Fret Leveling Problem

[shawnm26]

I leveled the frets on my project last night and it didn't go so well. I used a flat edge to see where the low spots were and they were low in the middle of the board. I marked all the frets with a red marker and I had a long flat piece of mahogany It was the total length of the fret board and about 1 1/2 inches wide that I put 120 grit paper on. It seemed to be going fine but the problem I've encountered is my 1-3 fret was pretty much filed all the way down way below being able to play! but their is still space between my middle frets say 5-11 and my frets at the end. I don't have a good camera to post pictures but does anyone have any Idea's at why this happened and any suggestions on how to go about it next time? I know I'll have to refret 1-3 thats the first step and am I maybe better off using the radiusing block I used on the fretboard before the frets with 120 grit paper rather than using the real long piece of mahogany because I'd be in more control over where pressure will lie on the frets? ANd if theres already a tuitorial on this I'm sorry I posted could someone just link me to it I searched but didn't find anything. Thanks alot

[anderekel]

I would say use the radiusing block. With a flat block it's easy to screw up surfaces that are supposed to rounded (i.e. fretboard, frets, etc.)

[shawnm26]

I would say use the radiusing block. With a flat block it's easy to screw up surfaces that are supposed to rounded (i.e. fretboard, frets, etc.)

Thanks Anderkel! As you could imagine the frustration when I noticed how low the frets got. I'm so close to finishing my first project and this happens its annoying I feel bad for my coworkers today.

[guitar2005]

I leveled the frets on my project last night and it didn't go so well. I used a flat edge to see where the low spots were and they were low in the middle of the board. I marked all the frets with a red marker and I had a long flat piece of mahogany It was the total length of the fret board and about 1 1/2 inches wide that I put 120 grit paper on. It seemed to be going fine but the problem I've encountered is my 1-3 fret was pretty much filed all the way down way below being able to play! but their is still space between my middle frets say 5-11 and my frets at the end. I don't have a good camera to post pictures but does anyone have any Idea's at why this happened and any suggestions on how to go about it next time? I know I'll have to refret 1-3 thats the first step and am I maybe better off using the radiusing block I used on the fretboard before the frets with 120 grit paper rather than using the real long piece of mahogany because I'd be in more control over where pressure will lie on the frets? ANd if theres already a tuitorial on this I'm sorry I posted could someone just link me to it I searched but didn't find anything. Thanks alot

sounds to me like either

1) The neck/fretboard isn't flat to start with or

2) The neck isn't properly supported while you're filing away. The pressure from filing might be bending the neck as you work on it.

[al heeley]

As Guitar2005 mentions, how confident are you that the neck is perfectly striaght before starting to fret-level? Did you have the right relief on the truss-rod for a flat true surface or are you trying to level a neck which is slightly bowed?

[fryovanni]

As mentioned you need to be sure the neck is straight and also be sure the frets are seated well. You should not need to remove much fret material to level a fretboard. 120 grit seems way to harsh(400-600 should be more than adequit). It is absolutely critical that the neck is straight and the frets are confirmed to be seated before you even think about sanding frets to level.

Peace,Rich

[shawnm26]

As mentioned you need to be sure the neck is straight and also be sure the frets are seated well. You should not need to remove much fret material to level a fretboard. 120 grit seems way to harsh(400-600 should be more than adequit). It is absolutely critical that the neck is straight and the frets are confirmed to be seated before you even think about sanding frets to level.

Peace,Rich

I'm using Martin Koch book as aguide and he recomends using 120 grit paper to level the frets. I'm not real sure about the neck being bowed. I'm fairley confident it is straight but whats the best way of telling if it's straight or not? obviously a level will sit on the frets and I know those are not level. what do you mean by frets are confirmed to be seated

[spazzyone]

it does sound like the neck is not strait more like it has relief in it

do you have a good strait edge? if so and how long is it?

if you take off the nut and lay the strait edge at about the 17th fret to the 1st fret and check the center

of the neck at about the 8th fret. is there a gap between the straitedge and the frets?

