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Fret Leveling Question
I'm considering give it a go. I've watched a bunch of videos and read lots of informed text, but I've not seen an answer to something that's bugging me.
The tech will remove the strings and straighten the neck, then use the fret rocker, usually in 3 places on the fret (ends and middle), to find the "high" part(s) of each fret. So far, so good, but, if you check a following fret using the high part of a previous high fret as the reference point, don't you necessarily get an inaccurate result as to the health of the following fret? Also, I understand you check 3 frets starting at either end, find your high spot(s) on the 2d fret from the end, then move down 1 fret, but doesn't that method assume your starting fret was perfectly level? Or doesn't it matter if your start point is off because you're going to make the rest level relative to each other? If so, isn't that first fret likely to have a buzz if it's left high? In other words, I suppose, how do you rocker-test the starting/ending frets? |
#2
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By fret leveling, do you mean leveling a few individual problem frets or do you mean leveling all the frets? A fret rocker can be used for identifying specific problem frets but it wouldn't be used when leveling the entire set of frets in one go.
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#3
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But even if you're checking a few, it would seem you wouldn't really know which fret was high if one of your starting frets, itself, was high (eg, if the fret at the nut was high, then the 2d fret would not cause a rocking between the 1st and 3d frets, so you'd think the 2d fret was OK, but is it, really, if that conclusion was based on its relationship to the 1st fret, which was high relative to the rest?). I think I can see that if you're doing a full level, you'd just mark them all and take them down until the mark disappears from the last one, then re-crown, but this spot-marking thing to identify high spots is what has me confused. To answer your question, I've got some lower-fret buzzing with low action, so would like to get away with spot-leveling, but I understand that a full level is preferred if there are "more than a few" frets in need of work. Plus, there's a concern that once you start leveling, you have to chase the buzz up the fretboard, so just do it all at once in the first place. Thanks for any info. |
#4
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You may have already considered this, but before resorting to hunting down and filing individual frets to try to get rid of string buzz, you want to be sure the neck relief is set correctly. If the neck doesn't have a small amount of forward bow, you can get string buzz at low action settings.
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#6
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There are numerous methods that people use in working frets. I don't own a notched straight edge and don't have a need for one. I recently, after nearly 40 years of guitar work, acquired a fret rocker. I don't really have a need for it either.
I check for frets being level in the as-played condition: strung up with the chosen amount of neck relief and action at nut and saddle. I play each note, one at a time, for the entire range of the fingerboard. Any note that buzzes indicates, usually, that that fret is low or the next one high. (in some cases it will be a higher fret, but usually, the next fret.) I also sight down the neck from nut towards bridge to look for irregularities in fingerboard and fret heights, particularly at the ends. In many cases, a high fret needs only to be re-seated - I use a hammer with or without a piece of 3/8" maple dowel. If it seats and stays seated, it might not require levelling. If there are problem areas that can be fixed by levelling a region of frets, I'll level those with a sharpening stone and/or file. It is a fairly simply process that doesn't need to be made more complex than it is. In the video you posted, with that many "high" frets, per the rocker, I'd certainly inspect each of the "high" frets to ensure it is fully seated and seated along its entire length. I'd start there, prior to levelling any frets. |
#7
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Close to the same as Mr. Tauber, only I use an oak dowel.
__________________
Rodger Knox, PE 1917 Martin 0-28 1956 Gibson J-50 et al |
#8
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A low fret can also cause a fret rocker to rock and can be a cause of string buzz. To distinguish rocking caused by a high fret from a low fret, you have move the fret rocker to frets above and below the questionable fret where you are seeing rocking to figure out which it is. This assumes that the frets above and below the questionable fret are level. If they are not, the problem is probably bigger than can be solved by filing one fret. That's the sort of scenario where you could end up chasing the buzz to different frets after filing one fret.
As you mentioned, a fret that's high may be high on only a portion of its length. If it's high at one end it could be that the end has lifted a bit out of its slot. In that case you may be able to fix that without filing the fret by supporting the neck on a neck rest, pressing the fret end down hard with a small wood block and keep holding it down while wicking thin CA glue into the slot and while the glue sets to keep the fret end down. This method has worked for me in such cases. |
#9
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Correcting Frets - you check for problems strung to tension, but do you then work around the tensioned string to work on the fret so as to maintain that tension? Or something else? If you remove or loosen the string(s) for the correction, how do you test for "enough"? Seating - Good point - I would do that first, before a rocker test. |
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__________________
Rodger Knox, PE 1917 Martin 0-28 1956 Gibson J-50 et al |
#12
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I have seen this whole "press the fret ends down and wick superglue in " so many times and have refrained from commenting ... but the fact is that if the fret ends are lifting, then the fret wasn't properly radiused in the first place .
Sure , you can squeeze it down, wick in the glue, and take the customer's money, but a year down the line that fret end will start to raise again. What you need to do is to remove the existing fret and replace with a properly radiused fret which is radiused slightly less than the fretboard radius, and which will therefore not rise at the ends once installed. |
#13
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Fact is, the superglue method does work. I have a guitar I did this on 6 years ago and it's fine today. Since the OP appears to be delving into doing his own repair work on his own guitar, it's perfectly legitimate for him to try the method if it fits his circumstances and learn from it, whether it lasts only a year or last 6 or more years. |
#14
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Remove strings and carry out fret level to remove any worn divots / humps etc. String guitar up and carry out setup, note shape of fretboard and neck will now change, the amount is dependant on the thickness of the neck, the gauge of the strings,whether it was flat sawn to quarter sawn, whether its mahogany or maple, the size of the truss rod, frets being compression fitted or not, these all contribute to how a neck changes its shape and geometry under tension. Test play, any noted buzzes, check those areas with a fret rocker, identify the high spots that are causing the issue, de-string and lower those areas only As far as not gluing frets down, these are comments I see from people who do not know, gluing frets down is perfectly fine and will last the lifetime of the guitar or until it needs refretting again Steve
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Cole Clark Fat Lady Gretsch Electromatic Martin CEO7 Maton Messiah Taylor 814CE |
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