It’s only been in the last few years that I have begun to recognize the long-term cost of current expenses. That thought alone is worthy of its own blog post and deeper consideration, but in this context it leads to trying to save a few bucks while making my first guitar.
Guitars are not cheap to buy and even more expensive to make, unless you are planning on making many.
Regardless, inevitably you are likely to find yourself with the need to remove a fret. Either for the purpose of restoring an old guitar or like in my case due to inexperience installing frets. Of course, when the need arose for me, it was a Friday evening. With no guitar tool suppliers within driving distance to remove Frets, I had two choices… wait 5-7 days, spend another $28 + $8.50 in shipping from Stewmac (I figured they had enough of my money already!) or plan B.
Plan B – Buy a pair of 10″ Concreter’s Nippers at Lowe’s. They came with a double sided bevel. I ground down the outer face until the outer bevel was removed. Then I rounded the outer face to provide a smooth surface to leverage the frets once gripped. Cost – $15.98 and 5 minutes with the grinder.
