How to Level, Crown and polish your frets
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- Опубликовано: 11 окт 2022
- In this video I am getting back on the Tele-ish guitar series I was working on before the GGBO 22 contest started. I will show you how I go about getting the frets level crowned and polished and ready for a super low action.
#cncguitarbuilding #electricguitar #fretwork 
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What l learned from your post is to pay someone to do it. Thanks
This is the best instruction video I’ve viewed and learned more from… the parchment paper and caliper is a game changer, thanks a whole lot for that tip!
That's a fret Job👍🙏
See you. It seems like a long time to me from 1985 to now. I realize that there are many mistakes, especially from myself, in dealing with various electric and acoustic guitar problems. Until now I have not witnessed changes that result in accurate installation. Leveling seems to be the mainstay and the pressradius tool is the main pressure. There are many other factors beyond that that must be considered. Until now I have concluded that many people lack enthusiasm for guitar problems. So I feel this is the best. Even though there is a lot that has been missed. Hopefully this can be my reflection. Have a good fight. My greetings from Indonesia. If you need help, I'm ready to do it as long as it's not part of my confidentiality in handling especially freting.
Great job Dave
Awesome Video !!!
Fantastic step by step instruction. After watching, I'm ready to tackle the frets on my first guitar build. Thanks for making this video!
I’m literally doing my first ever fret level/crown etc right now on my first ever build so very helpful- thanks!
Did it work? I’ll start my first this week… 🤞🏻
@@gabrieltfreitas yes, it did! This video was so helpful, just take your time and it’ll be perfect.
If you’re interested here’s a 4 min super edit of the full build - the first guitar I’ve ever attempted to make ruclips.net/video/y838RnZjbp8/видео.html. I enjoyed it so much I’m halfway through guitar #2 and have just got the frets in. Best of luck
Perfect, thorough and super easy to follow, thank you!
Great video!
Hey David, thanks for the video 👍
Excellent instruction. I’ll be doing this in a couple weeks to my salvage project.
This gives me more confidence.
This is exactly how i do my frets, great video of how it should be done.
Great informational
Your explanation was good. It's scary enough to redo frets but you Made it alot better to understand. Thank you
Very cool radiased edges on that body. Have always thought Strats would look cool like that as well. l think I'm going to do the same in my current custom design.
Very, very interesting, great instruction! You did a great job on the frets. I have a couple guitars that need leveling, crowning, and polishing. I think I can do it, but, way harder and more time consuming than I thought it would be. But, for the kind of results like you got - it will be worth it. Thanks!
How to mask the fretboard. Excellent - I'm pinching that idea :)
Oh my red guitar ❤❤❤
I’m a lefty so I start marking my frets at the last fret and go up ( and that’s the only reason I noticed you marking the frets like I do but you are a righty )so I don’t get sharpy ink on my hand and aslo I don’t rub the fresh ink off the fret but I will definitely be using the MDF/ wax paper trick for sure thank you
Looks great Dave. That is pretty my same process which I got from Dan's fretting video. Glad to see you haven't drank the fret eraser cool-aid.
I have tried those erasers they sit in my drawer not touched
@@eworcustomguitars,same here
Terrific all-around video. I'm an older beginner guitarist who's equally interested in working on my guitar. Bought the Stewmac "fret erasers" but have been unable to get that awesome mirror finish on the frets that you were able to get with your Dremel.
Do you have stainless steel frets?
I used to repair guitars, but as of the last seven or either years I work as an amp tech 92.4% of the time, and a luthier 7.6% (I don't know if those are accurate, but decimal points really make them seem real, right? 👍). Anyway my comment is about ad hoc tools. Because I only rarely work on guitars these daysand theyre mostly mine and a few others, combined with the fact that I've always been someone that believes in "share that knowledge," I find more and more often that I no longer have the tools I need…mostly because I've confused sharing the "knowledge" with sharing the "tools." That isn't a good habit to get into. Over time I've found things that work as well, and sometimes better than the expensive Stew Mac, and definitely better than the cheap Amazon tools.
The last leveling I did using old worn out knife sharpening stones. I had some of the diamond ones that look like a plate with red dots on them. The dots are the actual abrasive. I must stress that they were fine grit, and they had worn down quite a bit, but it took ¼ of the time to level them.*
Another thing that I've been using a lot are the Arm & Hammer magic eraser sponges. They work really well to clean frets and hardware, then afterwards I use treated jewelry polishing cloths. They usually come as two pieces of cloth stitched together at the top: one white and the other some color. I breathe on the fret, then rub it with the white (treated) cloth, then buff with the colored (plain cloth). After a few wipes the frets have a mirror shine and it feels like you're bending the string on glass.
