Softer neck edge radius
- Thread starter JamesL
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Rickgrxbass
Senior Member
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- 409
Here's a solution:http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Fretting/Fret_Beveling_File.html
a little expensive though, but maybe about as much as W would charge for "custom work". But if you've got a block of wood, a table saw, and are not a tard, you can probably get away with just the file and cut your own block. Just file down the frets until you start to see wood coming off, then go over the edge with some fine sandpaper. Plus, this is probably something you'll have to do anyway if you live in a temperate climate and the fret ends start sticking out from the wood expanding/contracting with the seasons.
But yeah, it would be nice if this were fundamentally addressed by W. It's probably the only thing I didn't like about the neck I got.
a little expensive though, but maybe about as much as W would charge for "custom work". But if you've got a block of wood, a table saw, and are not a tard, you can probably get away with just the file and cut your own block. Just file down the frets until you start to see wood coming off, then go over the edge with some fine sandpaper. Plus, this is probably something you'll have to do anyway if you live in a temperate climate and the fret ends start sticking out from the wood expanding/contracting with the seasons.
But yeah, it would be nice if this were fundamentally addressed by W. It's probably the only thing I didn't like about the neck I got.
Thanks guys, I had planned on doing my own work on my neck coming in and putting my own finish, So it's not a big deal, that's part of building your own ya know? 
I was just suggesting it, I know I hear people complaining about it.
And Rick, I think you misunderstood what I meant, I meant like the edges of the board itself. Unless I missed something, haha But I appreciate it! :toothy10:
ccasion14:
I was just suggesting it, I know I hear people complaining about it.
And Rick, I think you misunderstood what I meant, I meant like the edges of the board itself. Unless I missed something, haha But I appreciate it! :toothy10:
ccasion14:
S
swarfrat
Guest
I cherish each and every last micron of fingerboard real estate, particularly on the treble side. Noooo.
NovasScootYa
Junior Member
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- 187
It would be a costly option so in the meantime, for necks with 1 11/16" nut width, 1 3/8" E to E string spacing...
The ends of taller wire like 6105 need to be angled a degree or two flatter. A fret bevel file is used to initiate rolling the board edges and to angle the fret-ends together. Once the bevel is complete a small file is used to lightly roll the beveled edge between the frets, do not shoe-shine the board edges with sandpaper because it will create annoying fret-end speed bumps. A small specially designed file is used to dress the fret-ends; a StewMac offset diamond fret file and Micro-Mesh helps too. And, do not accidentally flatten the crown on the fret ends; only the fret bevel gets the file radius treatment. A magic maker helps with detail. The fret-ends and board edges should not be overworked especially between the 12th to 22nd frets because the strings are prone to slide off the board when using a vintage bridge with a 2 7/32" string spacing. The ends of the nut should be radiused also. The goal is to eliminate as much as possible feeling blunt frets and sharp edges. The work is essential especially with SS wire, it doesn’t wear in.
There are many pitfalls but the two most likely to occur are, the fret bevel file slipping off the edge and running across the fret crowns or the fret bevel moving back and forth scratching the crowns. I use a gallon anti freeze container cut to the shape of the board which gives the fret bevel a surface to slide on. The best overall advice I can give concerning a new Warmoth neck is, do not file-level the fret crowns.
The ends of taller wire like 6105 need to be angled a degree or two flatter. A fret bevel file is used to initiate rolling the board edges and to angle the fret-ends together. Once the bevel is complete a small file is used to lightly roll the beveled edge between the frets, do not shoe-shine the board edges with sandpaper because it will create annoying fret-end speed bumps. A small specially designed file is used to dress the fret-ends; a StewMac offset diamond fret file and Micro-Mesh helps too. And, do not accidentally flatten the crown on the fret ends; only the fret bevel gets the file radius treatment. A magic maker helps with detail. The fret-ends and board edges should not be overworked especially between the 12th to 22nd frets because the strings are prone to slide off the board when using a vintage bridge with a 2 7/32" string spacing. The ends of the nut should be radiused also. The goal is to eliminate as much as possible feeling blunt frets and sharp edges. The work is essential especially with SS wire, it doesn’t wear in.
