[martinedwards]

Don't worry about the fretting tools being expensive.....

a plastic faced hammer (from a GOOD tool store......maybe even B&Q!) will knock the frets in without risking denting them. a small block of wood would do the job too...... but a regular metal faced hammer will do the job fine and it's what most folks who hammer them in use.

to level the tops, go through ALL the flat files in B&Q. many will a SLIGHT curve to 'em. choose the flattest and use it to scuff off the tops of all the frets. once ALL of them have been roughened at the tip of the crown you know that you've got down to any low ones.

then a long (no less than 8") sanding block and fine wet & dry sand paper. buff the tops shiny and get rid of the file marks. the long block stops you filing one fret lower than the others and messing up all that good file work.

Now you SHOULD recrown the frets using a u shaped file. search ebay for a crowning file... about £30 inc post. BUT you can get away without it. buff them along the fret with 0000 grade steel wool and it'll DO. it's BETTER to recrown them but it'll DO.

a recrowning file wouldn't be a bad thing to have anyway, one level of worn frets without replacing them and you've saved the cost of it.