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Hi I've read loads on fretting, and everyone seems to have a different method so I'm aiming to form a concensous from the majority

1. What hammer to you use?
and
2. How do you hammer them in?

As I've read everyone over arches the fret, then using the hammer:

1. Work from one side to the other
2. Start in the middle then work to the edges
3. Start by knocking the edges down, then work from the middle out

Then most agree to then knocking the edges again, but on the overhang

Then some say lubricate the slot with a 50%-50% water and rubbing alcohol, other use water and pva glue and some do it straight

HOW DO YOU DO YOUR?

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

I learned hammer fretting at CF Martin. My hammer of choice is a cobblers chasing hammer . It is small with a larger cheek and very controllable. I use 1/2 and 1/2 water and tite bond. That is the way they do it at Martin. Then I pre cut my frets with a slight overhang. I start on 1 end and work to the other.
If the fretboard has a lot of inlay like a tree of life I use epoxy and clamp the frets so I don't break pearl. Fretting isn't that hard but it is a skill that you need to master. I think the key for fretting is the leveling and beveling once the frets are in. We all have our techniques and not all of us to it the same way.
Find a technique that works for you and that gives you a repeatable result.
john hall

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

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I already own a cobblers hammer I think it was in a box of panel beating stuff I was given along with some metal blocks, no panel beaters hammers which I thought strange, the closest think I can say it looks like is a claw hammer but the claw isn't split and the hammers face has a large crown like a pocket watch. I was going to buy a plastic one, so you've saved me money

Thanks

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

I use a regular carpenter's hammer. Sometimes I use a block of hardwood about 2" long and 3/4" square between the hammer and the fret, tapping on the end grain.

I over bend the frets slightly, start the ends, and then work my way in toward the middle, tapping alternately on each end. Currently I fret dry, and sometimes run a drop of thin super glue in beside the frets, depending on how tight the frets are in the slots and such.

I over bend wire also and use Elmers white school glue. I use a hammer I got in the three dollar bin at Napa. I start at the center and tap my way outward. With all the radius on the wire I usually don't have to hit ends much.

http://fleckguitar.com/images/guitars/n ... G_0126.jpg

I actually bought a Stewmac fretting hammer. It has a brass and plastic end. For nickel fret I use the plastic end. Overbend the fret then I would hit the ends to seat them in them work my way center. Don't hit too hard or else you will dent the fret which is very easy with nickel wires. For stainless steel wire I use the brass end. Stainless steel is in my experience more forgiving as far as dents goes, they don't bend as easily so you'd have it hit it really hard to dent it. I run a line of thick CA into the slots to stabilize the fret and prevent it from coming back out like how Warmoth did it. I think I will press the frets next time for a more consistent fret installation since when you level the frets with hammering you had to remove a bit of material to level the fret.

You might want to practice on a scrap fretboard first if you intend to refret a guitar.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

www.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=J ... t_id=12910

this is what you want...

Claw hammer, hold it halfway to the head, gentle taps (think of the head 'pressing' in the fret with momentum more than 'tapping' it in). Ends first and then work center-out. I can't stand the light brass/plastic 'fret hammers'. I feel there's less control in the process as you really do need to 'hammer' them in with those (the heads aren't heavy enough).

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I use a small dead blow hammer with interchangeable faces. Learned that from Sergei de Jonge, and it works laughably well. It makes installing frets an ecstatic experience. So easy I could do it in my sleep, with both hands tied behind my back. Seriously, I highly recommend trying this type of hammer. It's a very handy tool for other purposes as well. I got mine here:

http://hammersource.com/Dead_Blow_Hammers.html

It's the second type down on that page - "Cast Aluminum with Replaceable Tip". Mine is the 1 lb., 1 1/4" face diameter. I use the hard nylon (white) face for fretting.

The frets are slightly over-radiused, and I tap the ends in first, then work toward the center. I'm still experimenting with different glues and gluing techniques.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Both ends toward the middle, and then gently back from the middle to the ends in case any spot isn't fully seated. Titebond or Elmers in the last quarter inch or so at the ends.

Hammer is an auto body planishing hammer I was given by a mechanic 35 years ago when he broke one end off it (it had two sides originally). I've tried others, but keep coming back to it.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

i use a $5 bargain bin hammer with a hard plastic face. like howard said, i tap down the ends, work toward the center, and then back to the ends again. and like bob, i think the key is to let the weight of the hammer do the work. don't swing. just lift the face of the hammer and let it fall.
be careful not to hit the overhang though. that can bend the end of the fret and even lift out some of the tang toward the center.
phil

I 2nd the dead-blow hammer. You can whack away without worry.

I found what looks like a fretting hammer with two interchangeable plastic heads in the local hardware store .
A pippin file to open the face of the fret slot and to help with seating.
I cut the frets with an overhang, straighten them, run a bead of titebond into the fret slot, and starting at one end i gently tap them in.
I use a regular old claw hammer and a wooden offcut in the same manner Alan mentioned to drive any stubborn frets in.
Oh and a bag of potting mix under the neck as support...

Claire

over the years i have used several different styles of hammer, ijncluding a chasing hammer when i first started. currently i use one if the types with the two replacable plastic faces.

i start at the ends and works toward the center with taps alternating from side to side.

the key thing is to keep the taps light so as not to distort or dent the fret nor cased rebound, both of which will lift the fret.

i use a bag of shot under the neck to provide a firm base and to dampen vibration.

This is why the deadblow hammer works so well. No denting, no rebound. I started using it because Cumpiano recommends it.

I decided to wait until my next evening class to see how my tutor did it after experimenting myself.

He seriously over arched the fret then taps the ends down then moved in say 1/4" from where he'd previously hit and worked that back to the edges working both sides evenly till you reached the middle where there was a hump which you then hit down and worked to the edges.

The result is a fret which is much harder to remove than when I did my practice runs from the middle to the edge, but the fret surface has had a harder time of if, so I guess it'll add more time to the stone and set.

Oh and he used a jewellers chasing or repousee hammer he called it

Opinions please?

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

I use a cobblers hammer that looks very much like this:



But after reading about the dead blow hammer I think I may want to try one. In principal it sounds like a great idea. I usually back up the neck with a big bag of cat litter to accomplish the same deadening effect.

My Dad's jeweler's hammer, which I inherited in 1971:


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