There are many pitfalls but the two most likely to occur are, the fret bevel file slipping off the edge and running across the fret crowns or the fret bevel moving back and forth scratching the crowns. I use a gallon anti freeze container cut to the shape of the board which gives the fret bevel a surface to slide on. The best overall advice I can give concerning a new Warmoth neck is, do not file-level the fret crowns.
Kyler (JamesL) said:
yeah I think some people might prefer it that way, personally i like it to be rounded like the amercan standard model strats. Get some real fine sand paper and sand it away. unless you have a maple board in which case you will need to refinish the edges...or not i don't really know if it will cause any real danger of warpage. Exotic hardwoods are the way forward, you can sand whatever you like and its perfectly fine :icon_thumright:
I use the micro mesh MXD handi-files.. shaped like a nail file with different grits on each side
micro mesh MXD is specifically made for use on metal and hard alloys (although it works well on wood also), it has diamond abrasive rather than carbide with coarser more aggressive grits than the normal micro mesh which stew mac sells
i find that using these helps to get a nice roll with minimal amount of material removal and avoid the fret end 'speed bumps' that novascootya mentioned, if you use sandpaper or regular micro mesh they will cut through the wood easily but not do much to the frets (especially if stainless frets) which leads to the humps.. by using a more aggressive abrasive with a light touch you can cut through the fret and wood at the same time keeping them level.
micro mesh MX works ok also, it features carbide abrasive like normal micro mesh but in coarser grits for use on metal.. MXD is better though. Both MX and MXD must be custom ordered from micro-surface.com, it runs about $35 for a full set of MXD files or $25 for MX. They last a long time and can be used for a lot of things, worth the money IMO..
micro mesh MXD is specifically made for use on metal and hard alloys (although it works well on wood also), it has diamond abrasive rather than carbide with coarser more aggressive grits than the normal micro mesh which stew mac sells
i find that using these helps to get a nice roll with minimal amount of material removal and avoid the fret end 'speed bumps' that novascootya mentioned, if you use sandpaper or regular micro mesh they will cut through the wood easily but not do much to the frets (especially if stainless frets) which leads to the humps.. by using a more aggressive abrasive with a light touch you can cut through the fret and wood at the same time keeping them level.
micro mesh MX works ok also, it features carbide abrasive like normal micro mesh but in coarser grits for use on metal.. MXD is better though. Both MX and MXD must be custom ordered from micro-surface.com, it runs about $35 for a full set of MXD files or $25 for MX. They last a long time and can be used for a lot of things, worth the money IMO..
This is the fundamental problem: many necks are simply too narrow to allow for a comfortable rounding of the fret ends and boards. The worst problem came with the vintage-spec Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster bridges on a skinny narrow vintage neck*, and that problem is exarcerbated if you install bigger frets, then expect to be able to put a nice bevel on them.
The 35 degree bevel from the Stew-Mac device is way too much for my preferences, that's just trying to apply a quickie solution to two problems: One, factory fretwork often sucks; two, good fretwork is really, really time-consuming. I'd rather order fret ends straight up than try to start with already over-beveled frets - this complaint showed up from time to time with Warmoth, but I haven't seen that one on the board for a while, so maybe they got more consistent. (Hey! Thnx!) Besides simple quality control and desirable features, I think one of the main reasons that Schecter & Ibanez do so well is because they're NOT mentally "stuck" with vintage specifications, which are simply no longer adequate for the way electric guitars are played in 2011 (or 1969, for that matter).
I consider "rolling" the wood in-between the frets, without reshaping the fret ends, to be quite deranged - you're making the frets more stickery/slicery/bulgier relative to the wood, not less.... There is really no wham-bam substitute for:
A) A neck wide enough for the chosen bridge (Both Warmoth & USA Custom offer X-tra wide necks, though using two different solutions);
B) Frets and wood beveled to the same, individually-preferred amount;
C) Painstaking, slow, pain-in-the-ass, 88-corner fretwork.
*(Boy, Leo sure snorked the bipper on that one, huh? What a zub.) [z]insert ducking behind shield emoticon here[/z] :headbang1:
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