Your favorite fret levelling tool?

[bob7point7]

I'm just starting to get into doing fretwork. I bought a handful of tools and I've been happy with most of them, but I'm not crazy about my fret levelling file. It's pretty aggressive and leaves a fairly rough surface behind. I would also like something a little longer so it's hitting more frets at once. This is what I'm currently using (the 6" one):
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Leveling/Fret_Fingerboard_Leveling_Files.html

Does anyone have any suggestions for a levelling tool that will do a smoother, more accurate job?

Thanks,
-Bobbie

 

[Cagey]

I haven't done any serious fret work yet, but I would have bought these diamond stones before I bought the ones you have. I have a couple here for chisels and planing knives, and they put a very fine finish/edge on things. If you had some you dedicated to frets, I can't imagine they'd need anything more than a crown and polish after that.

 

[Crappy]

This is what I have used for years.
You can use whatever grit sandpaper you want with it

 

[Unwound G]

Diamond fret levers from Stewart MacDonald (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Leveling/Diamond_Fret_Levelers.html).

I use the Fine 800 grit the most to take off some meat from taller frets that sit above the corresponding ones.  The weight of these steel blocks are perfect to level off high spots without having to apply pressure as they slide up and down the fretboard.  I also find these are the only levelers that work with Warmoth's stainless steel frets.

 

[-CB-]

This is what I have used for years.
You can use whatever grit sandpaper you want with it

My choice too.  Can be used on any radius, even compound radius. 

Be aware that you can make one of those for very little money.  All you need is a 1x2 steel in 11 gauge (.120 wall thickness) available from www.metalsdepot.com for $6.78.  Not too bad.  Then, you need to have it flattened on one edge.  The easiest way to do that is to run it down to any local machine shop - tell them you just need one side flat, and that parallel doesn't matter.  They can run it through the surface grinder with no setup at all - just use the magnetic table to hold it.  Grind one of the 1" sides flat, and there ya go.  Expect that to take all of fifteen minutes on the grinder, and if the guy is good, it'll be flatter than Stew-Mac ever dreamed, and cost you a case of beer if you know the guy, or $20 if you don't.

BTW, the 24" one is the one to have, and you DONT want to bear down on it at all.  Just let the weight of the tool do all the work.  Your hand is only there to provide the forward and back motion.

 

[RiverCity28]

I use the diamond fret levelers from Stewart MacDonald as shown in a post above.  Using a fret rocker, I'm able to find all the frets that need attention on my new necks from Warmoth.  I've bought two Warmoth Pro boattail necks (10"-16" compound radius) in the last year (one Tele and one Strat).  The tele neck had a number of high frets.  The strat just a few.  Watch out!  The coarse stone works quickly on nickel/silver frets.  I run the stone up and then down the fretboard in a circular motion, canting it so that it allows for the compound radius.  After the diamond stones, I use various grades of sandpaper and then 0000 steel wool to knock off the sharp edge created with the stones.  Those frets are LEVEL and POLISHED!

 

[plinky]

I've been using a straight carpenter's level I bought from Home Depot. I checked with a straight edge and it checks out. I have to work a little more carefully than with a radiused leveling beam, but it gets the job done. It worked for Dan Erlewine.  :headbang:

 

[B3Guy]

Your hand is only there to provide the forward and back motion.
[/quote]
That's what he said 

 

[Alfang]

I recently setup a warmoth build, and my goal was to get as low an action as possible, I used all the setup info found everywhere on the net, took my time and let things settle between each step, I got the action so low it was too low, and I don't mean anything was buzzing, it was just too low, you couldn't use a slide or it would fret out. I had to raise the action a fair amount to be comfortable.

So to say you have to dress a new warmoth neck is surprising, you must have got a bad neck if it needed fret leveling straight from Warmoth. Most of us regulars would find your claim unbelievable, not saying it doesn't happen, just rare

 

[RiverCity28]

I based the need for leveling on instructions from my tech and others.  Using a fret rocker, there were a number of high frets.  Some were fine in the middle of the fret but high on either the base or treble side of the fret.  My frets are now level (base, middle, and treble) throughout the entire neck.

 

[Hbom]

I use a piece of steel flat stock that I had surfaced 2 sides for a project years ago, 10" x1/2" x 2 1/2" It's straight and flat so I just use self stick sand paper on 1 side and slide it down the neck rolling a bit to stay with contour. Depending on the frets I start with 800 grit or finer . It's a heavy piece and doesn't take much to show any problem frets.
If I was starting out I would go for one of the newer modern, made especially for it, models. But this works fine for me.

 

[stubhead]

I wrap wet/dry 3M sandpaper of the appropriate grit around an 8" knife sharpening stone. It's never been used on knives, and it's flat. I like the weight of it, you just kiss the frets with some 320 grit ->600 and they're ready for crowning, no toothmarks. If I was in any kind of production arena I'd go with the diamond, but I only have to level any given guitar every two years or so, and now I have so many that no single guitar gets more than a few hours a day playing time.

I'm personally just really used to the 3M abrasives from other things, I even do the fret ends with a Gibson-size nut blank wrapped in the sandpapers. I started doing fretwork before there even were diamond tools (goddam I just stepped in the mastodon poop again) and I've seen people get great results in a number of different ways.

