$40 Fret leveling/recrown kit on Amazon

[Steve A.]

I just got this fret leveling/recrowning kit and have been going through my guitars one by one- noticing big improvements in each one so far. My stable of new LTD 256's had great action right out of box but after leveling the frets they are even better.

With a new guitar high frets can usually be corrected by tapping on the fret with a hammer and a block of wood. So for those guitars the trapezoid "fret rocker" is often all you need- you place the appropriate side over 3 frets and if the fret rocker can rock back and forth it tells you that the middle fret is high. You can check this while the guitar is strung to pitch (of course you need to recheck it as you go along tapping in frets.) With the strings off I check from one end of the fret to the other in maybe 6 places.

Amazon.com: Pro Guitar Fret Leveling /Diamond Crowning 3 piece Kit: Musical Instruments

Steve Ahola

P.S. The "fret rocker" would be an indispensable tool for any store that buys or sells guitars. (You can get them separately on eBay for about $12 including s/h)

Geetargizmos Fret Rocker Blue Aluminum Fret Level Dressing Crowning Luthier Tool | eBay

Guitar High Fret Finder Will Rock on High Low Frets Stainless Steel Rocker | eBay

[tedmich]

I find this a useful tool before I crown the frets
Precision Sanding Beam Fret Level for All Guitar Bass Neck Frets Luthier | eBay

[Steve A.]

I find this a useful tool before I crown the frets
Precision Sanding Beam Fret Level for All Guitar Bass Neck Frets Luthier | eBay

I kept looking at that listing and looking at that listing- wondering why it had frets coming out of the side of it but now that I have enlarged the picture I can see that it is the reflection of frets on the fingerboard. D'oh! Strange picture. I browsed through the listing but could not find the length or other dimensions.



Oh- I just found it buried deep in the description: 16" x 1" x 2"

FretGuru Precision Sanding Beam/Fret Levelers are the industry Standard, and they measure 16" long by 1" x 2" 6061 T6 aluminum, and both sides are precision Blanchard Ground (which itself is super accurate), and then lapped in on a diamond surfacing table, then our laboratory grade granite surface plate that is acurate*** to .0001" (one ten-thousandth of an inch) basically unmeasurable.

Hey- I just ordered a shorter one (9") on Thursday for $17 including s/h. As Marcel Marceau used to say "great mimes think alike." The 16" one for ~$54 total in your link is a lot cheaper than the 20" from the Tommy Star collection which is like $80 w/ s/h.

I decided to do a full refret job on my 2009 PRS SE Custom Semihollow and am putting together the tools I need to do that. I have plenty of guitars that I can practice on first. Like my ~1994 Epiphone Casino which had fret ends sticking out a bit from the neck- not much but enough to bother me. In filing them down I took off too much metal so if you pull on the E string at all it slides off the fret. "If it isn't broken don't try to fix it" as my father used to tell me...

So do you need to tighten the truss rod a bit to approximate the tension from the strings? BTW the listings for the 9" beam sander talks about ramping the frets as well as leveling them. I guess that is so the upper frets aren't too much further away from the strings than the lower frets.

Thanks!

Steve

P.S. Once upon a time I had dl'd PDF file that allowed you to print out a radius checker. Is that still floating around? Hey, I just found one!

http://www.pickguardian.com/pickguar...s%20gauges.pdf

*** If the seller is unable to spell the word "accurate" correctly it makes me wonder how acurate(sic) the Precision Sanding Beam/Fret Leveler actually is.

[tedmich]

supposedly the German Plek machine that Gibson runs do all the fret finishing under the specific tension the neck will be under with a given set of strings. There's a couple of US places that will run one on your guitar for ~$200 but wheres the fun in that... plus $200 X 38 begins to be real money...

[Steve A.]

I had that backwards- if you tightened the truss rod it would make the situation even worse. And I don't think that loosening the truss rod would have much effect without the tension of the strings. So I guess if you make it flat enough everything will come through the wash...

So the Plek machine doesn't just level the frets (and the fretboard?) but it crowns them as well and bevels the fret ends?

