Warmoth Webcam

[Cagey]

Hehe! Yeah, kids can be fun sometimes.

The problem with dealing with individual frets and radiusing, at least with stainless, is it's not easy to radius them evenly. You can make minor adjustments manually, but even that's risky. The stuff really doesn't want to cooperate, and once they're that short you can't run them through the bender again.

I cut bulk coiled wire to to 2' lengths, then straighten those pieces for easier storage. Then when I'm feeling bored and/or ambitious I'll grab an unfretted neck to use as a gauge and run each length through the bender, matching it to its position on the fretboard. Once I have a 2' length radiused properly, I'll cut it up into frets and throw them into a bin numbered for its fret position. Keep doing that until I run out of fretwire, and it's Miller time.

It's a lotta work, but it ends up being faster that way than trying to deal with each neck's worth of frets. The next 20 or so necks using that fret size already have radiused frets waiting for them, so pressing them in goes pretty fast.

 

[stratamania]

Yep, I will. Next up is the neck department tour.

Cool, I had a feeling it might be.

Can we see the scallop machine?

 

[stratamania]

Cagey, do you do that for every fret position, or do you find a pre-bent piece will do two or three frets, before the need to change sizes?

 

[Cagey]

I used to do every position, but have since found that towards the flatter end I can go 2 or 3 places with the same radius. The change is so minuscule that the barbs on the tangs will hold them in place, at least on new necks. On refrets, you have to be a little more careful as the wood has been somewhat terrorized by either the removal of the old frets, wood softening from user oils, or both. Keeps the new frets from seating as firmly as they will in new slots. Especially on necks where the user has been deliberately oiling the board for some years on top of their own finger snot. Slots are practically ruined, and even glue won't help.

 

[stratamania]

Thanks, Cagey, that makes sense. Definitely, a bulk bending job I think.

I don't know why folks oil boards overzealously. And pay less attention to engine oil...

 

[Cagey]

Fretwire is so cheap in bulk it doesn't really make sense to buy it any other way, even if it's a size you don't think you'll use a lot of. It's not like the stuff has a shelf life; it'll last forever in storage. Plus, as discussed, it makes it easier to be prepared for progressive radius necks.

As for the oiling thing... I don't know. I've been railing against it for years, but nobody listens.

 

[Zhaezzy]

I do look forward to the neck video. As far as a webcam goes a webcam outside would be cool to see what it is doing there. (or is it just me since I used to live down the road in Kent WA some years ago. )