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I have some fret wire that came in curved lengths of about 10". I cut about 6 frets before I realized that the curve was not greater than the curve of my fretboard! Give some ideas. Is it possible to bend the already cut sections of wire? Or should make a fret bending tool and start over longer segments that I have left over?

The wire I'm using is Jescar EVO Jumbo. It's pretty stiff and seems a little brittle.

I can't think of a way to curve a piece of fret wire that short. but you could save them for possible future use on a fret board with a larger radius.

You can bend fretwire that short, but it isn't easy. Grab one end of the fret with a pair of pliers, as close to the end as you can get it. Put the free end of the fret against something solid and twist the pliers. Shift the pliers a bit, and do it again. It takes some practice to get smooth, even bends, but it can be done.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

This little tool works quite well for bending straight wire to an even, specific radius in cut lengths.

Imagine four long pins sicking up from those corner holes and springs holding the top half up...keeping them apart fro loading the wire.

You'd have a hard time making one of these maybe...but it may give you ideas.

The lower block has a small slot that loosely receives the fret tang. The straight wire is set in position and the top block is pressed down. It doesn't require any pressure to create the proper result. The wire need only bend to the correct radius and then it springs back holding a VERY even designed radius. In this case the lower block has a 4.5" radius and after bending the wire springs back to a 10.5" radius. It took a little experimenting to arrive at the 4.5" radius...but since then the tool performs flawlessly.

Since it really doesn't require pressure to create the bend (the two blocks need only to be pressed hard enough to meet), the tool will likely never wear.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

This one works very well and is simple and cheap to make. The one I made works quite well on smaller pieces of wire also.

I bend my frets individually with 2 pairs of flush-ground side cutters.

There's a great low tech solution, I'll give that a try right now, thanks!