Fret Tang Tools
© Frank Ford, 8/28/98; Photos by FF, 8/28/98
The most exotic home made tool in my fret tool kit is my fret expander:
Here's the tool from the side:
It started out life as a regular end nipper. Here's how I made the modifications.
With its single pointed jaw, I can precisely locate and produce a zig or a zag to effectively widen the tang of most any fret wire:
With this technique I can tap frets into slots that would ordinarily be far to wide. I've managed to get regular fret wire designed for a .023 slot into slots as wide as .040!
My companion tool is the fret tang masher:
I took a pair of needle nose pliers and cut the end off with my Dremel and carbide cutoff wheel. That little wheel generates hardly any heat and cuts hard steel easily.
The tang masher flattens the barbs to make frets fit more loosely in tight slots:
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