A lot of people complain about glossy nitro neck finishes, especially when they're newer because they can get sticky. A remedy has always been to scuff up the back of the neck with 0000 steel wool. I find the magic erasers work much better: they don't remove nearly as much finish, and they pull the dust you've created off of the neck. With steel wool it can be too much, and it leaves a lot of the dust there. You end up just rubbing it back into the finish. Plus it can feel odd, with the sponge you just give it one up/one down and you should be okay. What's left just feels like a satin or matte finish. 👍
*I should add that I've been hand sharpening knives for 30 years, and doing fret work for 20. You might want to stay away from diamond if you're working on nickel frets, they can take away a lot of metal, very quickly: try ceramic or natural stone. Diamond are great for stainless steel though.
Thank you very much Tim for your comments! I really appreciate advice from long time luthiers. I have a lot to learn and I’m loving learning it.
How do you level a multi radius neck where it's maybe 9.5" at the nut and 12" at the body? Seems impossible to do perfectly. Plek machine maybe?
Which Dremel model are you using in the video? Also which pad and compound? Thank you.
Great video. Really appreciate the thoughtful explanation and thorough process. I realize I have been polishing the frets with too many grits 400,600,800,1500,3000,5000. Gonna try your method.
Yeah I get great results finishing them off with my dremel tool.
The stages dont matter as much in the sanding process as much as how much you are going at it with each fret. I've done with 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 and then dremel polish
Here's a tip, use a feelers gauge to check that the neck is straight. Better than a light.
Thank you. What is the compound you use on the dremel?
when you create fallaway wouldn't there be I different height between the 6th and 5th fret, and wouldn't the fret rocker rock on that spot? please advise. thanks!
how do you polish the scratches off the very top (thin line) if youre not supposed to hit it with the sand paper as you do the sides of each fret? i level with 400.
Do I necessarily need a filer?
May I ask what fret polish you are using with the Dremel tool?
That is the metal polishing compound I use for stroping my chisels. I believe I bought it from woodcraft online.
can you link the polish you used...thanks
How does one do this on a 12-16" compound radius neck?
You mentioned at the end that you use boiled linseed oil. Is there a reason you chose that oil instead of some of the others used like lemon oil?
There are several penetrating oils that work well for fretboards I have used others but right now I have the linseed oil.
It's a terrible choice for rosewood fretboards. BLO is not a penatrating oil. It's a hardening finish. It's fine for maple to use as a sealant/finish, but it is not a nourishing oil. Use mineral oil on rosewood. It will actually soak into the wood and not harden (polymerize) on the surface like BLO will.
Are you using the center z-file or the offset z-file ?
I use the offset z. I flip it every few strokes. It really works well
Wish I had this patient 😂😂😂 but too much to pay someone to do it too
I understand the logic behind making sure the fretboard is dead flat before commencing the leveling work. But I’m also wondering if the neck should be pre-stressed, so to speak, to simulate string tension that might cause bowing (however slight) after the strings are tied and tuned?
I just believe if the frets are flat relative to each other fret while the neck is perfectly straight then while under tension they will still perform as needed
@@eworcustomguitarsMakes sense. Thanks for the reply.
Which Dremal wheel? And what is that bar of polish?
The wheel is just a felt polishing wheel I think I bought from amazon and the bar is a fine polishing compound
When youre sanding the frets to get the lines and scratches/gouges out AFTER crowning, dosent that take your leveling job out of whack? What grit is comfortable and suitable to be able to sand the tops of your frets with without taking material off to unlevel the frets?
you have to sand after crowning to remove those crowning file marks.
at around 20 minutes he talks about grits and how he avoids sanding the top of the frets.
lots of good info in this video, and tricks I want to try of his. Though I use the z crown file without a handle and prefer taping the board off with stewmac tape dispenser with 3 different widths of tape (I can get tighter to the frets this way and it's fast)
One comment for you... TETELESTAI!!!!!
How do you like my V-shaped fret file idea?
You should have patented your idea.
Stewmac is making a killing with your idea !!
One question, why is it better to use a radiused sanding block instead of a straight profile? Arent radius sanding blocks used primarily for the neck radius it self?
I get that question a lot. I guess it just makes sense to me to use the radius block. Next time I’m using the flat beam to see if I like it better
@@eworcustomguitars i will be testing flat beam soon with an old acoustic from the 1980's ill let you know how that goes
I like your blue bracelet "Tetelestai"... which means "It is finished." Quoted from the most popular and important person in all human history. The redeemer of man kind, Jesus Christ.
All stewmac tools wow you must be rich.
Not rich just bought them over a long period of time
Measuring, scribing tape for the board? Coloring the frets for 5 mins each?, Jesus this ain’t a darn beauty contest man, made it harder than it has
To be