fret crowning / polishing

[brian f]

Going to try to do a crown job on the frets on my D25. lots of files out there for this, and they ususally say they are for Med, large, or jumbo frets. How can I tell which I have. (my D25 has seemingly already had a refret done a while back). Frets are fairly level and are about .04". They are just very flat on top (the top surface is nearly 1/16" wide (much narrower on my GAD JF30). It look slike they were done this way intentionally. Seems like to recrown these would improve the playability of this guitar, amybe even help intonation. The bottom of the frets (where they meet the fretboard) are just shy of 3/32" (as best as I can measure).

So are these large? medium? jumbo?

Do I have enough material to crown? (given that I don't hink I need to level them).

What type of file should I buy ? seems like there's the type that rests perpendicular to the fretboard with the slot on each side, and then there's the type that is triangle shaped and filed smooth on the pointed edges to prevent from marring the fretboard.

Can I buff and polish the frets with a fingernail buffing pad (like on an emery board, or should I use a buffing wheel on my dremel tool?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
B

 

[West R Lee]

Good questions. I would think Don, Hans or Hideglue could give you a good answer. You've aroused my curiosity.

West

 

[chazmo]

Brian,

with regard to polishing, have you tried 4-ought (0000) grade steel wool? An up/down motion with that on the frets seems to do a nice job cleaning them.

 

[hideglue]

Brian,
I'm far too lazy to explain it all here, but Frank has a fine tutorial here.
Nearly every step (12000 grit?) is identical to what I do.

 

[West R Lee]

Hideglue,

How do you keep from tearing up the binding on a bound necked guitar?

West

 

[hideglue]

West,
I assume you mean while crowning?
Some tape the fingerboard as protection. I find that a bit labor intensive and a waste of tape.
I just use a piece of thin pickguard material. But you would really have to go out of your way to tear up solid binding.
If it does happen to get nicked - a scraper cleans it all up nice.

Sometimes there is little to prevent skimming the binding while beveling the frets. Just a quick polish takes care of that.

 

[Mr_LV-19E]

Interesting, thanks for the link.

 

[brian f]

good stuff...thanks Hideglue.

I bought a triangle file with the edges ground off, as opposed to the grooved files made specifically for lg/med/small etc. This seemed easier to use, and it seems like I'll be able to watch my progress as I am doing it, although I'm sure there is much technique involved with both types of files.

I'll post results, maybe even a before and after pic. Also going to get some 0000 wool to clean up the fretboard.

Lots of little projects going into this D25, but when I'm done with it all, It will sing like it should. So long as I do a decent job on the frets, I think htat will play a big part in it.

Thanks!!
B

 

[West R Lee]

Hide,

Actually, I meant how do you do a refret without screwing up the binding? Sounds pretty like it would be difficult.

West

 

[hideglue]

West,

Refret with binding is not much different than non-bound; A bit trickier to clean out the fret slots - you can't use a "blitz saw", as you would on non-bound. So I occasionaly use the Dremel.

The fret tangs also need to be nipped at the ends to accomodate the binding. Again, pretty straightforward stuff.

 

[Mr_LV-19E]

Again, pretty straightforward stuff.

Most things are when you have the proper tools and know how to use them.

Very interesting and I like the links to the tools, makes understanding what your talking about easy.

 

[West R Lee]

Thank you sir.

West