cheap fret saw

[liam_fnq]

being the cheap arse that i am and being that i'm in the process of building my first guitar i've found a cheap saw to cut my fret slots.

i tried to find a pic on the net but can't find one.

its a hobby/modelers saw from my local hobby world.

the brand is 'MAXX. pull out saw blade' 5" long. cost $8.49.

it cuts a slot 0.3mm wide and works well when i tested it on a piece of scrap.

now its time to build a cheap arse mitre box with depth set by the little metal ridge along the top of the saw blade.

[sebastiaan56]

Another cheap arse like my self!

Ive been using a coping saw since I started for fret slots, works a beauty. Ive just got back from the Sydney WW Show where I got a japan stone for $30, a beauty!

[Hippety Hop]

Hey Liam, I use the smallest gauge StewMac mandolin fret wire, which has a tang 0.52 - 0.55mm wide.

I think you'll need a wider blade/slot than 0.3mm. I tried belting frets into a fretboard with slots too narrow. It was ebony. The frets just wanted to jump out again, taking chips of ebony with 'em. Ended up with a couple of cracks too, and the frets holding it together.

Good luck.

[kiwigeo]

One way to avoid embarassment is to get a short piece of fretwire and file the tangs off. If the piece of tangless wire runs through the fret slot then youll be ok when it comes to whacking frets in. Its also a good way of cleaning any snot out of a slot after radiusing or doing a binding job on your fretboard.

[liam_fnq]

my fret wire is stew mac med/high (i think?) it's tang is 0.5 and on my test piece it works fine. fingers crossed for the real thing. the NGR fingerboard isn't as hard as some.

[Rick Turner]

I do hope that if cheap is the goal for tools, then cheap is the price of the instruments to musicians.

I'd be more concerned about good or even great than cheap...

The only way cheap works is if you've put in enough expensive time to be able to transcend cheap tools.

To me the very word "cheap" cheapens our craft...it implies that you value criteria for building that supercede quality. It's not a word I'd associate with good or great instrument building. Don't forget that we are toolbuilders to musicians. You use cheap, you'll reap cheap.

[Bob Connor]

The Stewmac or LMI fretsaw is not expensive at about $30.

Considering that the fingerboard is the most critical part of the instrument as far as the player is concerned I wouldn't be scrimping in this area.

[liam_fnq]

Rick, i really didn't intend to offend when offering my find. being a tradesman myself i do appreciate the whole quality tools thing and i have a whole load of decent electricians tools that earn my weekly pay packet.
i hope the owner of this (1st) guitar of mine (me) has empathy for the shortcomings of the builder (also me) and the shortcomings of the budget under which it is created.
As an absolute novice i wouldn't compare myself to good or great instrument makers. i hope time is on my side though.
once again, i meant no insult to your craft by having a go myself.
Liam.

[Paul B]

I'm with Rick on this one. There are some areas where you can save money - building your own jigs, thickness sanders etc.

But, cheap tools (ill considered and poorly made) end up costing you more money 'cause you have to go back and re-do the crappy work that resulted from a crap tool, and then you end up having to go out and buy the right tool that you should have bought in the first place.

They say that "a good tradesman never blames his tools". But a good tradesman doesn't bother buying cheap crap tools in the first place, unless there's no choice.

*Edit* Liam we posted at the same time, I don't think that Rick was offended, he's just trying to give you some advice. We all eventually learn to steer clear of cheap tools just for the reasons I mentioned above. Cheap tools are not your friend.

[Rick Turner]

I didn't mean to be too harsh, but look at it this way: You're in the doctors' office about to be advised on an operation, and over hear two surgeons discussing the tools of their trade. One says to the other, "I'm a cheap SOB and I'm going to save a few bucks by using a disposable blade Exacto #11 instead of those overpriced scalpels you use." Which surgeon do you want taking out your appendix?

Learning to saw fret slots is hard enough without making it doubly difficult.

I made my first fret slotting saw out of a small dovetail back saw...a nice one...by clamping the teeth in a plain jawed vice to take out most of the set. I then learned to hand file it to sharpen it. This was way before the days of being able to buy just the right tool from StewMac or LMI. That saw lasted me for years.

Now I generally use an LMI blade on a dedicated table saw, and it's great, but if I ever have to go back to doing it by hand, I'll buy a fret saw from one of those two suppliers because then I can worry more about my own work than whether the tool is going to let me down.

Don't forget the adage, "Penny wise, pound foolish..."

[jeffhigh]

Liam,
Like many, I started with an improvised saw, It made fretting REALLY hard. Somehow I managed to slot and fret a board back in '77, but I have no recollection of how I did it.
For the last half dozen boards I have used the stewmac handsaw.
Just fretted one yesterday, went so easily it was a pleasant job, just tapping the frets in.
I guess, rather than being negative about tools, I would rather say that I would like for you to have a good experience with fretting rather than frustration.
Are using NG rosewood for the fretboard- probably a bit too soft.

[vandenboom]

my fret wire is stew mac med/high (i think?) it's tang is 0.5 and on my test piece it works fine. fingers crossed for the real thing. the NGR fingerboard isn't as hard as some.

Liam - the other thing you need to be careful here is that, while they might go in, it will be tight and you are likely to get at least some degree of backbow. Hopefully you then have a two-way adjusting truss rod to deal with that.
Frank