Fret End Questin

[toolfan88]

hey. today at guitar center i saw a guitar that i liked. i picked it up and noticed some frets were sticking out the side of the fretboard. like on the side of the neck. i put it back. i was just wondering how to fix this. im going to do research. but this is where im gonig to start. any sites or anything?

[GregP]

projectguitar.com and look for fretting-related tutorials. It's basically an unfinished/poorly-finished fret job; or, in some cases the wood has changed dimensionally, revealing the fret end. More likely the former.

There are plenty of people on this forum who could guide you through the process (me not being one of them-- I only did this once and ended up filing into the fretboard!), but most of them typically prefer a slightly more specific question that shows you've done a bit of research first.

Before learning about doing the job, though, a more important question to ask is: despite "liking" the guitar, is it offering you good value for your hard-earned money? Poorly dressed frets may also be symptomatic of an overall poor fret job. Are there spots along the fretboard that it "frets out" (faint buzz and then the notes die)? What's the overall setup and action like?

Depending on the cost of the guitar (with problems like that, I suspect it's not a boutique guitar, but none of mine are either), you may want to look at least a few other options, and especially don't let your eyes be the judge (not that I think you are; just emphasizing).

[jmrentis]

Bevel file

Thats a link to the Project Guitars main site which has tutorial pages, if you haven't seen them yet. That specific link shows you the basics behind fretting and toward the bottom it shows a home made tool that is basically a file inlayed into wood. This tool will file the frets flush on one side of the file and the other will bevel them at the angle you so desire, which is 35 degrees for the tutorial. Some places sell a tool like this, I believe stewmac does, but its easy enough to make if you so desire. There is another site that had loads of great info which is frets.com , plenty to learn there. I have read through it all many times and every so often I reread it just to refresh the info, so check it out if you haven't yet. Best of luck and I think that tool should solve your issues, just make sure and take your time and watch your work carefully. J

EDIT: Greg beat me to it, lol, as suggested the main site has a decent amount of info on the basics of guitar building and will be of some help to you.

Edited December 17, 2007 by jmrentis

[toolfan88]

thanks guys. like i said this post was where i started my research. after i posted it i went out and searched for a good hour or so. i found the answers like jmrentis said. its always nice to have research and some ideas to start with. i tend to do this with every forum im in. post my question then do some research. after i have research i can compare it to what people say.

greegp- im not going to buy the guitar at all. i was walking by the wall of fenders at my local guitar center and saw this guitar. it had a reverse headstock so it cought my eye. but after further inspection i saw it had fret issues and put it away. i was just wondering how i would fix it if i happened to run across this problem agian.

[hotgoalie11565]

If it was me, I would see if they would fix the frets. If not, then absolutely walk away.