Acoustic Guitar Construction

If you buy straight fretwire, you need to bend it some way to match the fretboard radius. For years I did it by hand. In supply stores they ask up to 150 bucks for a bender. I found that on the expensive side. So I googled for a bender and found one on aliexpress for 20. Taking a chance for the 20, I ordered one.

After 9 weeks it arrived and found out why it was so cheap: crappy product with a main wheel that was drilled out of centre and the bushings had a large slack. My first bend made all kinds of radii in one pass, but not the right one.

At work we have a lathe, so I took de darn thing apart, turned new bushings and centered the main wheel. After rebuilding it works fine, but to those who have not the acces to rebuilding tools: Think before buying.

"If things are that cheap, it probably has a reason."
Herman

Chinese manufacturers can do high quality work, if contracted to do so with quality control in place. However with quality control absent they sell a lot of products that look right but lack the functionality of the item they are often copying. Good that you disassembled it and made a working product.

For several years I've bought my fret wire from LMI. They ship it as a coil, about 10" in diameter. When I cut a piece off the coil, it has a curve that allows it to be pressed (not hammered) into a fretboard, resulting in a good fit. As ever, it's better to be lucky than smart.

I just received the Bendernator and it is awesome. Reasonably priced too.

https://www.guitarbuilderonline.com/fret-bender.html

That looks excellent. And the price is spot on.
Now I have functional bender, I don't need another , but otherwise I would go for this one.
Herman

That does look like a good tool.
I do much as Hans does - buy the frets in a coil and press them into the slots. I do use a fret barber to make the pressing very easy and not back-bend the fb.
Works for me, but lots of ways to skin that cat.