TUTORIAL Basic fret level, crown & polish made easy (picture heavy)

[mnemonic]

Great, enjoy and let us know how you like those

Finally got a chance to use them, levelling the frets on an old Schecter neck I got off eBay years ago and used on another pine tele build. Though I never played it much since the fretwork was kinda rough.

I think the neck got banged around a bit before I got it as a couple frets had low spots in the middle and there are some dings in the fret board. It was odd seeing the frets level out on the sides but still having low spots in the middle of a fret.

Those Chris Alsop files are a breeze to work with, so much better looking and faster than I could manage with my cheap three-corner file. Maybe a nicer quality file works better but I’ll stick with these crowning files.

I used some nicer silicon carbide sandpaper that said it was for metal and it sure did cut faster than the cheap aluminum oxide stuff but it still lost its bite quickly and I had to change paper a couple times. I did have to remove a lot of material from some frets though as there were some that were very low. Also they are jumbo frets.

I noticed Chris Alsop also has a diamond levelling file, though it’s only 15cm long. My beam is 40cm long and a certainly feel a bit comfier with a long beam spanning many frets

the guitar plays much better now, though I don’t think I’m confident enough to tackle any of my nicer guitars yet! Also I’m over sanding frets by hand, I’m gonna have to get some of those fret erasers.

 

[Asdrael]

Nice thanks for the review!

As for the sandpaper gumming up fast, I always keep a sand paper eraser close by. Works wonders and costs nothing.

Also I am not a fan of fret erasers as it feels imprecise. But this is for when I build my own necks, I think they would be sufficient for a clean up.

 

[Audandash]

This is a great write up! One thing I might suggest for your first few times doing a fret level is to get a radius block to do the initial sand of the frets. It will take less time and be less likely to cause high and low spots vs using the smaller beams. Make sure it matches your neck radius. If you dont have neck radius gauges now is a good time to grab them. You will want them for a basic setup anyway. The beams are really designed to target certain areas not do a whole board (obviously it can be done its just more work). The beams are great for hitting small spots without removing the strings. I will post a link for the radius block below. I recommend the 8 inch blocks and 320 grit sandpaper. The wood blocks are fine. No need to spend the money on the aluminum ones unless you use it daily. Never put pressure on it while sanding. You want to glide across the frets. Also don't cheap out and get the 4 inch block. You will put more pressure on it that you need too. Believe me this, lol. The 8 is perfect for a guitar.

8

Long hardwood blocks for sanding frets and fingerboards to a precise radius.

www.stewmac.com