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So What Are Your Fret Leveling/dressing Tools Of Choise Then?


costo

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Flat mill (bastard) file for levelling and bevelling, standard StewMac fret crowning file for crowning, and a triangular file for doing the fret ends.

Same here. Plus a permant marker to colour in the frets at each stage so i know what i have done - especially as i get blinder by the week and find it harder to see file marks.

I have tried the quarter-round and 3-in-1 crowning file and didnt like them - i found it easier to re-crown with a triangle file. I recently brought a double-edged crowning file and find it much easier to use, although i want to try a diamond one soon.

I finish the ends with 200-800 wet and dry paper (dry), then i go over everything with micromesh to 12000 grit. Then i metal polish.

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Do you keep a dedicated one, or use the same one you sharpen stuff on?

Were they horrifically spendy? All the really nice quality sharpening diamonds I've seen have been a bit to pricey for my tatses...

It is dedicated(well sometimes I attach sandpaper to the back as a block, but the diamond side is just for frets). I can't remember the price, but seems like it was under $50.

Peace,Rich

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I've mainly used glass with abrasive for almost 20 years. Some of you younger guys might be surprised to know that Stew-Mac actually used to sell glass/MDF fret/fret-board leveling "planes" (actually made by Luthier Ken Donnell). I used the 13" long one on fret-jobs for many years. The glass on that sucker is more flat than the Stew-Mac metal beam I bought much later. Don't want to rehash about the DIY ones I make now, but not long ago, I saw that luthier Charles Fox uses glass, although he doesn't even have the glass glued onto anything (except the sandpaper).

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Features/C...ews/cfox127.jpg

I wonder how thick that glass is. If it's 1/4" thick, I might try it like he does, because I have a lot of 1/4" thick flat glass.

Some of the fret-wire you can get these days is made so well, that if you level the board right, get all your frets seated right, you can get a fret-job that's as good as a new Warmoth neck's fret-job.

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  • 2 months later...

Jungleboy,

I would go to a real hardware store one of the oldest in town and search through all of the mill-smooth- bastard files they have. They usually have them in a box individually wrapped in brown waxed paper. The big box home improvement stores will not let you open the packages. I prefer an 8 inch. I pick each one up and sight down both faces looking for the flattest I can find. They are not all created equal. Then I put the file in a vise after scoring a cut where the tang (Pointy part) joins the file body with a Dremel sizz wheel. Then smack it with a hammer and it will break off cleanly. (Wear eye protection). Then I stone grind the end smooth. I find an 8 inch long scrap of flat suitable wood, usually Maple and again look for the crown side of the file before using two part epoxy to glue the file, crown side up to the piece of wood. Then I belt sand the handle flush to the edges of the file. I also grind a slight bevel on the leading tip of the file. You can get art-sey/fart-sey and grind finger grip dimples into the sides with one on top for your index finger and coat the wood with lacquer if you're into that kind of thing.

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Jungleboy,

I would go to a real hardware store one of the oldest in town and search through all of the mill-smooth- bastard files they have. They usually have them in a box individually wrapped in brown waxed paper. The big box home improvement stores will not let you open the packages. I prefer an 8 inch. I pick each one up and sight down both faces looking for the flattest I can find. They are not all created equal. Then I put the file in a vise after scoring a cut where the tang (Pointy part) joins the file body with a Dremel sizz wheel. Then smack it with a hammer and it will break off cleanly. (Wear eye protection). Then I stone grind the end smooth. I find an 8 inch long scrap of flat suitable wood, usually Maple and again look for the crown side of the file before using two part epoxy to glue the file, crown side up to the piece of wood. Then I belt sand the handle flush to the edges of the file. I also grind a slight bevel on the leading tip of the file. You can get art-sey/fart-sey and grind finger grip dimples into the sides with one on top for your index finger and coat the wood with lacquer if you're into that kind of thing.

WOW!!!

THANK YOU MAN!!

I will take a couple hours to undestand it (i am brazilian), but no problem.

Once again! Thanks!

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WOW!!!

THANK YOU MAN!!

I will take a couple hours to undestand it (i am brazilian), but no problem.

Once again! Thanks!

Jungleboy, sorry I don't speak Portuguese. I have an uncle who lived in Sao Paulo and he spoke fluent Portuguese if he was still alive I could ask him to translate.

Good Luck!!!

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WOW!!!

THANK YOU MAN!!

I will take a couple hours to undestand it (i am brazilian), but no problem.

Once again! Thanks!

Jungleboy, sorry I don't speak Portuguese. I have an uncle who lived in Sao Paulo and he spoke fluent Portuguese if he was still alive I could ask him to translate.

Good Luck!!!

Oh, dont worry about it!

I am very thanks, it is just a question of time.

I am on my work so I dont have time right now!

I didnt think about glue it with epoxi glue! Very good idea, does it hold well?

But once again, Thank you!

Dont worry about it!

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