Levelling A Fretboard

[sexybeast]

I'm rehabbing the Univox Les Paul copy I got from yahilltrade, folks and I need a little advice.

I pulled the frets and am ready to re-level the fretboard. I sanded it a bit and got out some of the pits, but then stopped because I realized I didn't have a really good plan. I read this article about refretting and it sounds like a good way to go about it, but I have a few questions.

1. Do I need to simulate string tension, and if so, what's a good way of doing that? I can make a good hold-down mount easily, so that's not a problem.

2. What do I do with the truss rod? Tighten it, loosen it, what? I know I need to see if the neck's bowed or not, so I could definitely use a few pointers on this one.

3. Is there anything else I should know or do before proceeding?

At this point I have:

1. Removed the nut

2. Pulled the frets

3. Sanded the fretboard with a long flat metal sanding block and medium sandpaper. I did very little of this.

4. Removed the truss rod screw and lubricated it with graphite, then replaced the nut loosely, applying no tension.

5. Lemon oiled the fretboard a little since it was bone dry.

6. Put the whole thing back in the case and came to you guys for help.

Any advice will be appreciated. I'm pretty stoked about this project since I've always wanted a Les Paul, fake or not. If I do this right, I'll have a pretty decent guitar and I'll have done the work myself. I'll take pictures and start a thread in a few days to show you how it's going.

[Jon]

I don't have too much advice to offer, but hopefully I can help some.

I wouldn't oil anything until it's about close to finish sanded. If you're going to go back over it again and again with sandpaper, then you're just going to gum up your sandpaper and waste oil (since you're sanding it out). As far as checking the neck out, I know this is done with a straight edge (not sure if you know that). I would adjust the neck to where it is leveled, fret, level the frets, bevel edges, string up and adjust the truss rod. I don't know if that's the "general" way of doing things, but that's how I'll be going about it.

[guitar2005]

I'm rehabbing the Univox Les Paul copy I got from yahilltrade, folks and I need a little advice.

I pulled the frets and am ready to re-level the fretboard. I sanded it a bit and got out some of the pits, but then stopped because I realized I didn't have a really good plan. I read this article about refretting and it sounds like a good way to go about it, but I have a few questions.

1. Do I need to simulate string tension, and if so, what's a good way of doing that? I can make a good hold-down mount easily, so that's not a problem.

2. What do I do with the truss rod? Tighten it, loosen it, what? I know I need to see if the neck's bowed or not, so I could definitely use a few pointers on this one.

3. Is there anything else I should know or do before proceeding?

At this point I have:

1. Removed the nut

2. Pulled the frets

3. Sanded the fretboard with a long flat metal sanding block and medium sandpaper. I did very little of this.

4. Removed the truss rod screw and lubricated it with graphite, then replaced the nut loosely, applying no tension.

5. Lemon oiled the fretboard a little since it was bone dry.

6. Put the whole thing back in the case and came to you guys for help.

Any advice will be appreciated. I'm pretty stoked about this project since I've always wanted a Les Paul, fake or not. If I do this right, I'll have a pretty decent guitar and I'll have done the work myself. I'll take pictures and start a thread in a few days to show you how it's going.

1- Simulate string tension - Too late now (maybe) because you need to measure the relief on the neck with the strings on and the neck adjusted with the truss rod to be as flat as possible. This is only to detect if the neck can't be brought back to dead flat using the truss rod adjustment. You simulate string tension as a reference get the neck flat with strings on. This is usually a problem on "spongy" necks.

2- Truss Rod - Determine if it works as it should. If it does, I usually loosen it (neutral position) and get the fretboard as flat as possible (reading the fretboard in the playing position).

3- I would not have oiled it until the frets were ready to install - If you need more sanding, you'll gum up the sandpaper.

4- Ensure that the fret slots are clean and the proper witdh to accomodate the new frets. If the slots are too tight, you'll induce back bow on the neck with the frets installed. This is especially a problem with ebony boards.

Next steps in my opinion would be to ensure that the board is properly radiused. I do this with a pre-radiused sanding block. for a les paul, you're looking at a 12" radius. Make you you re-check for flatness.

Then, I would build in a bit of fallout at the end of the board. I like to have about 0.08" of fallout. On a les paul, you don't need as much and on a bolt on 25.5" scale, I like to have a little more.

Edited January 25, 2007 by guitar2005