Official Luthiers Forum!

I just sold my PRS SE and I have a hand 3/4 full of the cash I need to do what I fantasized doing. I have a pair of used humbuckers I may use. They look about as haggard from being around a while as I do, but some covers and new screws will fix that, for the pickups that is. For a moment I even considered swiping the Burstbucker Pros from my LP, but they are one of the main selling points for the all mahogany Studio which I plan to sell after my first solid body project, guitar that is
One of the ways I have thought of to save quite a few dollars for now is to find a pre-slotted LP type nut. Files are pretty expensive for me right now.
Since I am making my own fret board, it's from a beautifully figured piece of rosewood that was given to me years ago, I have to buy the most basic of good tools to get it done right. I am going to use one of the back-saws provided by one of the forum's sponsers and my own custom made slotting mitre box. I also plan to purchase a fret scale template for a major hand in slotting. Wouldn't a decent pair of wire cutters suffice for fret wire cutting, or should I spend some money on cutters designed for the task? I know I'm going to need files. And, ................and ....................and,....oh yeah......and....

You might want to have one of the fine sponsors that advertise on the forum radius and slot that special rosewood for you. You may actually save money as opposed to buying the tools to do it well yourself.
Think end nippers not wire cutters.You will be closer to the mark.
I like Knippex or Channel lock brand, grind the face nearly flush leaving a small bevel edge.
Pre slotted nuts really are for spacing ,not to get a fine tuned set up using fewer tools.
Do yourself a favor and buy a minimal file set and work the slots a bit to widen them where applicable. You will be happier in the end with your new tools and skills, plus you can fine tune your other guitars once you get some practice in.
I hope that helps Good luck

Thanks for your input, Brett. I have two solid bodies I have plans to build, one is a single cut away all mahogany with neck-thru construction and maple cap, and the other is a double cut away with maple neck thru alder body and alder cap. I've decided to use my nicely figured rosewood fret board on the maple neck and buy a pre-slotted ebony fret board for the mahogany. I am focusing on the mahogany guitar first. With that said, is there anything I should be aware of when purchasing pre-slotted boards from either StewMac or Luthiers Mercantile, such as depth of slotting and wire tang size. The wire I want to use has a .074" tang. Would you recommend having a fretting saw on hand?

Another cheap way to slot nuts if you dont mind a little extra effort is to buy a cheap set of needle files, use the arrow v to get the slot in place, then buy a set of tourch tip cleaners to file the bottem round or a wound guitar string can do the same for the larger slots.
For finger boards the cheapest way is to buy them preslotted, there only about $10 more than a blank at stew mac.
Good luck!!!

Hi Dave, Short answer is yes to fret saw. The Stew-Mac one is good for me. I try to have .003"-.005" extra depth under the tang before final sanding so a good saw is a must for me. I also press in all my frets ,so I am in favor of getting an arbor for your drill press or a dedicated arbor press is ideal.Once again Stew-Mac for the arbor and shoes.
If you are lucky enough to be able to use the shop at work or have a generous friend with tools then you are ahead of the game.
The costs of setting up can be steep and then the materials are a whole nother headache. In the end it is worth it though.
Best of luck with you builds, Brett

I'm also a member of the telecaster forum and they have a tele home depot section. I would check it out. Some of these guys do amazing things on a budget. These things could apply to any electric guitars...Mike

Well, I placed the orders for the hardware and tools I needed to tackle my first solid body project. I went less than $80 over budget but that's ok. I'll just eat less. First things first, right? I am determined to do this right even if it means having to punch a new hole in my belt.

Dave , does that mean no belly cut on the back of your new guitars? .....Just kidding.
Good for you, now the fun begins.

Fret saws are expensive.

Take a sample of the fret wire and a chunk of hard wood to the various hardware stores and experiment with the various saws available (look at the hobby saws as well) that will cut a slot that the fret wire can be encouraged to fit with some light tapping...I used fine coping saw blades after a few passes with a wet stone to slightly narrow the curf, been slotting fret boards for years that way.
Stanley produces a small flexible double tooth edged saw meant for flush cutting and small trim jobs for about $20 that leaves a curf suitable for Stumac fret wire.

Use what ever wire cutters you can get your hands on that will cut the wire.

Small files are cheap and will work.

Don't buy into the "you need the delux high end professional tool BS (belief system) until you are really bitten by the building bug and by then you will know what it is yo truly need and the order you need it in.


blessings
the
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Best place I have found for saving money on tools is Harbor Freight. Got an arbor press there for about half of anywhere else, just had to drill to be able to put the fret press tool into the arbor. That is just an example. They also have a lot of cheap tools of all kinds, but you do have to be careful some are not good quality. A good place for cheap guitar hardware is guitarfetish.com. Bridges and other hardware are about half on some of it, the electronics are not always chaper there though. hope this helps

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John Thiessen
http://www.iszacguitars.com

A set of needle files can be had cheaply (like $5), and you can use torch tip cleaners or a string to finish up a nut slot as mentioned above.
End cutters work just fine on fretwire. You can do a fine job fretting a guitar with a claw hammer, if I were without a press that would be my go-to (if my press broke somehow, I'd use the hammer instead of waiting for a fix, even). You can print out a fret slot template with WFret.

At the same time, there comes a point where you might save 50 hours of fiddling around time by taking a couple extra shifts at work and just dishing out for the better tools. It's sort of like the phenomenon where someone who makes $20/hr will spend an entire Saturday trying to save $50 on a TV!

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Thanks to all of you guys for your helpful advice. Some of your suggestions I hadn't thought about, but then I am almost as green as they come at guitar building. These forums are great. I can imagine how hard it would have been 30 years ago doing this when all one had to go by was a possible book from a library or book store. It would have been difficult to hook up with just one fellow luthier to exchange ideas and experience, as opposed to today with the web and the ease of communication it affords.

the word Luthier adds about 75% to the cost of every tool.

I have a set of digital calipers that cost £10 on ebay.

Stewmac have similar with and extra dimple to measure fret depth for £34.

SOME stewmac tools are a true Godsend, like the fret presses (I use a pillar drill to hold mine) and I've never found a router cutter that'll do binding like theirs will, so I still buy a load of stuff from them,

thier fret saw with the depth stop isn't THAT much more expenseve than a regular tenon saw from a DIY store.

bottom line?

if you can get the tool from a NON luthier supplier then do so.

I'm currently working on #48 and I have NO INTENTION of EVER buying a set of expensive nut files!!!

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Oh yeah, do like the big corps do......

forget all the patriotic garbage and buy cheap on the global market.

I can get truss rods from Taiwan at $5 and bone nuts at 20 for $8

OK, it's not a US cow raised on corn grown in Minesota......

but then I be that most US cows are raised on imported grain anyway!!

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NO, i'm pretty sure we have plenty of are own grain.
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!