Well, did I say the beryllium copper frets were hard? The BC frets are VERY hard. Could hardly make a mark on them with standard nippers when I tried to clip off the ends. So I ordered up this:
Carbide jawed clippers with a compound action for more leverage. Supposed to cut 14 gauge hard metal, and the frets are a bit thinner than that. This should do the trick, right?
Wrong. Did make deeper marks, but not near enough leverage to clip off the fret ends. I tried making extensions on the handles for more leverage, but did not work either.
This is what finally did work:
And just barely. Not sure how much these cutters can stand.
One side done, and one left:
This batch of frets is obviously VERY hard. Much more than needed. So, I will change the heat treating schedule. Even at a tad softer, these should be "lifetime" frets....dress 'em once and forget it
Still waiting for my diamond crowning files and thinking about bending sides tomorrow.
Stay tuned,
G