[tedmich]

don't know about the end bevel, but I wouldn't be surprised as the Plek Pro does level and contour the fret crown as well as cut nut slots and bridge slots on acoustic bridges, from their site, the Pro units High Frequency Spindle (HFS) can:
"the HFS can also be used to plane and engrave the finger board, cut the fret slots, mark the pin holes on an acoustic bridge, cut the pocket for a nut or an acoustic saddle, or trim an acoustic bridge saddle to the exact height"

It doesn't press the damn frets and cut the ridiculously hard Jescar SS to length ....yet

[potatofarmer]

Ron Kirn has a good fret leveling tutorial: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-tech...ele-101-a.html Generally you want the frets as level as possible before you start leveling them, which may require a hair of force from the truss rod but generally not much.

I've been doing my own setup work for years, just started doing my own fret leveling. I've leveled three fretboards so far and each one I've done better than the last. I also recently got a 2013 Gibson SGJ which was plek'd at the factory, and apart from the nut slots being a little too high the frets are so perfect it makes me want to throw my crowning file away. Fantastic machine.

[Slobrain]

I have been using Ron Kirns method and it works great. I was glad to run across his tutorial a few years ago. It was similar to my method but much better. The thing you need to use before using his method is a notched straight edge.
Guitar Neck Straight Edge Notched Luthiers Tool | eBay

The straight edge is the key to getting the neck straight before the leveling, then a good crown file is next after the leveling.

[Paleo Pete]

Couple of notes. I use a machinist rule to check straightness, I have both 18 inch and 24 inch ones. Not granite block straight, but plenty good to check basic straightness for this. I also use it to find out how many low frets I have. I checked them long ago, set one on a granite surface block and I couldn't see any daylight. You won't find anything that good at WalMart...the 18 inch is around $30 used...I'm not sure I wanna know what the 4 footer would cost new...I got lucky, got my 2 footer at an auction for 3 bucks. If you can get a good deal on one, the Starrett machinist rule is great to have but pretty expensive new...OK I got curious and checked, the new 24 inch is $88.55 retail.

And I saw this in the quote above about the product.

then our laboratory grade granite surface plate that is acurate*** to .0001" (one ten-thousandth of an inch) basically unmeasurable.

.0001, one ten thousandth of an inch, is certainly measurable. I was a machinist for 8 years and did it plenty times. Most of my micrometers have ten thousandth markings. The guy who came in to set up our new Kuraki milling machine used a dial indicator that trued the table in to 2 microns...two millionths of a meter. We had to shut the whole shop down, the vibration from any machine running would make the indicator needle on the thing go crazy, it was unusable. One micron is about .000039 inch. Anyway one ten thousandth is definitely measurable, I still have micrometers that will do it easily. Usually it's not necessary, but I did occasionally have tolerances of .0005, half a thousandth...when you're dealing with a part that will cost the shop near $1000 if you scrap it, that's some pretty heavy stress...I ran enough of one particular part to fill a pickup truck at $8000 each...and scrapped one. Indicator crapped out...Fortunately I didn't lose my job...but the boss wasn't happy...but one ten thousandth certainly can be measured.

Anyway I can confirm the flatness of a good granite block (called a surface block), I used one for QC checks in tooling repair. Set a flat bar ground on a surface grinder on it and it will create a vacuum, you can't pick it up, you'll have to slide it off...it's that flat...if I remember correctly less than one ten thousandth in 24 inches tolerance. Possibly less, I might not remember it correctly. Let's just say really flat...

[Steve A.]

Paleo Pete: Is this the Starrett 24" rule that you were referring to?

Starrett 380-24 24-Inch Steel Straight Edge: Machinist Straight Edge: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Amazon didn't list specs for it so I checked the mfg website:
Starrett 380-24 Steel Straight Edge
• Length (in) 24"
• Length (mm) 600mm
• Thickness (in) 11/64"
• Thickness (mm) 4.4mm
• Width (in) 1-13/32"
• Width (mm) 36mm
• Accuracy (in) ± .0002” per foot

How would this one compare (~$20 cheaper)

Fowler 52-340-018 Rigid Steel Rule with Satin Chrome Finish, 5R Graduation Interval, 18" L x 1.125" W x 0.04" Thick: Construction Rulers: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

I guess for $6 this one is just a 2" metal ruler (probably more accurate than a wet noodle)

Kapro 308-24 24" Aluminum Straight Edge Ruler: Construction Rulers: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Thanks for all of the information!

