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| Fret Nipper Brand, More than one? http://mowrystrings.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=14574 |
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| Author: | Bruce Dickey [ Sun Nov 18, 2007 7:04 am ] |
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I was wondering which fret nipper is the best to buy? |
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| Author: | TonyKarol [ Sun Nov 18, 2007 7:58 am ] |
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I have the first edition half price carbide cutter tipped Allied luthier specials page end nipper cutter (yeah thats a mouthfult to say three times fast) ... I CANT use anything else anymore, they are far superior to any plier/side cutters I have used. |
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| Author: | Bill Greene [ Sun Nov 18, 2007 8:53 am ] |
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Tony, can you link to that...I couldn't find it on the Allied site. Thanks. Bill |
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| Author: | Bruce Dickey [ Sun Nov 18, 2007 9:40 am ] |
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StewMac has a nipper for $43. LMI has a filing jig for $110 used on Stainless or Nickel wire. Allied apparently doesn't offer one on the website, or it's hard to find, not under tools or on the specials pages. ? |
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| Author: | Howard Klepper [ Sun Nov 18, 2007 9:50 am ] |
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The Allied nipper is a great value at $30ish and a better cutter for the purpose than even a good brand of hardware store end cutters. |
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| Author: | Mattia Valente [ Sun Nov 18, 2007 9:59 am ] |
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Are we talking fret nipper, or fret TANG nipper? |
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| Author: | FishtownMike [ Sun Nov 18, 2007 11:25 am ] |
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I have the stew mac one and i like it. I was using one that i made from a pair of channel lock nipper that i filed the face down flat. Was starting to wear down so i replaced it with the stew mac. The problem with grinding your own is that the heat from the grinding starts to anneal the metal and it lose's its original hardness. |
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| Author: | Louis Freilicher [ Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:14 pm ] |
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[QUOTE=FishtownMike] The problem with grinding your own is that the heat from the grinding starts to anneal the metal and it lose's its original hardness.[/QUOTE] I always keep an old coffee can full of water next to my sander and grinder and cool my tool steel down often. I dunk every few seconds on small stuff. If it changes color at all the edge will be junk before you use it. Oh, and I have the Allied nippers and I love them too. I use the S.M. under cutters for bound boards. The S.M. cutters will undercut stainless but will be trashed when the job is done! I gotta make me one of those Frank Ford rigs for filing the undercut on SS. Louis |
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| Author: | Bruce Dickey [ Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:02 pm ] |
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TANG. I was talking tang. yep. |
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| Author: | TonyKarol [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 12:32 am ] |
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well, you didnt specify originally so .. to clarify, I use the stew mac tang nipper, the Allied cutter. The Allied cutters used to be on page 4 or 5 of the weekly specials .. might be sold out. They were 30 bucks, and are killer evnen thought they are going to refine them |
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| Author: | Evan Gluck [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 12:53 am ] |
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I bought the Frank Ford one the second it came out at the GAL convention (I had to pry it from Chris's hands) it is great and fun to use. A little pricier but the time it saves pays for itself the first time you use it. Best, Evan |
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| Author: | Bruce Dickey [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 3:39 am ] |
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I was talking about this tool for undercutting fretwire ends. I have a real nice hardware store set of end cutters made by Challenger, work great very strong for fretwire cuts to length. Also, I took a cheap Chinese end cutter and ground it sharp for pulling frets. They work well when the cutting edge is moved outward by grinding away the excess cutter. Now I see why the thread was confusing, multiple tools and terminology. |
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| Author: | Michael Dale Payne [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 3:49 am ] |
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Actually mine came from Radio Shack. All these things really are is sheet metal nippers. I don't think Radio Shack carries these any more since they are slowly getting out of the electronic hobbyist market. But a good electric service supply house will have them, at least one that caters to electronic manufacturing market. |
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| Author: | Howard Klepper [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:02 am ] |
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I heard a few years ago that the StewMac tang nipper is very similar to a tool that has been around a long time for cutting HO style model railroad track. But the StewMac tool works fine, and time is money. |
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| Author: | Ken Franklin [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:09 am ] |
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After you cut the tang with the SM nipper is there anything left under the fret to file down? |
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| Author: | grumpy [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:11 am ] |
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is there anything left under the fret to file down? Only if you're very, very anal... |
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| Author: | Ken Franklin [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:18 am ] |
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I might be. |
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| Author: | Dave Rickard [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:25 am ] |
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Well then just call me anal Dave... no no Dave Anal sounds better Bruce I use the fret tang nippers from SM and they work great. I do go ahead and dress the bottom of the fret with a file but as Mario said that realy isn't necessary, it just gives me that warm fuzzy feeling |
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| Author: | Michael Dale Payne [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:25 am ] |
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They leave about .002-.004" of tang. The only reason this happens is because any extruded part has a small radius wherever there is a plane change. This radius forces the cutter blade to the tangent of that radius. This radius on frets is about .002-.004" Therefore there will be .002-.004" of material left |
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| Author: | Bruce Dickey [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:58 am ] |
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Mr. Forster seemed unconcerned about the residual to the tang cut, pounding away on those frets like he was working on a deck. I guess a 2 to 5 thousandths dent in the Fretboard will work too. |
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| Author: | Daniel M [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 7:17 am ] |
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I have an "Adel" nibbler tool which is pretty much the same as the Stew Mac nipper. (I had to file a groove in the anvil part to accommodate the edge of the fretwire.) They're available at aircraft tool suppliers. The anvil section of the stewmac tool is much nicer than mine & it does a cleaner job. |
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| Author: | Bill Greene [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 10:54 am ] |
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I ordered a tang nipper from some eBay guy, and I think the version I have is actually those railroad/hobby store nippers. They work, but about every 3rd snip they literally bend the end of the fretwire just the slightest amount, so I end up discarding a few pieces every fret job...highly annoying. |
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| Author: | Dave Rector [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 12:06 pm ] |
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Bruce, the Stew Mac tang nippers are the ones you tried out when you visited me a while back. They work great! |
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| Author: | Bruce Dickey [ Mon Nov 19, 2007 2:40 pm ] |
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Dave, that seals it. The StewMacNibbler it is. I'm glad you said that, because I'd forgotten. The YouTube Forster videos got me going on this even for unbound boards. I'm in. 
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