Official Luthiers Forum!

Here is yet another great idea and tool that David Collins has come up with.

The application is loose frets, unseated fret ends, etc. Instead of hammering them down which is not so easy when the thing has strings on this tool can seat a loose fret in about 10 seconds, 9 seconds to find where we left the tool and one second to do the deed.

This one is crude and was made during a job that required it. So it's not ready for prime time but perhaps our friend Murray might want to look into making these available? If you are keen to produce these Murray we were thinking that the machined end should be brass, softer so it has less chance of scratching a fret and much shorter. This was something that Dave whipped out in minutes again for a job at hand. But we have used it for years now including this morning on an Ibanez with a loose fret end.

And yes it's a spring loaded center punch with a different tip.

The pics suck I know they are from my phone and I don't have editing software on my shop bench laptop so please excuse the poor quality pics.

What is the spring for?

Hammering - a push "cocks" the spring, and as you push more, it released the springs energy with a little "thump"

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

What Colin said. It's really a spring loaded center punch with a shop-made tip to ride on the fret crown. A good push downward and then the thing "fires" and the uppty fret is firmly back in place. It's a quick-fix and not intended to be a best-practice in respect to great fret work. But it can help folks on a budget have a playable instrument in no time.

Hesh, great idea, but to make it economical to produce I would have to relocate back to the States (which i would do in a heartbeat if it were only up to me)

The iniquitous British import duties and VAT charges on imported goods from the States would probably make the resale price somewhat unrealistic .

Like ... I totally blush when I read what I am charging for replacement abrasive strips, but I have to import these from the US Klingspor shop (even though the original abrasive is made in Germany) and then pay exorbitant duties on the imported goods (and the customs even charge VAT on the postage !!! AAArrrgh !!

Sorry, got carried away there ...I am better now.

As I mentioned earlier...a brilliant concept ... kudos to David ...I am definitely getting one for my own use ...commercially ? maybe I can do a deal with Woodpeck

Great little tool. I'm in if someone wants to make the piece that fits over a fret.

_________________
Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Awesome idea. Gotta make me one, I've got a spring loaded punch with no tip just waiting for it's new life.

Al

It was really just something made on a whim - in practice it doesn't do much you can't do with a hammer and fret punch. Still, I threw it in my toolbox years ago and find it convenient enough to pull out fairly often now that I have it. Silly little tool really, yet somehow proven to be quite practical and useful.

_________________
Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

I have a punch and some brass rod, I'll have to give it a try. Thanks Hesh and David!