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Last week I started the fretting on my SJ guitar. I waited until the guitar was finished and the neck was attached before doing the fretting. Things didn't go so smoothly. I think mostly because I had trouble seating the frets good. The slots were the perfect width for the fret tangs. I especially had trouble hammering the frets over the body. I don't have an auto body dolly so just tried several things around the shop. I also do not have the stew mac plastic hammer or a bag of shot for support. My question is should I buy the stew mac hammer and some bags of shot for support, or should I invest in the jaws 2 fret pressing setup from stew mac? Do most of you guys hammer or press your frets?

If money is no object then buy them all. You forgot one tho...Frank Ford's invention at LMI. It's a dolly with a handle. There will always be a situation where one will be better suited then another. There will be many where the simple dolly works as well as all the others.
first choice for me is the simple dolly ( franks is pretty good!)after that I like...Taylors' fret buck, then jaws 2. Never try to hammer the upperfrets in ( those over the upper bout) without one of the above tools. You will have too much bounce to seat the fret and risk doing a good deal of damage. As for hammers I like SM's hammer and use it often but I also use others that I have picked up from various places too.

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Instead of a bag of shot use a bag of Sand. Put some sand in a plastic bafg and put that inside a pillow case. It's free

Colby,

You don't have to have the StewMac plastic hammer to bang in frets. Any sort of hammer with a non-marring surface, except a rubber mallet, should work. Having said that, though, the StewMac hammer does work well. Some people like dead blow hammers. I bought one to give a try on my latest build, and wasn't really impressed. It didn't do any better of a job than the StewMac hammer.

I build classicals, so I have to hammer frets in over the body on all my guitars. You really need to have something inside the guitar -- something with significant mass to it -- to back it up when banging in the frets up there. First guitar I built, I didn't do this and I knocked loose about a dozen tentellones.

I like the idea of a bag of shot -- it's flexible and it has a lot of mass. But even a piece of scrap steel or something similar to this will work.

I have also found that, even when using a backup inside the guitar sometimes one or a few of the higher frets won't seat all the way. In that case, I use a "C" clamp with a wooden block to press the frets in the rest of the way.

Just the way I do it. Your mileage may vary, and all that.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

If you go with the hammer method, get a small deadblow hammer instead of the Stewmac hammer. In another thread, Sprockett tipped me off on this dead blow hammer which is like the one we had used in Harry Fleishman's class. Before I had trouble finding one that small on any of the major tool sites.

Bags of shot can be had fairly cheap at hunting/sportsman type stores.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

i have always hammered my frets and have used several types of hammers over the years. when i started a jewelers chasing hammer was the accepted standard tool. with its steel head face you had to develop a gentle touch or you mangled frets readily. a hammer with plastic faces can be had at hd/lowes much cheaper than stew-mac. i have read that some swear by a 4oz stanley dead blow hammer, though i haven't tried one yet.

if you hammer frets you need a bag of shot or two for under the neck and the heel block. about $20 at your gun shop. sand bags might work as well though i have not tried them.

i have always used a small hand held bag of shot, about 3" in diameter under the fingerboard extension. i guess it is how i started and i still like the ability to have some sense of feel of what's going on in there.

those three tools will set you back about $30.

at the other end of the price spectrum is the taylor fret buck, about $240 or so!!! i've wanted to try one since i first saw it and have steadfastly refused to part with the money. bit foolish i suppose.

the jaws II tool was originally developed by brian galloup as i recall. you can make one from a bessy clamp fairly easily.

Sort of on topic. Has anyone here used the Taylor Fret Buck? A review??

Have one and use it. Expensive and heavy but works well

   A small dead blow hammer is your best bet for driving the frets home in the slots when hammering. The Jaws fret plier system is great from Stew Mac and works well. Even if you seat the frets with the Jaws, you may want to chase them with the dead blow hammer later to ensure consistent seating and eliminate any popped ends. I'm assuming that you're gluing your frets into the slots as well. If not, I would highly recommend that you do using white glue from LMI. Gluing helps to integrate the frets with the fingerboard and eliminates the possibility of ends popping or creeping up later as the guitar spends time in different environments and is a exposed to the typical effects of humidity and temperature changes and all of the expansion and contraction that takes place in the woods holding the frets.

   I use a Taylor Fret Buck for stabilizing the area under the fingerboard tongue as I hammer in my frets over the body. It is a heavy cast unit that covers the entire upper bout and clamps through the soundhole onto the top brace under the board and really distributes the effects of each hammer blow as you drive them in. It is an invaluable part of my fret tool lineup and I'd recommend one for every shop.

