OK, another bad pun, but it was just too obvious to pass up.

With the inlay complete, I turned my attention toward finalizing the fretboard.  First up was tapering the fretboard to its final dimensions.  I subtracted 0.04″ from the finished size on each edge to accommodate the binding.  This was definitely a measure five times, cut once operation.  Working in hundredths of an inch tolerances is new to me.  I left the cut slightly proud, then sanded down to the correct dimensions.

Installing the frets came next.  I’m using the medium/medium fret wire from StewMac.  It is important to pre-bend the wire to a tighter radius than the fretboard before installing it in the slots.  This allows the ends of the fret wire to be seated first.  Then, as you work your way from the ends towards the middle with the rubber hammer, the barbs on the fret wire tang actually get spread sideways, creating both a vertical and a horizontal component to help hold the wire in place.  You can spend a lot of money on a commercial jig to bend the wire, build your own jig from any of a number of plans you find on-line, bend it by hand, or pull out your childhood erector set and build your own.  I chose the latter and had another fond trip down memory lane.

For at least a couple of years while growing up, my Christmas and Birthday gifts centered around a Fisher Technik erector set developed in Germany.    Just like the fancy Lego sets you can buy now, this was a modular system with electronics, motors, pulleys, wheels, lights, etc.  I’ve hauled it around with me for years, mainly because I just can’t seem to let it go.  I pull it out about once a decade to create something I need in the shop.  I spent an hour last Saturday giggling like a little kid creating my custom, variable speed, multi-directional, variable radius fret wire bending machine.  Truly the ultimate in fret-bending technology and sure to be a big seller next Christmas!

OK, truth be told, it got the job done, but I won’t be applying for any patents just yet.  The motor was a little weak and there was a bit too much play in the system to make it work the way I wanted.  But I did have some fun.  Here’s a shot of the first fret ready to be tapped in.

I was a little bit worried about installing the frets.  After looking at all the fancy fret hammers, caul  presses, nippers, benders, and pullers, I was hoping that I could install them using my old wire cutters and a beat up rubber headed hammer.  Luckily, there are plenty of YouTube videos showing how to do this with  a minimum amount of stress.  Installing the 22 frets ultimately took me just over an hour.  They all appear to be seated well, so that is behind me.

I nipped the fret wire ends off as close as I dared, then used a flat file to bring the frets close to flush with the edge of the fretboard.  The final cleanup was done back on the table saw deck with 220 grit sandpaper,  using the fence to keep the edge perpendicular to the bottom of the fretboard.

Next up, the fretboard binding.