# Fret Slot Width



## BlameCanada (Apr 28, 2007)

Hi. I've got some dunlop 6150 fretwire with a Tang width of .510mm. Can anyone tell me what size kerf my saw should have? It seems that .023" kerf is very common.

I took a Zona tools saw with a kerf of .023" and brought it down to .020" with a diamond stone thinking that .020" is closer to .510mm. My frets I pressed in and am having trouble getting them to stay down. 

I bent the frets to the same radius as the fingerboard (12") I am now thinking that I should have bent to 10" or 11". The slots are definitly deep enough.

Have I made the slot too tight? It is a quarter sawn maple neck. One piece.

Thanks for any insight you may share.

Steve Mc.


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## claptonfreak (Apr 12, 2008)

Well, .023" isn't exactly a standard for fretwire, it's the standard that stewmac sets. However, Dunlop tends not to follow the standard in this department anyway. Their tang width can vary from .020 to beyond .023 . The best thing to do is know what type of fretwire you are using and get measurements before you cut. I use this chart as a guideline when I'm fretting or refretting, but I always do more research afterwards because I don't know how out of date the information is. 

As for your question about the radius. Overbending, especially on refrets, is an essential step. It ensures that the frets don't just go straight in. When they go in at an angle they have less tendency to pop back out of the fret slot. When I do once piece necks I use 7.25" radius fretwire for a 9.5" radius neck with great results.


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## BlameCanada (Apr 28, 2007)

Thanks for the reply. Big fan of E.C. myself. 

I removed the frets and checked the fingerboard radius. At the edges of the fingerboard it was definitely overradiused. I resanded it and am now happy that it is bang on. Checked the slots with feeler gauges and found some spots that were too wide.

So the board wasn't radiused correctly. The slots are too wide in spots. Fretwire should be radiused a couple inches less than the fingerboard.

I am now going to bend some new frets and crimp a couple of the tangs for some of the widespots.


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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