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Thank you for the headstart. I will likely go this route, even if I hate fretting the actual guitar. For the past few years I have built separate, elevated necks, fretted with a press. Hamerring on a guitar feels so barbaric in comparison ))

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Build log

I never liked hammering on a guitar it does seem abusive. When we use the StewMac reamer to ream out the end pin hole for a pick-up at some point it squeals and screams and because it's an acoustic amplifier it's unbearably loud too like a giant animal being killed... So I always stuff a towel in the sound hole before I ream.

Anyway we've been able to come up with some pretty clever ways to use the Jaws II fret press tool everywhere on a steel string guitar even over the body frets. So we don't hammer at all except maybe to replace the fret we removed for a new reset and then we always do a fret dress too after a neck reset.

There is hammering and there is tapping I find the best hammer is a cobblers chasing hammer. Not a framers hammer

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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

I have been very happy with the 4 i have built so far

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I use a cobblers hammer too and I've bought a few dedicated dead blow fretting hammers and always go back to the cobblers. My trick for fretting over the body is to cut those slots a hair wider and glue them in with just light blows of the hammer while holding a piece of steel on and under the top through the sound hole to take some of the shock. So far so good.

cobbler hammer...that sounds like an interesting addition to the collection. I did try a number of small steel hammers I already had. Nice feel but even with light taps, frets get marred. My goal was always to make a perfect wood job in advance, insert the frets perfectly, thus having the least amount of dressing to do. In this regard the special fretting hammers are gentler, but the hammering feel is yuck. Best for me, before discovering pressing, was a hammer I made from lead. Accidentally found a chunk in the old garage junk box, light bulb, cut it in hammer shape, fixed a handle and voila. From time to time I file the fret indentations off. Now I use a 1 ton press with a Stewmac head and it is pretty much Space age tech in comparison ) Fortunately it also works on the first 8 frets or so on a traditionally built 12 fret too.

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Build log

I use to do like Jeff and cut the slots over the body wider but have switched to a fret barber which really works well. You can take a bit off the barb until you get the right fit. I made my own version of the barber with broken pieces off a single cut file.

fret tangs on the extension I use .0185 to .0195
I also use the Fret Buck
this absorbs the taps.

The reason I use it is I prefer to prep the fret board on the guitar after I set the neck This allows me to get
the best possible fret plane for that particular guitar.

We all have our own tricks and that is why we all have differing opinions after all its about the end result

Hesh may do some things differently than I , and this is good , there are always other ways to do things.

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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