Official Luthiers Forum!

We were graced by a visit from Mr Birko today, with the first batches of fret press cauls off the machine. Haven't had a chance to use them yet, but so far they look exactly as I was hoping. Will definitely be pressing a few frets with them this weekend!



And here's a comparison against the set I've been using for years - pretty easy to see the gaps that needed to be filled in.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

It was a really great to see you guys again, especially on a Friday when business was slow so we could relax a bit.

Steve Smith and Greg Seigmund were also there and it was great to put some faces to the names as well.

I'm really eager to hear how the calls work out over the weekend!

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

They look great.
I'm glad you went with the radius marking instead of a sequence number. It will make them easy to integrate with old and future cauls.

I was actually doing a fret dress when Andy delivered our new cauls yesterday so the timing was perfect. Man oh man are these nice too and exactly what we've been wanting for a decade or so now.

Many thanks Andy for making these and mine will be prized and coveted AND making me a bunch of money... hopefully for years to come. I do need you to use a sharpie and sign one for me, everyone who makes me tools always signs and usually writes some insulting note to me on the tools...

They work great! Did a Martin size 0 with them yesterday. Got a perfect fit going up the neck. StewMac caul would have been difficult to work with as the sizes not very close to what was needed. Thanks again Andy and great to finally meet you too!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Looking forward to receiving my set! They look great and like a great value!

I bought a set a long time ago from John, I think- I couldn't be without them!

Those look great-

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

In the pic below is OLFer Steve S. who's in our shop this weekend for a fretting and set-up class. The caul set that Andy is producing was used to refret this 60's Martin yesterday. This guitar does not have a truss rod either. Today although not finalized the current action on this 60's Martin is 2/64th" and 4/64th" at the 12th high e/low e respectively. This action would not normally be possible in terms of being buzz free and playable unless the fret work was nothing short of superb. The guitar is very playable even with super low action!

Steve did the work with the caul set that Andy provides and that's why I am mentioning all of this. Of course the action will likely want to come up for player style, etc. but with great tools and methods this is what can result - excellent results.

The cauls worked great, Andy! Every fret was seated perfectly, making the Jaws 2 fret press much more serviceable. Thanks for bringing them for us to use, this weekend!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker