Shop Made Fretwire Benders

[PSmill]

Hi, Does anyone have photos, plans etc. for shop made fretwork benders? Thank you. P

[Cbstark46143]

If you’re looking for a radius bender, it doesn’t have to be much more than utilitarian.
Mine was cheap to make and works fine.
The wooden wheels have a groove in the edge for the fret wire to follow and although it is concealed by the washer, the top wheel is adjustable vertically.
There are no plans, but if it helps, my 2 stationary wheels are 2 1/8” apart center to center.
The small block of wood is my super low tech crank.

[PSmill]

Great thanks!

[BEJ]

One of the few tools I have bought for this operation, got one off E Bay for not much more than buying parts and putting it together. Considering the time and hassle of building it seemed like a good investment.

[PSmill]

I made this one with 3 bearings I got at the auto supply for about $10, the upper one servers to hold the wood cog in place, it has a regular kerf cut into it. Seems to work! I may add a machine bolt to the top to allow precise raising/lowering of the middle bearing.

[MaineGeezer]

I've made a couple. As others have said, they can be pretty crude and still work. I think the important details are a well-fitting groove for the tang in the center rolller and lined-up grooves in the other rollers to generally match the fretwire crown so the wire tracks straight when it goes through.

[Diane Kauffmds]

You did a nice job.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I have never seen a need for a fret bender. The wire I buy from LMI comes in a loose coil, and has just the right amount of curve to it. The wire I've bought that is straight, like what Stewmac sells I just run it over a large dowel to put some slight curve in it, and Bob's your uncle!