Tonedef
So this weekend I dressed my frets, and I had read up all that I could find on the subject.
There were some conflicting things I read, specifically regarding the neck bow. Some articles I read state that the neck should be bowed as normal, whereas others state that the neck must be straight.
It made more sense to me that the neck should be straight, so that's the route I followed, and it worked out perfectly.
I used a long metal straight-edge to make sure the fretboard surface was perfectly straight. I then used a large(ish) flat file (which was double-checked for it's own flatness) and worked the fretboard until it there were no raised parts (I alse used the file to check for frets that fulcrumed, ie see-sawed the file if you tapped it).
A handy trick I figured out was to take a manicurist's sanding block, then lightly ran it lengthwise along the fretboard. This created a bushed pattern on the frets. After this, I'd lay the file lengthwise on the fretboard, but then grasped it at both ends and ran it up and down across the fretboard width. This creates a different surface pattern which allows you to easily see where the file isn't making contact, these are frets that are low. So you just continue working it that way until the file makes even contact with all frets it lays across.
The manicurist's block was also useful for buffing the frets, I finished up with some brasso for a nice mirror gleam.
guidothepimmp
agreed.. neck nice n straight.. then one the board is taped up i like to colour in the fret wire.. that way when i sand i can see exactly where the high and low frets are.. high ones will be silver again after initial sand.. low ones stay coloured in.. then i sand till they colour normally..
then i give carrots with 1500, 2000 grit paper and hit with a buff wheel.. after using my trusty rounding file thingy.. lol
Tonedef
Taping up the board is a royal pain in the arse, though >☹
I reckon I'm gonna market a fret-board taping kit - rolls of tape in three or four different widths, so you don't need to perform the annoying act of cutting tape in half to cover both sides. I'll retire before I'm 40! ?
Tonedef
Singe asked how I went about the radius curve. How DO you do it in the right way?
guidothepimmp
well you can buy sanders for necks from stewmac that come in different radii.
i had a friend make me one from aluminium on his lathe or whatever that bigass machine was called. mine was a 12.
sadly i lost it. but should i ever feel the need to do frets again.. stewmac is you chum..
Tonedef
I just sort of did it by eye... is that still acceptable or is it asking for trouble?
guidothepimmp
lol.. how good is your eye?
by the why.. the correct terminology is a levelling block.. not a sander.. lol
Tonedef
Lol, okay, I see what you mean. I reckon I did a good job and I think it looks spiffy end-on, but now that I think about it I have got no idea what the radius of the fretboard is, so doing it by eye is the only option, really.
Gearhead
I agree that the neck should be straight with the truss rod relaxed. The best way to make sure you've got this right is by using a straightedge in the middle of the neck. It would at this stage also be sensible to check for warp using the same straightedge off center.
I also agree that the leveling blocks with correct radius is the way to go, but for a quick and local dress you can do it by eye and 'feel'. If needs be you can take a radius gauge and check.
What still puzzles me is that some people (read: Andy McGibbon) have it that you should check the straightness of a neck along the line of the strings (ie tapering in from bridge to nut). I reckon this cannot be straight mathematically but I do agree that the string will be fretted along this path.
AlanRatcliffe
The old fashioned way of doing it was with modified flat files or flat sanding blocks, putting the radius in manually - I started out this way myself. Radiused sanding blocks make it a lot easier to be accurate though and make the whole job a lot quicker. I use Stewmac fret protectors when needed too - especially when I was using modified triangular files for recrowning (I usually use a proper crowning file now, unless the frets are really low).
MikeM
On this topic, anyone up here have some fret pullers I could use?
AlanRatcliffe
MikeM wrote
On this topic, anyone up here have some fret pullers I could use?
Just get yourself some carpenter's pincers and grind the front flat. Work well as a fret cutter too.
jeremy-Budgen
Hi all
I`m in Delmas and make mt own radius blocks on my cnc if any one want one i can make them if needed.
Otherwise what i did before cnc was to take a piece of perspex and cut some slots in it and bolt this to a flat board and then place a small piece of wood and place it under the center of the perspex to create a curve in the perspex and then check the radius of the curve and then attached some sand paper to the perspex and then rub a piece of wood over the sand paper until you create a inverted curve on the wood.
hope this helps
Tonedef
jeremy Budgen wrote
Otherwise what i did before cnc was to take a piece of perspex and cut some slots in it and bolt this to a flat board and then place a small piece of wood and place it under the center of the perspex to create a curve in the perspex and then check the radius of the curve and then attached some sand paper to the perspex and then rub a piece of wood over the sand paper until you create a inverted curve on the wood.
That makes perfect sense, thanks for the tip!
You have a CNC rig, eh? Interesting...... I reckon you could make a killing fabricating custom guitar parts.
Norman86
Tonedef
Eight dorrah twenty five? They're mad. Although I guess it's not something you'd use all that often, unless you're a luthier. And luthiers aren't gonna pay 8 dorrah a pop.
Unless it's reusable.
Norman86
Tonedef wrote
Eight dorrah twenty five? They're mad. Although I guess it's not something you'd use all that often, unless you're a luthier. And luthiers aren't gonna pay 8 dorrah a pop.
Unless it's reusable.
Keep in mind, you're paying for the convenience of not having to tape every fret yourself!
Goes on in one piece, comes off in one piece, (i imagine)!
