Fretting, backbow

[Stephen Neal Saqui]

My comments about Stewmac's Fret Barber were addressed to repair, not new building. It's pretty obvious that when building you want to match the frets with the slot width beforehand.

[Craig Bumgarner]

Fretted a new neck this morning using the tips suggested in this thread. Enlarged my slots a bit with one of many saws I have laying around so the slot was .002" over the tang width, then used the Fret Barber to take the barb width from .036" to .030". Fret went in like butter, formed well and seemed to hold well in spite of going in so much easier. No back bow at all. Glued the frets with thin CA after they were set and they had been gone over several times for few minor high spots. Leveled the frets with ease, very pleased.

Thanks for all your help!

[Mario Proulx]

Careful not to make the frets fit too "nicely". Wood moves with seasons, and what might be a nice fit in your shop could end up being too loose if the instrument lives in a dry environment, leading to frets that can pop-up, or at the very least, inconsistent fretted tone...