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For those of you that still cut fret slots by hand, what are, or is, your favorite fret saw?
I will need to pick one up here soon.
Thanks all.

The last one I used was Lee Valley 'Gents' saw that I ran over a diamond sharpening plate to reduce the kerf.

Brebt

Do you have a table saw?

StewMac Japanese saw:
https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/T ... t_Saw.html

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+1
StewMac Japanese saw:
https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/T ... t_Saw.html

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

Can the Japanese saw be resharpened?

I have this one https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Types_of_Tools/Saws/Fret_Saw.html
It was dull when new, but it's easy to resharpen with a couple strokes of a needle file on each tooth, so it ought to last forever.

The miter box is overpriced IMO. I just use a wood block that's squared up on one side, and gently hold the saw against it while cutting. Also works for fan frets, which can't be done with a miter box.

I bought mine from LMI and it cut beautifully in both African Black Wood and Granadillo. Two guitars and one ukulele.


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I have the stewmac version. But it gets really old. Hard on elbows, shoulders, etc if u do more than a few

Have you ever sharpened it? As said in my post a few minutes ago, mine was dull when new, but cuts smoothly now.

Frankly, I did not know you could get a hand saw like that sharpened. It always bothered me that little brass shavings would be removed from the saw where the back ridge contacted the bearings. I finally just bought the table saw fret blade. Gets a board done in minutes. I had to build a sled. Works great.

+1 if you are hand cutting. Forget re-sharpening at that price I'd just buy a new one.

Agreed.
Assuming it's impulse-hardened, as the crosscut teeth on Japanese saws in this price range almost always are, it will last for a very long time. If you really want to resharpen it, it can be done with a diamond file.
I have some (by Gyokucho, mainly) that have seen a lot of use and some abuse, and still cut well.

I have used this saw for several years and I think it might be dull. Where did you learn to sharpen it. I tried on cheap saws and could never get it right .

Scared to mess this one up.

Hmm, maybe being nearsighted helps. I just went at it and it worked. Look at the angle of the tooth, hold the file at about the same angle, give it a few strokes until the tip of the tooth has been touched, and on to the next one.

Use magnification if necessary.

These replies have been great and I thank all of you that took the time.
Another related question is, what type of saw guide do you use if any? I am not flush enough to buy the SM or LMI guide at this point.

When I used to cut the slots by hand, my set-up was really basic but worked fine. I would print out my fret locations using Wfret. After verifying they scaled properly, I would tape the template to my fret board blank with one squared/straight edge. To cut the slots, I just stabbed my marking knife into the line, slid a square (referenced off the straight side) up to the knife blade and clamped it in place. Then I would saw along the blade of the square using it as a saw guide.

Obviously, this put the kerf a small distance away from the printed line but by doing the exact same procedure for each slot, they are all positioned correctly relative to each other.

After a while, I broke down and bought the table saw blade. I had to buy a table saw on craigslist too. This is the only operation I use the table saw for. Generally, I like to use hand tools whenever possible. Despite this, it was still worth it. Cutting them by hand was annoying. It would probably not be as bad with a proper fretting miter box but I decided to put those funds toward the table saw method. I still smile every time I pull the table saw out and finish a board effortlessly.

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Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I made a crude table saw using a direct drive table saw motor and a 3 inch Makita saw blade. The depth of cut is adjusted by loosening a couple of screws and shimming one end of the table. The sliding fence has a fiducial mark to index the blade and fret marks on the board.
I have used the Stew Mac back saw for cutting frets by hand and it works O.K. and is about as cheap as most small back saws with a similar kerf.

I think I have an older LMI German made saw, it has a depth stop on it which is really nice. Sharpening is key with these saws. If you feel like you have to bear down at all to get a cut then it needs to be sharpened. It's been my experience that you don't need to have all the specialty tools to sharpen it good enough. After so many quick sharpenings then you might want to get the tooth setting tool and so on. But with just a fine triangle file that fits in the small teeth and a sharpening stone you can freshen it up after so many fret jobs.

I have one of those Japanese pull saws like the Stewmac one above but I don't think you can sharpen those though. If you can I'd love to know how. They are razor sharp though and cut like butter. The only thing about those is if for example, like I did, you make a cut on a piece of wood held in a vice or something then when you cut through you 'trow' the saw down and hit something then you ruin it. The teeth break off very easily. So be very careful finishing cuts with those saws or make sure there is only airspace under your final cut. You can buy new blades for those I believe though.

This has been an educational thread for me. I would have never thought that one of the saws from SM or LMI would need to be sharpened out of the box. However, given my experience hand cutting slots (just one guitar worth) I think the saw I had must have needed a sharpening. I remember getting to the 14th fret, sweaty, almost panting, and saying to myself - how does anyone do this on a regular basis!

Like Mike, there was little brass shavings everywhere. Well not that bad, but still.

I bought one of the slitting blades and didn’t look back.

Side note - I still have one of the LMI slotting setups if anyone wants to trade for something useful.


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I'm sure its a slow process, but those brass shavings mean the saw spine is being worn down, and almost certainly creating a curve. When u say slitting blade, Iam assuming u means the table saw blade? That thing is worth it!

Yes indeed. Worth every penny.


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I have been using the Stew Mc saw with a metal square as a guide. I think That's why it is getting dull. Re thinking my technique, like a strip of wood next to blade.

That homemade table is a jewel. I'm going to look for a motor.

Try a block of wood an inch tall instead of a strip, that way the flat blade will always register against the flat block. If the saw is more than about 13 ppi (13 points per inch) it will be very difficult to set (bend the teeth side to side for kerf width), and you will have to alter a standard saw set for the little teeth.

Every time you sharpen you make the fret slot a little narrower.

Ed

Yep. Here's my trusty wood block cutting some fan frets:

I also use it as a general purpose clamping caul (it has cork on the side that's against the fingerboard, which also helps keep it from sliding around when putting the clamp on), and for sharpening scrapers. First to push the scraper down against a fine diamond stone:

Then as a fence to hold the scraper against while sliding it back and forth to square up the edge:

And then when burnishing:

" If the saw is more than about 13 ppi (13 points per inch) it will be very difficult to set (bend the teeth side to side for kerf width), and you will have to alter a standard saw set for the little teeth. "

I've read - but haven't tried - that some people set small groups of teeth (2 or3) rather than alternating every other one on high PPI saws.