I love the size and feel of the medium jumbo frets on my Strat and would like to get stainless steel frets to replace the worn set. Haven't seen any official data from Fender but other manufacturers claim a medium jumbo to be a width of .106" and height of .036". The fact is I can't find SS frets at those values anywhere. Any insights into sourcing true Fender spec medium jumbo SS frets?

Thanks

Hi jesse1d,

Are you sure that you want SS frets? Pretty expensive to install/work on, and many places won't mess with SS frets, they are very hard and can be rough on files and tools. There is also tone consideration too. Maybe talk to some luthiers in your area about using SS frets.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Hopefully, someone can answer his question, otherwise his posting will turn into a squabble over stainless steel frets.

I love my stainless frets and wouldn't own a guitar without them.

Now, both sides have been heard from

Okely dokely.

I've just taken my digital calipers to my American Standard Strat, which is spec'd as having medium jumbo frets. This is how they measure:

Width of fret - 2.83mm / 0.1115"
Height - 1.01mm / 0.040"

Obviously, those are the actual dimensions of the frets on a guitar after they've been crowned and dressed in the factory. So the height of the fret wire will have been more before it was installed. Between you and me, that height sounds on the low side compared to some others I've met.

Also, Fender use vague terms such as "medium jumbo" precisely so they can change the spec a bit if they wish from time to time. So my guitar's medium jumbo may not be the same as someone else's. I dimly recall that this question was asked on Mike Eldred's Custom Shop Forum (further down the Forum index page, jesse1d) and I think he named a grade of Dunlop wire he regarded as medium jumbo, but a quick search hasn't found me that thread. Maybe someone else remembers it.

It so happens I have a few yards of stainless steel fret wire and am shortly about to have my first go at working with it. I have some tools specially for the job, because I am informed by those with experience that it ruins files and fret snips rather fast - and I don't want to do that to my best set.

So I'll report back in due course how I get on, for those as are interested...

I believe Forum user Windwalker has done quite a bit of stainless steel fretting. Maybe he'll have something to add here.

Cheers - C

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I remember Mike having some very disparaging things to say about SS frets in a thread there as well.

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jesse1d, have you communicated with the Parker community? Lots of Parker guitars have stainless steel frets!

The values I cited came from the Warmoth site listing medium jumbo frets.

Just thought they would indent and wear much less, take a polish well, and make for smoother, effortless bends. Have heard they are a bear on tools though, and special tools are required.

Thanks for the caliper measurement (gotta get one of those), I see SS frets with those dimensions.

Speaking of Warmoth; don't they offer replacement necks with SS frets?

The thread with Mike E. on SS frets:

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=56007&hilit=stainless+steel

Fender Tech Talk has a good article on frets. Here's what they say:

The main fret wire maker, California-based Dunlop Manufacturing Inc., produces five main fret sizes (Fig. 3). Listed by part number, name (where applicable), crown width and crown height, they are, from smallest to largest:

6230: The smallest fret wire found on older Fender necks (.078" x .043").
6150: Vintage jumbo. Much wider but not as tall as 6230 (.102" x .042").
6105: Modern narrow and tall; currently very popular (.090" x .055").
6100: Jumbo. The largest fret wire available (.110" x .055").
6130: Medium jumbo (.106" x .036").

And here's the article http://www.fender.com/news/index.php?display_article=424

Thanks for that, Highline. I'm interested to note that the medium jumbo frets on my Am Strat (in my previous post) are actually higher than this quoted spec, even after levelling at the factory. Goes to show, when having a guitar refretted we always need to measure the actual frets rather than just rely on model numbers and spec sheets.

I'm also interested to see that the photo on the page you linked to shows a fret with a worrying gap beneath it and the fingerboard. Yikes!

Cheers - C

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I've always considered this bit of info to be erroneous. .036" is a very flat fret wire. My '10 Am Dlx Strat has .104" X .044" and my '10 JA90 Tele has .102" X .043", and both are listed as Medium Jumbo. I've played several of my friends older guitars with very flat frets and they measure right around .035", .036". I personally don't think the Dunlop 6130 is what Fender uses for Medium Jumbo.

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Oh no it won't