What fret crowning file do you recommend?

[Toolmaster Of Brainerd]

I need to level and crown the frets (jumbo frets) on my new guitar build. What file do you recommend?

I am not paying StewMac prices for a crowning file. Something cheaper from anywhere else is strongly preferred.

Amazon? Ebay? Some other luthier supplier that has more reasonable prices? All help is greatly appreciated!  :headbanging:

 

[stratamania]

I was going to recommend a StewMac ZFile. I still recommend it.

I get you want to find a cheap file but that is what you will get and I cannot recommend something that is not up to the job. Most luthier tools that are up to the job wherever they are from are rarely inexpensive.

 

[ARCnet78]

I have been waffling for a while, since placing my order in March, about fret levelling and crowning.  I've done it before on a couple of cheap project guitars using a borrowed crowning file, which I no longer have access to.  It was an inexpensive one and performed less well than I would have liked am not sure of what kind of job it's do on my nice new shiny stainless steel frets.

Last week I pulled the plug and bought one of the new stewmac compact Z-files.  Should arrive this week.  Hopefully it will be as good as the reviews for the full size model.  Though I do not expect to build any more guitars, I expect that I'll re-do my project guitars.  After that I'm not sure I'll have any future use for it, so I may list it at some point in the future.

 

[Lbpesq]

I’ve been happy with the Gurian crowning file kit. 

Bill, tgo

 

[rauchman]

I was going to recommend a StewMac ZFile. I still recommend it.

I get you want to find a cheap file but that is what you will get and I cannot recommend something that is not up to the job. Most luthier tools that are up to the job wherever they are from are rarely inexpensive.

Have to agree with this.  I've the cheap Amazon copy of some Stewmac tools.  Buy once, cry once, .....get the Stewmac tools.

 

[Toolmaster Of Brainerd]

I ended up getting the fret guru crowning file. Still a fair bit cheaper than the stew mac stuff, but it's a really good file. I can't compare it to other files because it's the only crowning file I've ever used, but I would still highly recommend it to someone looking for a good and affordable file.