Ebay Fretting Tools

[MikeD]

I've been looking at some fretting tools around eBay for pretty low prices and was wondering if they're any good. In particular I was looking at this. It's a ret hammer, puller, and a file, for $15. The price would indicate a lack of quality, but I figured it doesn't hurt to check to see if anyone has any experience with these or similar tools. Any help is appreciated.

[sdshirtman]

I'm pretty new here but I think you can get the hammer at harbor freight for about 8 bucks, the fret puller for a buck ( I just bought two) and the file for another buck (the one in the picture doesn't appear to have rounded corners).

you'll have to grind or file the tip of the puller to get a nice flush end that will grab the fret correctly.

[avengers63]

The hammer & file are probably OK, but the "pullers" are most likely junk.

For files, you can get a set of small files at Lowes or Home Depot for +/- $15. You'll need a crowning file still, but for general use these do me just fine.

A deadblow hammer is essentially the same regardless of where you get it. The important thing is to have a brass head. I got mine from Grizzly for $9.

[avengers63]

HD file set

I've used these files to clean the flash and mold likes off of miniatures for 15+ years. I now use them for filing & shaping the ends of the frets and other small guitar-related applications. They work wonderfully and are not very expensive.

[MikeD]

Nice find. Thanks for the input as well.

[Johnny Foreigner]

also caveat emptor on Virtual Village.

They list stuff they don't have on hand. So you buy it on ebay, pay them through paypal, they get the money. Then they email you to say the item is out of stock, it will be 2-3 weeks til it's back in stock.

cowboys.

[RestorationAD]

+1 on the file being junk.

Here is my 2 cents.

Buy a 12" Nicholson Mill file. use a straight edge and mark the flat side. Cut the tail off with a grinder and round up the sharp edges at the front and back of the file. This is your fret leveler.

Buy a 6" or 8" triangle file. Pick and edge and sand it smooth on the beltsander. Then use the 12" file to clean up that edge so it is smooth. You can finish with some wet/dry paper if you want. This is your safe edge you set against the fretboard when crowning your frets. This is how they did it at Gibson forever... until the PLEK.

Should look like this when you are done

Stew Mac crowning file

Find a small deadblow brass faced hammer at a local Hardware shop or a Northern Tool...

[MikeD]

Sounds like it's probably what I feared. Oh well. If it sounds too good to be true..

@RestorationAD: Thats a great idea. Thanks for the input.

[RestorationAD]

One last one... if you can't find end nippers get a set of side cutters and flatten them out on the belt sander. My end nippers came from Northern Tool. I then proceded to grind them on the belt sander, file, polish them on the buffer. I make a new set every 5 years or so...

I have a set of channel lock offset side cutters I flattened and polished the face on for fret ends from about 15 up.

You have to be resourceful. A very expensive hobby it is ....

[MikeD]

So true. It certainly helps to have a great community like this to go to for advice.

[avengers63]

You have to be resourceful. A very expensive hobby it is ....

amen

And don't look to Stew-Mac or LMII as the 1st place to get something. Unless it's something specialized, like the crowning file I mentioned earlier, you can find it somewhere else for a LOT less.

[MikeD]

And don't look to Stew-Mac or LMII as the 1st place to get something. Unless it's something specialized, like the crowning file I mentioned earlier, you can find it somewhere else for a LOT less.

I've noticed. Those prices are ridiculous.

Slightly off topic, but does anyone know where to get something similar to those stewmac fret cauls? If not I'll find a way to make my own. I'm not paying $40 for one.

[avengers63]

I'll not talk bad about using an arbor press for the frets. I'm positive they work exceptionally well. However....

This is one of my "block of wood" tools. The working name is "Block of wood with a channel cut in it for the fret press insert". The name's a bit clunky, but it's as accurate as you're gonna get. I use it to hammer in the frets. I used to use a $9 deadblow hammer from Grizzly. It did the job, but there was a lot of cleanup leveling that needed to be done. Using this to hammer them in produces a result 50 times better than with the deadblow alone. One good whack with a 22oz hammer right in the middle of the fret does most of the work. A couple on each side for good measure finishes it off with a little insurance. I might have one or two frets that need to be cleaned up with the deadblow, and then only on the far outside edges. Levelling only takes a couple of swipes with 600 grit and they're damn-near perfect.

The insert tuns around $5. The block of oak was a cutoff. I already had the hammer.

Take a look in the tutorial section. There are plenty of ways described there for you to get the same results without shelling out hundreds of dollars on overpriced specialty tools.

[MikeD]

That sounds perfect. I hadn't thought of just hammering it. I was stuck on the idea of using a drill press. I love this site...

[Musiclogic]

Just a note on the Fret Pullers, they are actually quite good, and well ground. I have a set of Channel lock dykes I ground for pulling frets, and lost them, I bought one of the cheap pullers off ebay in a pinch, and they work well, I have used them on 6 or 7 refrets without a problem. It's one of the Few tools off Ebay I can vouch for.

[sdshirtman]

I ordered a crowning file from ebay last week and it was pure crap. I should have just ordered from Stewmac or LMI.

[Musiclogic]

Fret files(crowning files if you will) are something you must know something about before buying. I use Gaurian Fret files,(Now sold under the Dunlop name) most people hate these files, and it's because they put the burr in backwards and get no result. If you are new to buying specialty items like fret files, stick with Stew Mac and LMI. Maybe a little pricey, but you will always get a good quality, and well proven tool.

[RestorationAD]

Own both the eBay diamond crowning file and the Stew Mac Offset Crowning file. There is no comparison. While the eBay diamond crowning file is better than a traditional crowning file it is not anywhere near the quality of the Stew Mac. Worth the extra money I say.

I understand being on a budget and needing to save money. Saving money on tools usually results in added time to any job. So for me good sharp quality tools are worth the expense since my time is very valuable. But for years I used whatever I could to get by and a lot of extra elbow grease.