Well, finally, I got the needle off the peg

[stubhead]

Now that the body is here I set it up on a stand on my dresser - STARING at me all night - to torment me into progress...

Woogie woogie, it's a sweetie. The neck has the straight-up SS 6100s, so I thought I'd attempt something sneaky, cheap, anti-buying-sailboats-for-StewMac's-evil-mogul...

A while back I saw this DMT 325-grit diamond "credit-card" sized sharpener thing - I guess some people have a more interesting wallet than me? ??? 10 smackers, what the heck... and I've been up and back the whole way once through on the treble side with it, and I believe it's going to go the distance! There is still somewhat of a gap in the universe of fret-end-rounding tools for stainless frets, we recently saw Cagey's attack-trained ceramic bars, for now Go Team DMT! hooray....

That little thing with the handles is, of course, an adaptated re-jiggered StewMac "fingerboard guard" -

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Polishing_and_abrasives/Fingerboard_Guards.html

- which is a swell idea, if you can figure what the slot's for and how to hang on to the damn thing, i.e. make a handle for it and cram the end right up next to the corner of the fret in such a way that even the most energetic DMT'ing CAN'T GET TO THE FRETBOARD.... I have no idea what they originally intended, are you supposed to dick with the fret through the little slot?  :icon_scratch: While somebody else holds it down (now that's a romantic evening....)

Of course, to function correctly, you MUST use the right type and vintage of wood ruler to make the handle, I can highly recommend the ones from the "Twin Lakes Nursing Center" on highway 202 in Flippin, Ar. (no shit!) Any other than those, you may be taking your fret's very life into.... DANGER....!!! I have it on the highest authority that if Jimi was alive, he would have used these.

(lives? lifes...  :icon_scratch: )

to get like any better pix of the neck I would have to read the camera instructions, I just keep poking it until it freaks out so I know it's done. You can actually remove the third little screw from the
Twin Lakes Protect-o-fret-erater and the blade retracts! In case, ummm, you need it to.

 

[Cagey]

interesting bit with the "fret guard" thingy, there. I've got a pile of those things I've never used because they're a pain in the tuchas. Tape seems to work well enough, and my files have "safe" edges, so they just sit in my toolbox, rotting.

I've also got to get one of those head-mounted magnifiers. I never think about it until after I need it and it's too late. I keep fighting with a jeweler's loupe.

Also, if you don't do it already, you may want to consider a pack of that 3M Flexible Polishing Paper...

I know you don't want to encourage StewMac, but you can't really get the stuff much cheaper anywhere else.

Anyway, you cut it into 1" strips and strop your frets with it, gradually working through the grits. 1 strip of each is plenty, so a pack will last you 6-8 necks. Takes you through 8000 grit, so you're pretty much done at that point. The green/gray will take off the mill marks your file(s) leave, and the rest just take it to the limit.

 

[stubhead]

Yep, just when you thing you can handle a complete divorce from the Evil StewMac Empire, they pop up with something like this:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/Special_tools_for:_Nuts_and_saddles/String_Lifter.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=1447

And you just can't stay away... but they want $83.81 for my (Warmothian) $64 bridge, frikkin' mung beans.

 

[Cagey]

That string lifter is a useless piece of crap. I can't believe they have the nerve to charge money for them. If they gave 'em a away for free, you'd toss 'em in the trash after the first use.

You're right about the pricing issues on some hardware. You especially don't want anything gold plated. They charge you by the atom for that stuff.