Alexander,
Thanks for enlightening me(us) about the surgical bone saw (sounds so
19th century)- I would never have thought of it on my own; what better
tool for cutting out frets- actual frets, not just shims- to glue on the
lute beyond the gut frets; I would rather do the next ones myself,
rather than pay a luthier; and what could be better for bone frets? I
already own two hemostats, and still have some ancient surgical gut from
the beginning of my lute adventure.
So what other surgical tools- ancient & modern- could be useful to lute
players & amateur luthiers? (I can see a whole discussion evolving about
historic medical re-enactments. hopefully with lute accompaniment!)
Dan
On 2/10/2014 1:27 AM, alexander wrote:
If someone decides to saw off some tiny pieces of wood, for whatever purpose,
and do it with a precision,
A surgical bone saw is the best and quickest tool. Practically no wood wasted,
too. That was the question.
alexander r.
I find fret shims sometimes useful on my archlute and theorbo, where I don't
always get a new fret tight enough before that very short slide up to position.
Instead of throwing that new fret out I will shim with wood or rolled thick
paper. If older frets become loose but are still serviceable, I may also shim.
But new frets make the instruments sound their best.
-- R
"I could whittle with a utility knife, but
that would be wasteful and time consuming."
"I find that a surgical saw, something like what one can find even on
Amazon (Satterlee Bone Saw 13") is an ideal tool. A very thin blade with sharp
teeth. Just make sure you do not cut yourself in the process... It is actually ideal for
many uses with wood, bone and plastics."
Guys,
Why would either of you go to all that bother, rather than merely replacing the
fret? Of course, an emergency situation (5 minutes before show time, during
rehearsal, or stuck out somewhere beyond easy reach of the postal service & no
spare gut) is another story.
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