Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi new here.
I'm looking for help on selecting the correct fret shank size for a refret. From reading there seems to be a difference of opinion as to whether the shank should be the same size or in the case of rosewood .002" smaller than the fret slot. Which is correct? or is this just a mater of preference. I'll be using CA glue. The slots are .022" after sitting (rebound), they were .024 when the frets were removed. The old frets have a .024" shank and .037 across the barb.

Thanks

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Isn't amazing. The person that never has the fortitude to pursue his own dreams, will be the first to try to discourage you from pursuing yours.

WTH is a shank? (besides a jailhouse stabbing weapon)

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

LOL i see what your saying. Maybe i'm using the wrong word for you.

You have the bead/crown at the top of the fret and base/shank/tang that that extends from that. Please feel free to supply the proper nomenclature. I've have completed a refret a long time ago with help. RIP. But he didn't name fret parts.


So what is the correct fit of fret to slot?

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Isn't amazing. The person that never has the fortitude to pursue his own dreams, will be the first to try to discourage you from pursuing yours.

The tang. You'll need some of these or similar

http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Tools_for_Nuts_and_Saddles/Feeler_Gauges.html

figure out how wide the slots are and then order the fret wire accordingly.

Thank you for the correction. I already have feeler gauges, verniers, dial indicators etc... Plus lots of other extra tools. I was intending to use Dunlop frets.
I'm just unsure of proper selection of tang to slot sizing. I work in a machine shop, so i'm aware of what a interference fit is, if that helps.

One more thing. These are not the original frets. So i do not trust them for taking measurements from.

So back to my original question. From reading there seems to be a difference of opinion as to whether the tang should be the same size or in the case of rosewood .002" smaller than the fret slot. so which is correct?

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Isn't amazing. The person that never has the fortitude to pursue his own dreams, will be the first to try to discourage you from pursuing yours.

Maybe I'm supplying too much info, and need to rephrase my question. I have supplied what I am working with because people are often curious as to what the other person is doing. But I'm not actully asking for help to select my fret size.
What i am seeking is opinions as to whether to size the tang to the same size or .002 under size is a better practice.

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Isn't amazing. The person that never has the fortitude to pursue his own dreams, will be the first to try to discourage you from pursuing yours.

I understood your question from the first post. You should have a fret tang .002" to .005" smaller than the fret slot width. In you case the frets will compress against the tight fret slots and that may cause a back bow.

The Jescar fretwire available from LMII has a more narrow tang width that would solve your issue.

Thank you very much for the reply. Luckily no back bow with the frets in. No strings, almost flat (maybe .005-.006" relief) with zero tension on the truss rod. With the frets out, a very slightly different story and the truss rod is now doing something.

Good call on LMII, they definitely have what i need.

Cheers

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Isn't amazing. The person that never has the fortitude to pursue his own dreams, will be the first to try to discourage you from pursuing yours.

Mostly what you see offered is around .020 Tang ( with barbs around 30ish) for a .023 slot. If anything, you might want a slightly smaller Tang (or larger slot) for Ebony, not Rosewood, because it's harder.

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Pat