Fretting saw alternative

[jim boultbee]

Hi to all joined today so this is my  first post just something for you to try as an alternative to buying a fretting saw as i am now retired money is tight so i came up with this method which has worked well on the fretted guitars i have built.I found a well used 12 inch hacksaw blade and super glued a hardwood strip to the full length of the blade  set to give the required depth of cut, all cuts are identical depth and the frett wire i have is a nice fit aided by a dab of glue at each end of the fret wire.

Hope this will be of use to anybody in a similar position to me.

[Fomhorach]

I use a junior hacksaw. You know the tiny little kind. Thing about it is you got to do it slow and carefully to get the cut at 90 degrees.

But then again, I'm a kind of 'back to basics,use what you got' kind of guy.

[JL]

Gitty sells a good fretting saw for $14, cheaper than trying several 'alternatives' and not being happy and trying another....then another...than another....

[ChickenboneJohn]

Jim, if you are using a DIY saw to cut fret slots, I think that's probably a better bet than any of the "alternative"  ones. A proper Sheffield steel luthier's fretting saw is the right tool for the job (and not that expensive) but I've seen loads of people waste money on $10 saws that were too wide..then try another alternative, and for that to be no good either..they'd have been better spending the money on the right tool in the first place. If you do ever want to buy a proper fretting saw, check out my website, but in the meantime, keep on keeping on.

[Tom T]

I have to agree with Chickenbone. A good, dedicated, fret saw is an  investment  that saves time and frustration. It produces a perfect width slot and  with a depth attachment, it is the right  depth every time. Figure the cost over the building of a dozen guitars and it gets  pretty inexpensive. And, it will last a life time if you only use it for cutting frets.

[Moritz Voegeli]

My words John... To get a clean slot, a fretting saw has its teeth not larger than the blade's width, so the sides of the cut are clean like polished. Alternatively, take a blade with the appropriate width and grind down the teeth to the width of the blade, but if you do a lot of fretting buy a japanese fretting saw which cuts on pull stroke as a far better choice.

Tools I would never give away: my japanese fretting saw and my rocker to check for frets which are to high.

[Fomhorach]

If I could only take one lesson from this website and all the hints techniques etc that are in here, I would choose this..

There is no correct way, tool, technique, item, wood, box, fret, pickup, nut, tuner, wire, cable etc etc etc. that is needed to build a musical instrument. Any part, tool, technique etc can be hacked, fudged, replaced, replicated in many different ways.

I build decent to good looking and playing instruments with very few tools, none of them being considered luthier specific. There are a good number of people in here that are doing the same thing. A little bit of research goes a long long way (and much more rewarding too).

[Grandpa]

Lots of good advice and wisdom in this thread, as usual. My addition is to confirm my experience using every available saw in my garage, then buying something new "that should work fine". They didn't. I, like JL,above, bought the Zona saw from Gitty. Using that saw, with a square, I've fretted @ 20 necks without a drop of glue needed. The saw is dedicated to fretting and is still working well. My .02.

[Regan]

I just did a neck using a scroll saw after reading about it on here, then going over the slots with my fretsaw,, sure saved a lot of time and arm work. If I can find a scroll saw blade that has bit wider kerf that would be even better.