   I use the Jaws to set the frets and then follow that with the deadblow hammer while the neck rests on a pair of sandbags in thick cotton covers. I just made the cotton bags to fit over the the heavy plastic bags that the sand is in. Shot works fine and is easy enough to get from any gun or ammo supplier, but the sand has given me a more consistent base for support so I switched a while ago.

   For stubborn frets I will pull out my small steel hammer and a three inch long piece of 3/4" brss round stock. I place the brass on the stubborn fret area and give it a few light taps with the small hammer and down they go. I use this method for only for the most stubborn of fret sections and it usually isn't necessary at all.

   proper fretting is so critical to good playability that any time a new tool is introduced, I pick one up to try it out. If it works and makes the job easier and more accurate...great! If it doesn;t, I keep it around just in case it will fit a unique fretting situation in the future.

Hope this helps a little,
Kevin Gallaher/Omega Guitars

   

[QUOTE=Tom Dowey] Sort of on topic. Has anyone here used the Taylor Fret Buck? A review??[/QUOTE]

Hi Tom,
I have one and realy like it...mostly because it is very heavy and therefore gives a very secure and stable feeling base to hammer over. It's easy to use...you simply slip the tongue into the sound hole, tighten down the unit and you are hammering away. Yes like anything else we tighten, it can be over tightened and cause damage. Because it is heavy it is somewhat cumbersome...BUT...I also dislike holding the dolly inside the soundhole since I usually have a very very thin double x brace on my backs that come to a sharp point...located in close proximity...one drop of the dolly and my brace is ruined. I also don't like to dangle the guitar while attempting to hammer the fret. The TFB is expensive...about a months worth of gas( couple tanks full) here in Fl.

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

You sold me Dave. I am going to order one today. Thanks!!

Thanks for all the info guys, you've given me a lot to chew on.

I'm still thinking about that new fret pressing system from stew mac (Jaws 2). If anyone has a review on that it would be most helpful.

The Taylor fret buck sounds like a great tool. I would buy it in a heartbeat if were about half the price.

Colby, you might check the archives. There was a review of the Jaws II thread not too long back. As I recall, it got a thumbs up review.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Hi Colby,
yeah...I have to admit it...I have a jaws2 as well. I also have several regular Jaws ( the original one Erlewine came up with...sort of modified vise grips). I learned a long time ago two things: 1) the right tool for the job makes life easier 2) If you don't buy the tool S.M. is offering today it will probably be discontinued 6 months from now. So with that in mind I must tell you I am a walking S.M. Catalogue. My wife hates seeing the S.M. box more than the busted up tonewood boxes. "what did you buy now?" is the usual response. I tell her "stuff for the womans night golf tournament". Anyway, Jaws2 is a cool and useful tool. It works great most of the time. I had a few bodies where the sound hole was either located too close or simply too small for jaws to reach the final few frets. Not good. But on the other hand if you want something that will allow you to press in all the rest of the frets...and you can lock it down if you are leting glue dry ( especially good for the Sylvan Wells semi-hemispherical fret system) it's a nice tool. If you can afford any of the S.M. tools buy them.They are designed by luthiers for luthiers so usually they are well thought out/made. Jaws 2 is a bit expensive for being basically a clamp but I would buy it again if I didn't have one...that's just me!Dave-SKG38629.407037037

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Colby I did the review on the JawsII. for the most part it is a well designed tool. the first time you use it it may be a bit clumsy. It does not do all the frets past the 14th from inside the soundhole. You have to make cauling to do the 12-18 from out side the sound hole. This is explained on the instructions. There are rare earth magnets in the the cauls they send with the unit. They help greatly on most of the neck but are, for me anyway cumersome inside the sound hole. I am using mine on 1-14 and hammering the rest. For me it is too difficult to adjust inside the sound hole.MichaelP38629.4483217593

I struggled with fretting for a long time. The things that I changed that made a vast improvement were:
1. Got a Taylor Fret Buck.
2. Got a Taylor Fret Buck.
3. Got 1 full 25lb. bag and 1 half full bag of shot. The half bag comes in handy when you are working above the heel area.
4. Beveled the opening in the fret slot with my triangle file. The frets start so much easier if you do this.
5. Got the fret radius tool. The frets should be just a little over-bent before hammering them in. This made a world of difference. This tool is absolutely necesary in my opinion.
6.Spent more time getting the fretboard level after the neck was on the guitar. You do a lot less fret filing this way.

All these things were the result of a thread just like this on another forum a few years ago. It sure made my life simpler. My wife doesn't have to hide the rope anymore.