a couple of lil' things....

[Mike Kolb]

(hmmm, I s'pose it's OK to bring up 2 topics in one discussion?.... at any rate.....

 (1). I see where StewMac just released a new version of their FretBender tool, with an easier way to adjust the radius. Still no definitive settings for specific radii, but it is an improvement. Not enough of an improvement, however, to go out and replace mine but if any repair folks needed one now, the bender probably won't get much better again anytime too soon after this version.  

Oh, and nobody tells you this, but when you're bending the radius on fretwire with the bender, you have to cut-off an inch at both ends, since the ends don't take the radius as the wire goes-into or comes off the rollers.  Took me a few weeks to figure that out, but I'm a slow learner:)

(2).  Big fan of Frank's method of drop-filling lacquer and using a razor blade to scrape it down to level for small finish repairs.  I've noticed, though, that every time I get it looking just right, I'll fine-sand and polish it to seemingly perfection.... but when I come back the next day, the entire fill has sunk a very small amount and I'll have to re-do it with increasingly smaller fills until it's stable. Maybe 3 or 4, or sometimes 5 times

I'll let the initial small fill of lacquer dry 48hrs before scraping and it seems alright, but maybe that's not long-enough to actually let it stabilize?  Anybody else have that issue?  All thoughts appreciated.

Springtime in Oregon... wish I had something to paint 'cuz it's sure the weather for it!  Later.

[Kerry Krishna]

 I am pretty sure that if you reread all of Frank's instructions, it says to leave the fill for several days/a few weeks before doing the scraping. This is a great post too Mike! 

[Mike Kolb]

Thanks Kerry....the version I read from frets.com doesn't specifically address the set-up time, per se.... 

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Finish/RazorScrap...

but no doubt it's indicated somewhere... and it makes tons of sense to let it dry for a good long spell before scraping.  I'm doing a few drop-fills now on a customer's Merrill acoustic and will make a "note-to-self" in the future to overfill the divots and forget about them for a couple of weeks.  

The more I think about it, we leave nitro finishes to set-up for a month or so before buffing-out, so the dropfill technique deserves at least that long. Thanks for the wake-up:)

[Mark A. Kane]

I read somewhere that Dan Erlewine or another luminary of our trade advocated keeping a small jar of clear lacquer that had been allowed to thicken, so to speak, for this very purpose. I suppose the idea is that a good deal of the evaporation of the V.O.C.'s has already taken place, so shrinkage of the fill should be minimized.

[John]

I'd like that fret bender better if it had an unbend option for putting rolled fret wire in flat fingerboards. 

[Kerry Krishna]

G'morming John. I had never thought of that. Man, it must be a hassle...

[Paul Verticchio]

I recall a very old (decades) Trade Secret article from Dan Erlewine where he stated the fret bender can be used to straighten coiled wire if you simply invert the wire. 

I've never used that method with fretwire (I buy it in straight lengths) but I have used it to straighten aluminum wire I used in an 'art project'.

I realize a tang on the FW may make a big difference, but it's worth a try. 

If that works, or the concept seems plausible, you can build a separate 'unbender' by reversing the design of the rollers.  The top roller would be smooth (or concave) and the bottom rollers would have tang slots.

Sound interesting?

(-:

[John]

I've found a way to put a small C clamp on the bender to make it straighten wire, so I was mostly just complaining....I'll post a pic if I do it again soon.

[Mark A. Kane]

Just run the wire through backwards. That ought to do the trick ;)

[Robbie Collins]

The redesigned SM fret bender is a copy of the one made in Canada called the Bendernator:

http://www.guitarbuilderonline.com/fret-bender.html

I've got one and it's great.

[Hesh Breakstone]

Nice improvement on the older one which was and is harder to adjust...

I rarely use mine any more though since we have been buying our fret wire from Jescar by the pound it comes in rolls with a pretty compatible radius for many things as is.