Warmoth fretwork?

[LushTone]

I just ordered this showcase neck and I'm having stainless 6100 frets and a graph tech nut installed. How long do you guys think this will take to ship? No finish as I am just going to polish/burnish the roasted maple.

Also, any feedback on the quality of Warmoth's fretwork? In the past I had the frets done elsewhere...Any feedback is appreciated!

 

[fdesalvo]

2-4 weeks, I'd suspect, but depends on current capacity.  They usually turn around showcase necks (not getting finishes) quickly.

 

[Surf n Music n Ski n Bike]

So far I got 2 and another on the way. One of mine is roasted maple and the new one coming is as well. They burnish up well. As far as the frets I only found one to two that were a bit high and the ends need rounding. Nothing a file from stew mac wont take care of. I knida like the whole process of filling the frets and burnishing the neck. Beautiful neck by the way  :icon_biggrin:

 

[Cagey]

Also, any feedback on the quality of Warmoth's fretwork? In the past I had the frets done elsewhere...Any feedback is appreciated!

Their fret installation is very good, but they don't do any setup to them. No levelling, dressing or polishing. They set the frets and bevel them, and that's how it ships.

I probably set up a couple dozen Warmoth necks a year, and In my experience there are usually 2 to 5 frets that sit a bit proud. Not much - most guys wouldn't do anything about it as it's usually only a thousandth or two. But, if you want perfect, they need attention. Plus, fret edges that are only beveled and not dressed can feel a bit rough.

Bevelled fret ends​

Dressed fret ends​

Warmoth themselves tell you right on their site that you may want to have someone pay attention to a new neck. They make no claims as to fret happiness.

Plus, if you send it to the right guy, you can get your threaded inserts and tuners installed at no extra charge  :icon_biggrin:

 

[LushTone]

Oh that's reassuring. I'd hate to have to do anything too extensive, but I understand that the fretwork can be improved upon. I'll bond more with the neck having done work on it anyway! Thanks for the feedback! ccasion14:

 

[erogenousjones17]

Hey Cagey, is that a pic of frets that you dressed yourself? Do you have any tips for someone looking to do the same? I smoothed and hot-dogged the fret ends on my Strat with the Mighty Mite neck and am happy with the results, but I've never been brave enough to attack the W neck on my LPS, even though it definitely needs done.

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, that's the neck on the L5S in my sig. Did the whole fret install on that, not just the dressing. I wanted to burnish the fretboard as well as the neck, and you can't do that with frets installed so I bought it without frets. See here.

Assuming the neck is taped off and you've already ground the ends to the shape you want, then to finish them off nicely you need to get some of those 3M polishing papers from wherever, but StewMac is one supplier. You generally only need the first 3 or 4 grits, not the whole set. Cut some 1" wide strips of the stuff from each sheet, mount the neck on a jig or something in such a way as to be able to pull down a foot or so on either side of the neck, and strop the thing from side to side while the tape is still on. About 10-15 passes per fret seems to work out well. You need more passes the finer the paper gets. Pull the tape, and go after the frets with the highest grit pad from one of these sets, and they'll be as smooth as glass.

 

[erogenousjones17]

Nice. Sounds like a good rainy-Saturday project. Now all I need is some free time (in short supply with a 14-month-old in the house).

What do you use to actually shape the fret ends? I've got a set of needle files, but I wouldn't want to use the wrong tool for the job.

 

[Cagey]

It is time-consuming.

For filing the ends, I generally use one of these files. I have others, but they don't see as much use. That particular file is only good for about a dozen necks if you do a lotta stainless, but they're only $13 so I just consider them "shop supplies". 

It's a lot easier to do if you get a neck caul to hold the neck in place. Might even want to place that caul on a short length of 2x4 or something to get some height on the neck.

 

[erogenousjones17]

Thanks for the links. A file that that would be perfect; I don't intend to go into the fret-dressing business, and I don't currently have anything with SS frets. Next W probably will, but who knows when that'll be?

Do you recommend taking the neck of the guitar first? I'd honestly never thought of it. (I'm so bad at this. :doh

 

[rgand]

I probably set up a couple dozen Warmoth necks a year, and In my experience there are usually 2 to 5 frets that sit a bit proud. Not much - most guys wouldn't do anything about it as it's usually only a thousandth or two. But, if you want perfect, they need attention. Plus, fret edges that are only beveled and not dressed can feel a bit rough.

Mine had only two frets that needed minor dressing. The rest were perfect. I don't see how they get them as close as they do.

 

[Cagey]

They're installing frets on a new fretboard that's just been machined, so they won't be too far off. But, some will. I did have one neck, though, that came in perfect as far as level. That was the Ebony over Bloodwood part I put on my cranberry VIP. Still, all the frets needed dressing. We might be confusing terms there. Levelling is where you get all the frets to the same height. Dressing is where you round over the ends of the frets.

 

[rgand]

Yes. Thanks for that.

 

[LushTone]

They're installing frets on a new fretboard that's just been machined, so they won't be too far off. But, some will. I did have one neck, though, that came in perfect as far as level. That was the Ebony over Bloodwood part I put on my cranberry VIP. Still, all the frets needed dressing. We might be confusing terms there. Levelling is where you get all the frets to the same height. Dressing is where you round over the ends of the frets.

Oh that's good. I'm far more concerned about leveling versus fret ends.

 

[Hendrix]

my way to done the fret end  dressed

http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=22737.0

 

[stubhead]

And there's many ways to skin a cat, I'm not in the cat-skinning business where time is money - aren't hobbies supposed to take time?  ???

I had a good bit of experience in finishing metal with abrasives, and I have come to do just about ALL the steps with varying grits of the gray wet/dry paper. I do use one of the stainless steel fret masks from Stewie, but the slot never seemed to have much correspondence to what I was trying to protect, so I just stuck a handle on it.



I wrap 320, 400, 600 and 1500 grit paper around a Gibson-sized nut blank with a little groove in it, and by holding the stainless thing against the fret corner I'm working on, it CAN'T eat wood... tape and the Optivisor are most prudent, too.



Shrapnel control is prudent too, especially around already-finished pieces, you really need to think about where your castoff is going before it starts going there. 

I have recently seen more and more uses of abrasive papers in knife-sharpening systems, machining procedures etc., the papers really have improved in the last 20 years to the point they'll do certain things better than toothed files. I would have to do an awful lot of necks to justify a $90 diamond file when I can do the same thing with $2 worth of sandpaper.

 

[LushTone]

And there's many ways to skin a cat, I'm not in the cat-skinning business where time is money - aren't hobbies supposed to take time?  ???

I had a good bit of experience in finishing metal with abrasives, and I have come to do just about ALL the steps with varying grits of the gray wet/dry paper. I do use one of the stainless steel fret masks from Stewie, but the slot never seemed to have much correspondence to what I was trying to protect, so I just stuck a handle on it.



I wrap 320, 400, 600 and 1500 grit paper around a Gibson-sized nut blank with a little groove in it, and by holding the stainless thing against the fret corner I'm working on, it CAN'T eat wood... tape and the Optivisor are most prudent, too.



Shrapnel control is prudent too, especially around already-finished pieces, you really need to think about where your castoff is going before it starts going there. 

I have recently seen more and more uses of abrasive papers in knife-sharpening systems, machining procedures etc., the papers really have improved in the last 20 years to the point they'll do certain things better than toothed files. I would have to do an awful lot of necks to justify a $90 diamond file when I can do the same thing with $2 worth of sandpaper.

Thanks for the insight! ccasion14: