Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello,

Anyone have a Stewart MacDonald Fret Bender? If you do, I was wondering if I might ask a favor... Can I ask for some measurements, or confirm mine?
Also maybe take some closeup pics?

I would need some pics of how the handle attaches in the rear to the brass cylinder and how the cylinder enters the brass block that raises or lowers?

Also, how does the large fret wheel attach to the brass block and brass cylinder that the handle is attached to?

I think just by just looking at the pics I have the dimensions close... the main aluminum plate is 3/8" thick, 8" long and either 2.75" or 3" wide, I am guessing 3" wide.

The ball bearings are 9/32 wide and 3/4" in diameter.

I think the large fret wheel is 1 1/4" or 1 3/8" in diameter. Is the large fret wheel solid with a slot milled in it or is it two round disks with some kind of washer in between them?

I have the slotting mills for my milling machine in order to make the slot guides.

It also looks like they are using Dick Height Adjustment Screws for a Double Bass. They cut the cap and threaded the brass post in order to screw on the brass knurled thumb nut.

I ordered a pair Dick height adjustment screws the other day and a;ready have in hand the ball bearings, 3/8" aluminum main plate, 3/16" aluminum plate, 1/8" aluminum plate, stainless steel button head cap screws and regular stainless steel cap screws.

I just need to figure what the brass cylinder is that the handle is attached to and how the fret wheel is designed & attached to the brass block.

I am making this one time for my personal use.

Thanks for helping !!!

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Dean

Hi dean - can't help with bender info in that I'm away from home/shop but I do have a suggestion if I may please.

If you purchase your fret wire from Jescar direct (they do smaller orders now) it comes in the radius of the spool/roll. The native radius is perfect for what you wish to fret. Might save some money and/or time in not having to make the bender.

We have several wire benders including the Stew-Mac one but very rarely use any of them instead taking the wire right off the already radiused roll.

All the dimensions are irrelevant. You can make your bender along the same lines with any hardware that works for you - the only critical feature is the wheel with grooves for the tang, and you can make yours to fit any wire you choose. I did mine with four grooves. Any mechanism work if it holds the wheels with more or less parallel axes and will allow adjustment of one or two of them to achieve the bend necessary. The wheels and bearings could be pretty much any diameter.

Do a Google Image search for "fret bender" for a LOT of ideas. . .

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Cheers,

Frank Ford

FRETS.COM
HomeShopTech
FRETS.NET

I have considered making a jig to radius fretwire, but as Hesh said, If you get the wire from off a roll it is essentially already radiused. I have been purchasing my fret wire from LMI. I have been buying it in 4' lengths and it come rolled up. I typically use a 16" radius on my acoustics, however, I ordered some EVO and used it on my tele build with a 12" radius and it worked fine...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Being disabled/retired I have to find something to keep me busy. I am making this for something to do as a little home project. I cannot work for any longer than an hour or two at most, this is the perfect little project because its simple and I don't have to stand a lot.

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Dean

Yeah I know there are tons to find in the Googleverse, that is too easy. I want to make a StewMac version.

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Dean

I figured it all out. I did a screen capture from their video and got a good shot of the backside. They are using a 1/2" round brass rod about 1/2" long give or take. Then the bolt for the handle screws into it. Then from the front they use a shoulder screw through the wheel and it screws into the 1/2" round brass too. They possibly flattened two sides of the round rod in order to keep the wheel spinning in sync with the handle.

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Dean

I got one of them things.
Works like a charm.

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I have figured out the parts. Can you tell me how the fret wheel connects to through the brass elevator and into the handle???

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Dean

I'm not sure what you are looking for.
Does this picture help?
Mine is the old style.
Dan

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I am trying to figure out what that is that the handle is connected to. On the new model if looks like a small length of 1/2" diameter brass rod. That goes into the brass block that articulates up and down. What I don't know is how the wheel connects to the articulating block and how and small length of brass rod connects to the back of the block.

Is the big fret wheel on yours one or two pieces? I was planning on taking two pieces of 3/16" and put a .050"washer between them.

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Dean

There's a threaded insert in the handle. The wheel appears to be one piece.

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Ahhhh okay. they are just using a bushing with a Belleville Disc Spring on the reverse side to appy pressure. Is that a shouler screw running through the fret wheel? Does it have a non-threaded area where the fret wheel is ?

Yeah on the commercial version they used a lathe to cut the fret tang groove into the solid wheel. But like I said I don't have a lathe, so the next best thing is to cut two 3/16" disks out of some plate. Use a corner radius bit on one of the disks and drop a .035-045" washer between them before running the bolt through. It acheives the same thing.

What is the diamter of your fret wheel? I was guessing they are 1 1/4 - 1 3/8" some where in there.

Thank you so very much for you help on this !!!

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Dean

Yes, it is a shoulder screw, no threads in the wheel area.
The outside dimension of the big wheel is 1.25"

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Oh that is good news ! I have a carbide tiped hole cutter that is 1 7/16 outside diameter. It makes very clean 1 1/4 disks, with a hole if you use the drill arbor, or without if you remove it. I bought it to make washers for a radio reapeater project I was working on.

Here is a pic of a few of the parts I have put together so far... Still waiting on the height adjustment to arrive and need to order a few more... Also a pic of the disks I made for the repeater project. They were copper and I silver plated them.

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Dean

I was thinking... which is dangerous LOL...

I might be able to pull off milling a slot by using a 3/64" mill bit which is .04688" and mounting the solid disk in my Spin Index like the one here. And then slowly slotting the solid disk until I have the groove 360º.

For example a 1/16" width of the slot is .0625"
A 3/64" width of the slot is .04688"

Now the quesion would be which is more in line with most reinstallations of fret wire? The .04688" or to cover more fret tangs the .0625"?

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Dean

I finally received all of the parts and materials for the fret bender. This weekend I will start drilling, milling, and threading. And then hopefully have it together early next week

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Dean