Better fret crowning files

arie · #1 04-21-2014, 10:18 AM

so this weekend i did a complete fret leveling and a crowning on a montana backpacker. this instrument also needs a new nut and saddle (overall action is very high and the intonation is off) which i got started on and i'm waiting for the strings to come in to finish up. this is for a home instrument and not a paying customer (i don't do this for a living).

the fretboard is flat and i put my new stew mac fret crowning files to the task. i can say that i'm not impressed with the finish left by these things. a lot of tearing and a lot of pinning from the file and a very coarse finish. i understand the the shavings have not very much room to collect in the teeth of a radius file and i was brushing out the chips every couple of strokes, and that the file is in contact with more fret because of the lack of a fretboard radius, and that the file doesn't create the final finished surface of the fret, still i kinda hoped that it would have brought me closer and left me with less cleanup to do then what i got. the guitar was built in romania and the fret material while some grade of nickle for sure, was very, very, soft.

any better alternative files out there?

thanks

fazool · #2 04-21-2014, 10:30 AM

I tried a set of diamond grit fret files and they clogged super fast and were usable exactly once.

I tried a sandpaper belt device and its a little better but it doesn't crown aggressively enough.

I am looking for a good solution but hoping to not invest $100 in a crowning file.

arie · #3 04-21-2014, 10:38 AM

i hear you. in my case i suspect the geometry of these files aren't best suited for such soft and gummy frets. maybe there some are out there that are.

LouieAtienza · #4 04-21-2014, 12:35 PM

I just use a triangle file, of which I ground and rounded off one edge. After masking the fretboard, it allows me to "roll" the crown back in. Cheap enough at the hardware store too.

StewMac makes a "quarter round" file to do each side of the fret, and I use that also. The flat bottom makes it easy, and I can also round the fret ends with it.

redir · #5 04-21-2014, 01:16 PM

I use a triangle file as well. I did just get a Stew Mac Offset Diamond Fret File and it does a good job and works fast but I still like to round off with a triangle file. I've only used it a couple times but it didn't clog and works fast leaving a finish behind that needs to be polished. I would think any file would not leave a perfect finish though.

Alan Carruth · #6 04-21-2014, 01:25 PM

I've been using the same old fret rounding file for about forty years, and get decent results with it. Once in a while, though, like today, I just get out the safe edged three-square file, and then I wonder why I don't use it more often. It leaves a lot better surface, so even though the rounding step takes longer, it will still probably save a little time. If you blacken the fret tops with a marker after leveling but before rounding them off you can file back to leave a thin line, and you know where the peak is, and that you didn't take any of it off.

dkwvt · #7 04-21-2014, 07:19 PM

I use the brass fret cauls from a stew mac fret press with various grit sandpaper held in them. Just a thin strip of paper about 1/2" wide held vertically, the caul locks on the fret and slides back and forth. A piece of masking tape on either side of the fret as a telltale.

arie · #8 04-22-2014, 09:00 AM

thanks for the help guys!

Ned Milburn · #9 04-22-2014, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arie

so this weekend i did a complete fret leveling and a crowning on a montana backpacker. this instrument also needs a new nut and saddle (overall action is very high and the intonation is off) which i got started on and i'm waiting for the strings to come in to finish up. this is for a home instrument and not a paying customer (i don't do this for a living).

the fretboard is flat and i put my new stew mac fret crowning files to the task. i can say that i'm not impressed with the finish left by these things. a lot of tearing and a lot of pinning from the file and a very coarse finish. i understand the the shavings have not very much room to collect in the teeth of a radius file and i was brushing out the chips every couple of strokes, and that the file is in contact with more fret because of the lack of a fretboard radius, and that the file doesn't create the final finished surface of the fret, still i kinda hoped that it would have brought me closer and left me with less cleanup to do then what i got. the guitar was built in romania and the fret material while some grade of nickle for sure, was very, very, soft.

any better alternative files out there?

thanks

I have used concave mill files, concave diamond files, and rounded-corner triangle files. I prefer the triangle file because it gives me more control. The other types can tend to be quicker, however.

Whichever file you choose, there can be loading issues (aka: file getting clogged) and there will be scratch marks and chatter marks that will need to be sanded out afterwards.

With a situation as you describe, you may have to go slower and push lighter in the beginning. And if it is a concave mill file (which seems to be your description), you should "listen" to the feel of each stroke, and allow the filings to drop after ever single push stroke. Your hand should be able to feel when the file is properly engaged and it is cutting consistently, and conversely, you should be able to feel when it is getting clogged.

The concave mill file is perhaps the most difficult of the 3 file types I've mentioned above. I remember having to be very careful not to get chatter marks with the concave mill file I used to use.

arie · #10 04-22-2014, 01:26 PM

certainly true. thank you.

murrmac123 · #11 04-23-2014, 08:52 PM

"pinning" , when filing soft metal, can be greatly reduced or even eliminated by rubbing French chalk on the file prior to filing.

The chalk is obtainable in stick form from welding suppliers ... metal workers use it to mark steel.

I always use it on my 3-square (triangular) file when crowning frets, and never experience any "pinning" or gumming-up.

I have never used the Gurian files (which I assume is what arie is describing) but I would assume that the application of French chalk would assist greatly in improving their performance.

charles Tauber · #12 04-23-2014, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murrmac123

I have never used the Gurian files (which I assume is what arie is describing) but I would assume that the application of French chalk would assist greatly in improving their performance.

I've had a set of the Gurian files for decades - probably not what arie is describing. As for pinning, I don't find them much different than other non-diamond fret files.

The French chalk is a good tip, as is a file card.

fazool · #13 04-24-2014, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murrmac123

"pinning" , when filing soft metal, can be greatly reduced or even eliminated by rubbing French chalk on the file prior to filing.

I searched online and can't find a source for French Chalk (or welder's french chalk etc).

Amazon and eBay both in the UK listed these items. Does it go under a different name in the US?

Jim72 · #14 04-24-2014, 06:31 AM

I think he may be referring to what's called soap stone in the welding community. It is used to mark steel and can be seen while welding. Google welders soap stone and see what shows up. I use it to chalk my files when finishing steel on the lathe or the mill, very nice finish, eliminates tool marks.