As long as you ink them TWICE - once for the leveling, and once for the crowning - why, it's absolutely foolproof!*



*(oy vey) :help:

 

[Jusatele]

I send mine to a Tech

 

[Hbom]

I send mine to a Tech

Yeah. If I was smart, that's how I'd do mine.
But I'm broke, not smart

 

[stubhead]

But I'm broke, not smart

Actually, being broke is one good impetus for teaching yourself how to do things that you can't afford to pay other people to do. I've met some rich people who seemed incredibly ignorant to me, mostly the ones who've made a small fortune by starting with daddy's big fortune.... can't fix a torn screen door, wire a lamp switch, change their oil. There's a whole clot of zubs out there who can't cook for themselves, they think food is something flunkies make and grocery stores are where "poor" people go. And they can't figure out why they're broke all the time themselves, when they only spend $600 a month eating junk food.


(but if everybody gives me all their money now, we can conduct the experiment all proper-like....) :hello2:

 

[Jusatele]

So true Stub. I actually love to keep my 2 antique Jeeps going, a 67 and a 70. took autoshop in high school and a few other courses from a trade school so I could. Learned to weld just to make stuff I wanted and no one built.
But fret jobs, I am now just building my first guitar from scratch, I am finding I am very anal about stuff like finish and am taking way to long by some standards, just right by mine. I even went so far as a rotten stone final rub down on the lacquer. I ordered a spray gun for my next build. I can just see myself doing a fret job, in 3 or 4 more builds, I first want to learn more about finishes.
Are there any good videos, not some u tube stuff but professional videos you can buy?

 

[Cagey]

Actually, being broke is one good impetus for teaching yourself how to do things that you can't afford to pay other people to do.

That's how I learned to do a lot of things. We were pretty poor growing up, but my parents weren't willing to live with broken or sub-standard things, so my dad would figure out how to get things done himself. Saves one helluva lotta money. I know here, when we built the woodshop, my roommate was having contractors show up to bid on things and it was amazing what they'd charge. $375 to put in a breaker panel? $1,800 to wire the lights and outlets? Plus parts? Gimme a break! So, I did it, and did a better job than they would have for probably $500 including all the panels, fixtures and wiring devices.

Same with car repair, although there are some things I learned to hand off, like mufflers and shocks. The parts are cheap, so you're tempted to do it yourself, but what an unholy pain in the ass those things are to change. I don't care what it costs, let somebody else do it. I'd rather change a camshaft than a set of shocks, even though it seems like it would be more work. It's not.

 

[Hbom]

But I'm broke, not smart

Actually, being broke is one good impetus for teaching yourself how to do things that you can't afford to pay other people to do. I've met some rich people who seemed incredibly ignorant to me, mostly the ones who've made a small fortune by starting with daddy's big fortune.... can't fix a torn screen door, wire a lamp switch, change their oil. There's a whole clot of zubs out there who can't cook for themselves, they think food is something flunkies make and grocery stores are where "poor" people go. And they can't figure out why they're broke all the time themselves, when they only spend $600 a month eating junk food.


(but if everybody gives me all their money now, we can conduct the experiment all proper-like....) :hello2:

According to my wife I'm not really broke, Just cheap!
I prefer to look at it as I like to tinker and I already own most of the tools necessary for screwing together guitar parts.
I doubt that my fret jobs or setups would be as good as one done by a pro. But they so far seem to me to be better than a MIM strat off the rack so I'm gaining.

 

[-CB-]

So to say you have to dress a new warmoth neck is surprising, you must have got a bad neck if it needed fret leveling straight from Warmoth. Most of us regulars would find your claim unbelievable, not saying it doesn't happen, just rare

Sometimes its like measuring cord wood with a micrometer.  If you go looking of .001 out of elevation, you'll find it, on every neck.  If you have a hissy fit about it, well... thats up to you.  In practical terms, I've never had a "bad" Warmoth neck, and only had one single high fret (the last one on an overhang) and it tapped down just fine.

Rule #1 before doing fretwork - SEAT ALL THE FRETS, no matter how new or nice you think things are.

 

[NovasScootYa]

I'm just starting to get into doing fretwork. I bought a handful of tools and I've been happy with most of them, but I'm not crazy about my fret levelling file. It's pretty aggressive and leaves a fairly rough surface behind. I would also like something a little longer so it's hitting more frets at once. This is what I'm currently using (the 6" one):
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Leveling/Fret_Fingerboard_Leveling_Files.html

Does anyone have any suggestions for a levelling tool that will do a smoother, more accurate job?

Thanks,
-Bobbie

I don't know if this applies or not but hopefully you are not practicing on a new Warmoth neck. IMO they do not need to be file leveled. I've re-fretted many necks and file leveled many and new Warmoth necks do not need to be file leveled. However, depending on fret height the fret ends can be angled a degree or two more using a fret beveling file until it contacts the edge of the board then add a few passes, then roll the bevel with a file, dress the fret ends and polish the frets, I use a Stewmac offset diamond fret file with 6000 to 8000 grit Micro Mesh wrapped around it. Avoid rolling the board edges too much and turning the fret ends into a series of bumps. Do not get carried away from the 12th to 22nd frets because strings are prone to slide off the board in that area when using a 2 7/32" vintage bridge.
You have to play a new neck and let it settle before hunting high frets. A new neck is nothing but a block of wood that underwent major surgery so while healing its molecules are moving and adjusting.
If the Stewmac file is aggressive let the weight of the file do the work, try mapping the neck with a fret rocker and magic marker, you may get away with a spot level or better, reseat the fret.
To make your own 4" fret file, take a very, very flat file about 7/8" width, clap it in a vice and hit the portion you want to use with a hammer, use eye protection. A bench grinder can taper the ends, epoxy a 4" narrow block of wood along the center as to form a T when turned upside down.
Start off doing fret work on cheapo guitars and advance, it takes much more than a few to get the hang of it and you never stop learning, Good luck.