Hello, Let me share with you a trick related with this topic, which I learned last week, when I visited Jaume Bosser, a luthier who lives 1 hour away from Barcelona.
I went to have him build a new fretnut for my viola da mano, because I wanted different distances between the courses, and once there I took profit from his experience, and asked him to change all the frets... Now here is the trick: after fastening the gut tightly around the neck, the luthier pushes the fret downwards using a piece of wood on which he applies force with a hammer. Simple, but effective! In other words, he does not push with the fingernails. Another trick, as a bonus. Prior to making the knot, he applies a 10% solution of 'goma laca' (sorry, I don't know the word in english) to the gut, and so it becomes a little bit sticky (the knot holds better) and at the same is better protected against wear. Saludos from Barcelona, Manolo Laguillo -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
