Making and Installing Copper Wire Frets on a Cigar Box Guitar.

When I build Cigar Box Guitars I like to find interesting and unique ways of building them so they’re not just like everyone else’s CBGs. With this in mind I decided to try using copper wire as the frets. In this blog and the included videos below I’ll share how I made and installed the frets.

Think of this as part two of a two-part blog

In a previous blog I shared the lessons learned from my experiences building five different cigar box guitars using copper wire frets. The blog included a bulleted list of “engineering” details to consider and solve before you even start building the guitar you plan to use copper wire frets on. All of those engineering details were discuss in the video also posted with that blog. In that blog I also shared how I prepared the fret board before installing the frets. I highly recommend you check that blog and video out if you plan to use copper wire frets on one of your next builds.

Before you watch the videos below

Before you watch the videos below, the first showing how to make and the second showing how to install the frets, I’d like to point out a few important and critical considerations related to planning for the installation before you begin.

• Make sure you have the right tools for the job. The quality and ease of installation will depend on using the right tools.
• Wire ends and the tools can be sharp. Be careful not to injure yourself and or cause damage to your fret board or neck as you install.
• Take your time and assume to do a few practice frets until you get it right.   The wire is cheap and it’s easy to cut them off your neck if they do not come out as well as you would like.
• You might notice I filed a grove on each side of the fret board in an attempt to help with rolling the wire over the top edges and around the neck.   I wouldn’t do that next time I build a batch of these.   I think it caused the wire to taper down at the edges of the fret board, and or crown up in the middle. It was also difficult to keep the wires in that groove as I twisted and cinched the wires. The guitars still played fine, but I think it would be better to keep your frets at an even height right across the full width of the fret board.
• I think it’s good to put a slight V-notch using a triangular file at just the outside the edges of the fret slots to help soften the bend as the wire goes over the fretboard and around the neck. Be sure to see my previous blog for how I prepared the fret board and made the fret slots.

Making the copper wire frets

I used 14 Gauge Romex wire for my frets. This is wire an electrician might use for some of the rough electrical wiring in a home. After removing the individual wires from the jacketed wire as it comes out of the roll, I cut it into 8” lengths and used a sharp blade in my razor knife to strip the insulation off the wire. To avoid damaging the wire as you strip it be sure your blade is sharp and keep the cutting edge of the blade as parallel to the wire as possible as you pull the wire into the blade. I think you’ll see what I mean in the video.

Installing the copper wire frets

I did four necks in the same afternoon. Trust me, you might want to wear a pair of gloves during the installation. I didn’t and got three blisters from starting the twisting of the wires with my hands and fingers. As a result I wasn’t able to do bar cords for more almost two weeks!

Be sure to leave a comment below.

If you tried doing your own copper wire frets on one of your cigar box guitar projects let us know how you made out.