Official Luthiers Forum!

I going to need some fretwire in a few days, and I don't know if I have time to get it from Shane (how did I let this slip up on me?)

Are there other domestic suppliers that carry the 'good stuff' that Shane has?
(Sorry Shane, if I end up having to buy elsewhere... )

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

Dunlop has good wire

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Is there something wrong with LMI and STEW-MAC wire....????
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

The wire that Shane sells has VERY sharp burrs (is there an official term for the little diamond-shaped fellows that bit into the sides of the slot?), and once installed, stays in the slot REALLY well.

The last time I used wire from LMI, it didn't work well at all for me. Those little burr fellows on the side of the tang were not sharp orat all defined, and I ended up having a real hard time with it.

I like to get the wire coiled, so it's already got a radius to it. Stew-Mac sells theirs in straight sections. I don't know about the quality.

Maybe LMI has improved their wire, or maybe I just got a bad batch last time. I may give them another try. Their gold wire looks interesting.

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

Jescar... that's the brand Shane sells. I'll look for it...

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

LMI sells Jescar (Evo) gold wire. In fact, I convinced them to stock all five sizes. When I sourced them the first time about a year ago, they only carried four of the five, and of course I wanted the one I couldn't get : -) Great stuff. Can't imagine using anything else.

JM, I just realized that while looking into Jescar wire!

I think I'll try their gold wire also... it would look nice on certain fretboards/guitars!

Thanks for the info,

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

No worries Ken.

Just for clarification, Jescar has many more than 5 profiles. At present I stock the .080 wire in Nickel Silver, Stainless and EVO Gold, the Jumbo Wire in Nickel Silver and Mandolin wire in Nickel Silver.

Thanks

Shane

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Canada

I've used LMI wire for as long as they have been selling it and Bill Lewis before that without a bit of trouble.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Just for even greater clarification, Jescar has exactly five Evo gold profiles, for guitar :- )

The EVO wire is eons better than the 18% nickel stuff, I expect my frets to last quite a long time, if not a lifetime for most players. The gold colour is really, really faint when polished and looks more like a nice silver/nickel slightly oxydised hue. The main advantage is consistency in dimensions (levelling is ever so slight) and the fact that the frets stay there when you press or hammer them, i.e. the ends do not lift.
BTW you can buy directly from Jescar, minimum is 1lbs, which will get you quite a few fret jobs.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Who makes Allpart's wire, and what's wrong with it?
Just curious.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I know that most classicals use the 18% nickle. Is there any reason at all not to use the EVO gold? Is it because of the nylon strings?

Steve

I don't know where AllParts get their wire, I suspect East Asia. Nothing wrong with it, I've used it in the distant past, it is a bit on the soft side and the tang could be deeper IMHO.
I don't see why EVO should be restricted to steel strings, it will work as well on nylon or gut string guitars.
BTW the fretwire hardness has nothing to do with how fast strings wear. 18%, EVO or SS the frets should be highly polished to present almost zero friction.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

... barbs... Why couldn't I think of that word?

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

I've seen older refrets in SS that I did years ago. No divots, frets are still shiny.
I've seen older refrets I've done is NS, divots and fret dressing.
I've never used the gold stuff, although I've dressed quite a few Gibson Les Paul Supremes that have it installed from the factory.
I think SS is harder. I've done partial refrets in acoustics, the tone going from the steel frets to the nickel frets didn't change one iota.
I like SS because it's harder than all the rest and does not develop a patina.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Still have tubes and tubes of Jim Dunlop wire... can't remember where I ordered it from.

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

Well stated...and that's why I have also been using SS for 3 years.

Tool wear hasn't been a problem...instead, I use different tools like a Dremel cutoff wheel instead of end nippers. I haven't worn out any files yet. The frets stay smooth and shine forever...players say they stay consistent to their feel. Nobody has ever commented on tonal change...nor have I perceived any changes. Nobody has ever commented on premature string breakage and I haven't experienced it on my personal guitars.

I haven't used the gold stuff yet and probably won't, just because I like SS so much.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I noticed on the Jescar site that their wire has a 0.023" tang & they recommend a slot of 0.025" - 0.026".

The Stewmac circular saw blade is 0.023".

Are any of you using the Stewmac blade with the Jescar wire? Does it install ok?

Thanks,
Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Upon closer examination, it's the Jescar FW37053 that has that spec about the tang & fret slot which is very narrow crown wire 0.053".

Sorry about the confusion.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Hey Ken, do you still need the wire? I've got a coil of Shane's stuff, which I may never make it through since I'd prefer a shorter crown height, and will likely be switching over to SS along with it (thanks for the dremel cutoff wheel idea, JJ!). I don't think I could fit a coil in a flat rate envelope, but I could cut a few lengths, maybe one 8", two 9", three 10"? That ought to be enough for one guitar and some spare. I could get it in the mail today, and hopefully make it there by the weekend

I understand there's differences in grain and smoothness, and with perfectly polished strings, I agree that there should be minimal wear to begin with.
However, I feel that once the strings lose their polish, and let's face it, that happens very quickly, and most strings are NOT polished super smooth to begin with, that benefit is gone. Once the string gets a little bit discolored, they're rubbing the fret with their oxide surface. Aren't most sandpapers, the long lasting ones, some kind of metal or metalloid oxide?
I've been using the same tools for ten years and have been using SS for bout 5. I DID break a set of fret nippers that were old right off the bat before learning how to cut steel with them (yes, technique is a factor,) and I did wear out one set of tang nippers before learning to nib on SS (technique is a factor there too), but after the learning curve, no problem! I use twice as much polishing paper, and it's more effort, but that's about it.
The thing that keeps me from getting some of the gold os the patina it develops. I don't like that.
I know, I'm picky...

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Dennis,

I'll PM you about the wire...

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

Common sandpapers are Aluminum Oxide which is very hard as opposed to iron oxide which is pretty soft.

Kevin Looker

_________________
I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I would think fret wear is simple mechanical abrasion from the strings as opposed to a chemical reaction. Or did I mistake your post?