Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi folks, I am wondering if any of you have tried the Husky 7" End Nippers with Hammer Claw. I have ground down a few off brand nippers in the past, but still seem to get indents in the blades. Just wondering if these are any good, or what are your favorites. They can get pricey and that is why I look for cheaper alternatives. The Husky run about $14+.
Thanks!

Haven't tried those, but it looks like you could also use it for hammering off nuts. Why do you need to grind it?

I have these two. The $20 one on the left gets dented like crazy, but the cheap Chinese one from the Mom and Pop shop is holding up quite well.

Pat

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Pat

If you grind off the outside bevel you can cut the fret off closer to the board. That does weaken the edge, but it is usually not a problem if you are cutting nickel silver fret wire.

I prefer a tool with some finesse, rather than a multi-tool that is heavy and unwieldy.

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

I got a pair of those carbide indexable insert end nippers from LMI years ago when they had them. I've heard mixed reports from others, but mine have been great and don't even nick with stainless steel wire.

Dave

I no longer grind the face of nippers flush because I have found that it's better to actually leave a bit behind and file it off. On a macroscopic level when you cut a fret flush it leaves it distorted and twisted end you can see that when you file back to wood. If you leave just a little bit behind then that twisted distorted end gets filed off and you are left with a perfect T-fret end.

Bonus to not grinding flush is the nippers last longer. It does require more file work but I like the trade off.

I grind the end (knipex end cutters) but use a thin FB protector over the fret end to nip off the excess. Protects the finish and leaves a few thou projecting to file off.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I found a happy middle ground by accident. I ground most of the nipper off but left about 1/32". This accomplishes the same thing stated by Jeff above but removes most of the overhang. The distortion of the nipper is fully removed by the time my bevel is finished.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Jescar/Summit tools. https://www.jescarguitar.com/shop/summit-straight-overhang-fret-end-cutter/

I still use a set of Channel Lock end nippers to rough frets to length but the Summit tool is really nice. I'd say two guitars and it's paid for itself in time saved finishing fret ends.

Straight from the nippers, here is what you get, the tool almost starts to draw down the fret into a round end. These are stainless steel frets also.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Wow nice! How does it do cutting the tang also? (Edited)

Pat

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Pat

No Pat, just the crown. I have only had them for my last 3 fingerboards and they were all bound. Even on the rare instrument that I don't bind the board I usually nip back the tang a bit (one less thing to deal with or get sharp down the road) then pack with sawdust from the fingerboard wood, a drop of CA, repeat. And that tang slot pretty much goes invisible.

But that's a good point I hadn't even considered. So out to the shop, a quick saw cut in a piece of hard maple flooring I use for fret testing, tapped in a piece of fret wire, and here is the result. Never even felt the tang and the cut looks very clean as well. Disregard the condition of the maple, I didn't do anything to clean it up and this is just a down and dirty demo to show the quality of the cut fret. The fret cutter gets extremely close to the FB and I try to leave a couple thou for filing flush.



Happy New Year!

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Wow, looks good! I can see what you mean by saving time. I typically spend a bunch of time cleaning up those ends.

I think I see a pair of those in my near future!

Pat

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Pat

Thanks for the tip--I got a pair via UPS this afternoon, and I have to say that I wish I had seen these a long time ago! Simply fantastic.

Dave

Won't work on acoustics above the soundboard I reckon though...

Can't imagine it would, except I fret before attaching the neck so It works fine there.

Dave

They have one for over the body work too.

https://www.jescarguitar.com/shop/summit-special-fret-cutter-with-angled-handle/

Brian

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Starrett Piano Wire Cutters, used on the bay, ground on the FACE to meet the “top” of the cutting bit.

Could buy it brand new, but they’re a little pricey. I have a 5” and 7”, get the 7, be sure all the parts including the spring and the stop are there.

I was assuming to get that clean cut he was cutting vertically.

Pat

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Pat