FRETWIRE for Guitar Builders
HOME ORDER ONLINE PRODUCTS REGISTER CONTACT US Fretwire  Click on Part ID to add to shopping cart   PART No. Description Price Ea.    FWSA Fretwire, standard acoustic, 25' 18% nickel-silver $29.50  FWWT Fretwire, tall and wide, 25' 18% nickel-silver $42.50  FWSS Fretwire, stainless steel, standard, 25' $42.50  FWSST Fretwire, stainless steel, large, 25' $59.50       A B C D E F mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch FWSA 2.38 0.094 2.03 0.08 0.79 0.031 0.483  0.019 0.94 0.037 1.44 0.057 mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch FWWT 2.87 0.113 2.616 0.104 0.94 0.037 0.533 0.021 1.168 0.047 1.702 0.067 mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch FWSS 2.38 0.094 2.03 0.08 0.79 0.031 0.483  0.019 0.94 0.037 1.44 0.057 mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch mm Inch FWSST 2.87 0.113 2.616 0.104 0.94 0.037 0.533 0.021 1.168 0.047 1.702 0.067 Our fretwire is now made in Germany.  Tight tolerances in all respects, it's one of the best wires on the market.  The standard wires are of 18% nickel-sliver, and we offer the same profiles in stainless steel, for the latest in fashion. STAINLESS STEEL FRETWIRE A few builders have asked us about stainless steel fretwire, and Stephen Marchione went as far as to champion it and was kind enough to test out our sample shipment.  He writes: This Stainless Steel fretwire is a vast improvement over traditional Nickel Silver wire if you are a builder who is willing and able to make a fretboard perfect prior to fret installation.  Necks I have fretted with it have a great on-the-fret-string feel; strings bend well and the polish of the wire appears to maintain indefinitely. As it is much harder it should also last much longer. If you are the kind of builder who measures planed relief in thousandths, invests in top notch straight edges and polishes your fingerboard prior to installation, you will love this stuff! The wire, however, is more challenging to work with. The fingerboard must be trued exactly as you would like the surface of the frets to be as this wire's hardness won't allow you to level out imperfections off of the top of the frets. Nor would you want to reshape a fret profile with a file. You can, but you won't enjoy it. You must be very precise in cutting your fret slots as the wire has more of a tendency to want to spring up on the edges as you hammer it in. Fret pressing and/or rigid clamping cauls with one drop of cyanoacrylate on each fret end are effective solutions.  The beauty of the wire though, is that if you make everything gorgeous the first time around, it can stay that way a lot longer and my clients have specifically remarked how much they like the way the frets feel. Stephen Marchione, http://www.marchione.com   A further comment from Frank Ford: "Stainless fretwire is great for bending your notes; the frets don't grab the strings and it feels like you're playing on ice." Stephen's Mark Whitfield, 17" archtop model   Address General Information Sales/support Telephone: 707-431-3760 POB 217, 101 C Grant Avenue, Healdsburg, Ca. 95448 USA [email protected] [email protected] Fax: 707-431-3762   Soundboards Backs & Sides Fingerboards Neck Blanks Kerfing Bracewood Bridgeblanks Headplates Binding Laminates Purfling Fretwire Plans  Truss rods Bone/Shell Bridge & End pins Rosettes/Veneers