What do you do if the fret wire doesn't quite fit the slots the way you want?
Darren passes fret wire through a tiny grinder that is easily adjusted to cut just a bit off the little studs on the side of the fret tang:
Let's have a close-up of that grinder:
It's really very simple and it gets the job done!
Richard steps in to show us a quick trick:
He says that if you give the string a twist to tighten the windings, you'll ensure brighter bass response. Mostly, he's interested in avoiding loose windings, so it couldn't hurt. See this setup tip in the Quick Trick section.
Back in the shop, he demonstrated how he uses the reflection in the chisel to cut those perfect Santa Cruz miters:
Well, it's time to leave, but I can't resist snapping a shot of an old friend:
In semi-retirement cutting soundholes, this drill press was my grandfather's retirement present to himself a long time ago! I sold it to the SCGC guys just as their business was starting up. Seems I heard my grandfather mention something about storing the chuck key that way. . .