if there is you need to readjust the neck till there is no gap

you can also use feeler gauges between the fingerboard itself and the strait edge (my preferd method)

to check to make sure its dead flat when adjusting the truss rod

but if your first couple of frets are that low you may have to pull them and put in new ones

before you can level them properly

you should also get Dan Earlwine's Guitar player repair guide (great fretting/dressing info)

or maybe the video's from Stew Mac (highly recomened)

and for anyone interested in the Stew Mac vids check out this link

http://technicalvideorental.com/index.php?...001f076cfa342c9

[shawnm26]

it does sound like the neck is not strait more like it has relief in it

do you have a good strait edge? if so and how long is it?

if you take off the nut and lay the strait edge at about the 17th fret to the 1st fret and check the center

of the neck at about the 8th fret. is there a gap between the straitedge and the frets?

if there is you need to readjust the neck till there is no gap

you can also use feeler gauges between the fingerboard itself and the strait edge (my preferd method)

to check to make sure its dead flat when adjusting the truss rod

but if your first couple of frets are that low you may have to pull them and put in new ones

before you can level them properly

you should also get Dan Earlwine's Guitar player repair guide (great fretting/dressing info)

or maybe the video's from Stew Mac (highly recomened)

and for anyone interested in the Stew Mac vids check out this link

http://technicalvideorental.com/index.php?...001f076cfa342c9

I have a real nice level well my Dad does and it's longer then my fretboard. Thanks for all the advice guys! This being my first project I've learned alot through the whole process and I'm just dying to finish this project up so I can start a new one so when I encountered this problem last night I was pissed just felt lost but you guys have helped put me on the straight path thanks alot.

[Southpa]

I used a flat edge to see where the low spots were and they were low in the middle of the board.

Right after that is where you made your mistake. The overall plane of the fretboard must be relatively flat before hitting it with the "leveller". Sure a few frets might be a tad higher or lower than others. Thats the reason for levelling. But you should have adjusted the truss rod until that gap in the middle was gone. Whatever is used to level the frets must be rigid and flat as well. I prefer a long, medium bastard file or a long sharpening stone, one side coarse the other side fine.

Edited October 11, 2006 by Southpa

[fryovanni]

As mentioned you need to be sure the neck is straight and also be sure the frets are seated well. You should not need to remove much fret material to level a fretboard. 120 grit seems way to harsh(400-600 should be more than adequit). It is absolutely critical that the neck is straight and the frets are confirmed to be seated before you even think about sanding frets to level.

Peace,Rich

I'm using Martin Koch book as aguide and he recomends using 120 grit paper to level the frets. I'm not real sure about the neck being bowed. I'm fairley confident it is straight but whats the best way of telling if it's straight or not? obviously a level will sit on the frets and I know those are not level. what do you mean by frets are confirmed to be seated

You can use 120. I just don't go that strong with sandpaper(I do gentally use a flat file if needed, but it removes material very fast). Like I said you should not have to remove much material if the board is straight and the frets are seated. It is very easy to take more than is needed until you have a feel for leveling(a less agressive method may allow you to have more control till you get a feel for it). When you did this- "It seemed to be going fine but the problem I've encountered is my 1-3 fret was pretty much filed all the way down way below being able to play!", and went that far without recognizing the problem. That tells me you need to slow it down. I can tell you I took WAY too much material off my very first fret job, and I used a very aggressive method without knowing how to control or monitor progress.

You can take a straight edge and slot it around the frets if you want to see how the neck is aligned without fret interference. That low spot in the middle of the neck should be a clue that you need to straighten the neck.

Confirming that the frets are seated is just that(pressed all the way down). Making sure they have not raised up or lifted a bit.

You should keep in mind that with brand new frets that are seated properly on a true fretboard should not hardly need any leveling. A neck that needs a quick tune up was leveled at one point and now you are dealing with fret wear(not generally that much either). If you see a lot of material needing to be removed. Check for other issues first. Just keep thinking the frets should be pretty darn close to begin with unless you have a problem with something else (and sanding frets won't cure other issues).

Peace,Rich