Your fret leveling method.

[mustache79]

I'd like to hear it if you don't mind sharing. Things like: how you personally set a neck up, or "prep" an neck for leveling, all they way to how you polish frets. This would be on a guitar presuming it does not need any frets replaced.

[Jim.S]

Just quickly. I press the frets in and file the ends flush as well as chamfer. Wipe across the frets with a DMT extra fine till all frets get touched. Tape the whole fret board off. Re-crown two or three frets (that's all I usually need to touch). Dress the ends (one of those Stewy Mac little files with the smooth round edge). Go over them with 1500 wet and dry paper (a new bit for each fret). Then a 2000 grit and last polish with a rag and "Autosol" metal polish. Remove the tape, voila.

Jim

[simply rod]

1. Remove strings
2. Set to zero relief using plastic yardstick that I've notched using a soldering iron
3. Solor each fret with a marker
4. Sand with homemade sanding bar (180 grit) until no marker is showing
5. Crown with fret file
6. No polishing
7. Restring
8. Reset relief

[clintj]

I just bought Dan Erlewine's book, and have been reviewing his methods for future work. I'm also enjoying reading the different approaches used here. For a Strat clone I did a level and crown on, I taped off the fretboard as it was finished maple, used a marker on the frets, and leveled with a 6" single cut file and did a final pass on a ground cast iron table with sandpaper. Crowning was done with a triangle file, then I sanded with wet/dry papers up to 2000 grit then steel wooled to polish. Turned out very well; I never thought I could have gotten such a low action on that cheap guitar.

[charles Tauber]

Here's an overview of what I do. (Note, the nut does not need to be removed to dress the frets. I removed it because part of the work being done on the guitar was to replace both nut and saddle.) The levelling is done with a file: the diamond stone and water stone (dry) are initial stages of polishing and provide a shiny flat surface as a reference to which to work - rather than colored markers.

As far as "prep" work goes, I do a visual inspection to verify that all of the frets are fully seated and that there are no humps or bumps along the length of the fingerboard. If those need to be addressed, I'll address them prior to fret levelling. I don't alter the the truss rod setting. Theory may suggest doing so, but I've never found it necessary - value added - in practice. Others' may have a different experience, different approach.

Theoretically, I like the idea of levelling the frets at full tension, but have not found any practical need to do so, having been satisfied with the result obtained from the method shown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKXvjPGHR0I

[mustache79]

Lots of different methods here!! It seem everyone has their own approach. Mine (so far) seems like a blend of everything I've seen here.

Charles, I'm curious. From my understanding you would want fret tops to be as flat as possible before leveling. I don't see how this can be done if you don't adjust the truss rod prior to leveling can you explain?

Charles, my nut slotting method looks a lot like yours, with the feeler gauges and similar slotting files. Also I go through a series of different grit sandpaper when polishing. I've been using the 3M flexible paper, grits 400-1200.

Being relatively new to this I adopted the notched straightedge approach on my last fret level. My first few I used a straightedge on the fret tops to straighten the neck prior to leveling. Now I'm checking the straightness of the neck and fret tops to determine how I adjust the neck prior to leveling.

Rod, I too made a notched straightedge. Mine came from a drafting square I cut to 18". I leveled it on my sanding beam and filed in the notches. I could have probably saved some time using an iron...

[mustache79]

Lovely playing at the end of that video Charles.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by mustache79

From my understanding you would want fret tops to be as flat as possible before leveling. I don't see how this can be done if you don't adjust the truss rod prior to leveling can you explain?

My understanding as well. However, there's theory and there's practice. In practice, I've been happy these past 30 or so years - as have my customers - with not "straightening" the neck prior to fret levelling. If I were to hazard a guess, it would be that the curve is so slight as to not significantly alter the level-ness of the frets once re-tensioned. One could argue that it introduces a very slight back-bow in the fret heights once the strings are re-tensioned, requiring some very minor less truss rod tension. I've never really tried to figure it out: it just seems to work.

On the other hand, some folks do fret levelling at full string tension for the very reason that "it matters".

I can't argue with what works. The definition of what works varies from one person to the next.

I've been using the 3M flexible paper, grits 400-1200.

I tried - and probably failed - to show that I'm using 320, 400 and 600 sandpaper prior to 0000 steel wool. It leaves a nice satin finish on the frets (and fingerboard).

Being relatively new to this I adopted the notched straightedge approach on my last fret level.

I've never really understood the need for a notched straightedge. Again, if it works for you - and others - can't argue with success.

Originally Posted by mustache79

Lovely playing at the end of that video Charles.

Thanks, but I'm slightly embarrassed by the quality of the playing: but to pick a guitar up for a minute or two once in a blue moon, I haven't played in over a decade. It shows.

[mustache79]

Well Charles, I thought the playing was pretty good. Do you have any video's on fret removal and installation? This would be my next step. Two of my concerns at the moment are fingerboard chip out, and dealing with binding.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by mustache79

Do you have any video's on fret removal and installation? This would be my next step. Two of my concerns at the moment are fingerboard chip out, and dealing with binding.

Sorry, I don't have any video on fret removal or installation.

[nate clark]

Here's my LC&P routine (it's an electric but this approach also works for most acoustics with adjustable truss rods):

http://fingerlakesguitarrepair.com/f...ts-and-set-up/