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Has anyone attempted compression fretting? The 12 string guitar I have been restoring was having serious buzzing issues. It would buzz pretty much anywhere before the 12th fret and it gets worse the further up you get to the 12th fret, then it would disappear completely.

I noticed the neck relief is quite deep (I can pass a .015" string under the 7th fret when both the 1st fret and the 12th fret have been capoed) but unfortunately there isn't a truss rod anywhere to correct it, so the only option is compression fretting.

I've ordered the expensive $tewMac Fret tang setter... I figure it would come in handy in the future when I will probably need to size the fret tang for whatever reason...

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Whilst that relief measurement is higher than I prefer, high relief is NOT the cause of buzzing in that region.
Your saddle is probably too low

John Hall has some tutorial information on compression fretting. http://www.bluescreekguitars.com/?d=tut ... tten&tId=6

The Stew Mac tool is good for sizing the tang to fit over or under sized slots but isn't intended for compression fretting. Frank Ford shows how he made the prototype on his frets.com site.

the stew mac tool for compression fretting is pretty much useless. Over time the pressure on the fretboard will reflatten the tang. You need a tang that is wider to spring the neck back .
What makes compression fretting so difficult is that every neck is different. I do have the fret wire for compression fretting. The key to this is to get the neck to back bow then allow a good week for the strings to pull on the neck. That will allow the barbs to set into the end grain on the fret slot. After the settle in time you can then dress the frets.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
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