fretting about chips. Most of the time if the fretboard is nice and flat level I don't have to level at all avoiding all that work of re-crowning. Hope that helps.
 
Hi Matt ..I always run the point of a scriber in the slots opening em out a bit .. and I find tapping the frets in just at one end with a plastic hammer with the fretboard on a flat steel block improves the fitting ..then I finish off with a small 1/2 ton press.
F0B5B625-7471-40D7-9741-4C22D5C7803F by Ken Timms, on Flickr
 
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..then I finish off with a small 1/2 ton press.
Click to expand...
... to which (it appears) I have added a good quality torque wrench so that (in true Timbuck style) I can be assured every fret has exactly the correct amount of pressure needed to be perfectly seated.

Well done, Ken
Miguel
 
Thanks for the advice, guys, I'll try opening up the fret slots at the top on the next one. Fortunately, I decided to use a different wood for the fretboard on my current build than that lovely desert ironwood. Still, it was Texas ebony, and I see a 12" x 2" stick of that is going for $50 these days.
 
lauburu said:
... to which (it appears) I have added a good quality torque wrench so that (in true Timbuck style) I can be assured every fret has exactly the correct amount of pressure needed to be perfectly seated.

Well done, Ken
Miguel
Click to expand...

That is really cool with the torque wrench, but I find that once the fret shoulders hit the wood they really can't go much further and are seated. Then again if you really over torqued it...
 
sequoia said:
That is really cool with the torque wrench, but I find that once the fret shoulders hit the wood they really can't go much further and are seated. Then again if you really over torqued it...
Click to expand...

You just start off with light pressure then increase the torque setting until it seats them nice ... (Mine is set at 46 Newton Meters or 34 Foot Lbs) then lock it in place for good. Simple.:cheers:
 
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Timbuck said:
You just start off with light pressure then increase the torque setting until it seats them nice ... (Mine is set at 46 Newton Meters or 34 Foot Lbs) then lock it in place for good. Simple.:cheers:
Click to expand...

Ken, I'm surprised! Surely you need a different torque setting depending on the density of the fretboard? Softer woods would need less force to seat the fret? I would have thought you would have measured the required force per species and established a table for such eventualities? Very slap-dash. (Joking obviously).
 
Red Cliff said:
Ken, I'm surprised! Surely you need a different torque setting depending on the density of the fretboard? Softer woods would need less force to seat the fret? I would have thought you would have measured the required force per species and established a table for such eventualities? Very slap-dash. (Joking obviously).
Click to expand...
You don’t have to just rely on the torque wrench clicking when it reaches goal..you can stop before it clicks if you think it is tight enough and you can add more pressure after the click if you think it needs it...or even not use a torque wrench just use the handle that comes with the press, like the Stewmac one :)
 
Red Cliff said:
Matt, presumably you have pre-bent the wire if it is a radiused board?
Click to expand...

Sorry, Red, didn't see your question before this. I don't do radiused fretboards, though I might try it someday. I have a small cnc router, so making them wouldn't be hard, and I've seen plans for bending fretwire to the proper curve using nylon sliding glass door casters. I think the chamfer method the guys are talking about will help, as it's a matter of getting them partially seated by hand before I put them under the caul or hammer that's the hard part. If it ain't right, they go sideways, and can mark up the board, even if you don't get a chip like I did.
 
Matt Clara said:
they go sideways, and can mark up the board, even if you don't get a chip like I did.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain 'cause it does happen (occasionally) to me too. Just as the hammer comes down the damn thing slips sideways and bam you get a little crease on the fretboard. Yup.
 
A good reason to make fretless instruments!
 
sequoia said:
I feel your pain 'cause it does happen (occasionally) to me too. Just as the hammer comes down the damn thing slips sideways and bam you get a little crease on the fretboard. Yup.
Click to expand...
I have had that as well...I tried folding a piece of tape around the wire end with the tab in line with the tang so I could line it up straight before the hammer tap...it worked a bit but not ideal.
 
I radius my boards, but even on a flat fretboard a little bit of radius just done by hand with the fret nippers on the tang will make it easier to tap the fret ends in first. Small uke wire is really easy to ding up hammering by hand. The fret press works best. On the SM press, if you shim the caul so that it is more proud of the holder, it makes it much easier to see what you are doing. Purfling makes an easy shim.
 
Matt Clara said:
Sorry, Red, didn't see your question before this. I don't do radiused fretboards, though I might try it someday. I have a small cnc router, so making them wouldn't be hard, and I've seen plans for bending fretwire to the proper curve using nylon sliding glass door casters. I think the chamfer method the guys are talking about will help, as it's a matter of getting them partially seated by hand before I put them under the caul or hammer that's the hard part. If it ain't right, they go sideways, and can mark up the board, even if you don't get a chip like I did.
Click to expand...

Instead of using a hammer to start one end of the fret like most folks here do, I use a pair of pliers with the jaws ground smooth to start the fret. Seems I have more control that way.
 
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Oh, that's a fine idea, Ken! I was trying to grip it with some curved hemostats with tape on them to keep them from marring the frets, curved side down to keep from marring the board. It was a frustrating exercise all on its own.
 
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