Steve

P.S. 18" should be long enough for a guitar but I guess you would want the 24" to do basses as well? One advantage of the 18" for guitar is that it would miss the pickup- right?

[Paleo Pete]

No, the Starrett is a straight edge, not a ruler. I did the same thing, then realized it. This is not the same one but very similar, and almost exactly the one I have. I haven't looked up the model number of mine.

Starrett C604R-24 Spring Tempered Steel Rule With Inch Graduations, 4R Style Graduations, 24" Length, 1-1/4" Width, 3/64" Thickness: Construction Rulers: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

This might be the other one I looked up, almost the same.

Starrett Full Flexible Steel Rule With Inch Graduations, 4R Style Graduations: Construction Rulers: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Don't know anything about the Fowler, but it would probably work, to be honest, the ruler used in a standard carpenter's combination square would work if it were long enough. You don't need the machinist tolerance straightness for working on a guitar neck, just a good straight edge. Anything under .005 tolerance should be plenty good for what we're dealing with here.

For those of you who aren't familiar with that kind of measurements, cut out a small piece of the cellophane on a cigarette pack. That's .001" thick, I used it for several years to get my zero point when machining parts. That cellophane tells me when my tool is .001" off the part. If your ruler is off by 5 of those it's not enough to make a difference. So yeah, the Fowler would probably be good enough, it's probably at least that close, I don't know what their tolerances are, but if it's designed for machinist use it's probably very close. If I had to guess, they probably keep within .001". The very best stuff for machinist work is Starrett, Mitutoyo and Browne & Sharpe. Doing close tolerance work I wouldn't even look at anything else. For doing a fret job, that's probably overkill. But it is very nice to have if I need to check out my guitar necks...like the middle clearance for truss rod adjustments. Also nice for setting the starting point for bridge height. (nut too) That and a 6 inch ruler will get you in the ball park. Adjust from there.

[Steve A.]

Thanks for the tips! Would an accurate 24" level work or is it too wide?

Steve

[David Schwab]

I find this a useful tool before I crown the frets
Precision Sanding Beam Fret Level for All Guitar Bass Neck Frets Luthier | eBay

That looks nice.

I use a similar tool from Stew-Mac:

STEWMAC.COM - Fret/Fingerboard Levelers

I've been using it since 2012, and really like it. Levels fingerboards really well too.

I've been using this 6" leveler since the early 90s. It's just a file with a mahogany handle.. but it saved me making one!

STEWMAC.COM - Fret/Fingerboard Leveling Files

For crowning a use a triangular file with safe edges I made myself. I've been using that since the 80s. Similar to the small size here:

STEWMAC.COM - 3-Corner Fret Dressing Files

I have some of the standard crowning files with the concave notch, but never liked them very much. I should get some diamond crowning files and see how I like those, but I've been doing it this way for a long time and I'm pretty quick at it.

I've been using these forever too:

STEWMAC.COM - Fret Dressing Stick

These are very handy too:

STEWMAC.COM - Fingerboard Guards, Set of 6

It's nice to see there's a lot of sources for these tools now. There used to be like two or three, with Stew-Mac being the main one. I also have their fret bender, and fret press, hammers, etc.

[Paleo Pete]

Steve - You would have to check it to be sure it's nice and straight, but the 24" level might work, not sure, you'd have to try it and see. Seems like it should, if you're careful. But like I said before, just a good straight edge should be fine for this. Even some of the 2 foot rulers made for carpenter work might be straight enough, if they make a 2 footer. (don't really know) If you look at the Amazon page Starrett also makes some aluminum rules that are a lot less expensive than the steel ones, should be plenty straight, just won't take the abuse the steel ones will and remain straight. One of those would work fine at a much better price, but be careful how you handle it.

[Steve A.]

It's nice to see there's a lot of sources for these tools now. There used to be like two or three, with Stew-Mac being the main one. I also have their fret bender, and fret press, hammers, etc.

And some of the tools are coming from China which brings the price way down. As for the Stew-Mac Fret Bender I bet we could build something like that for a lot less than $125...



I was going to get some pre-radiused wire from Philadelphia Luthier (.104" x .047") but I decided that I want something like the Dunlop 6130 frets and could not find anything like that there. (.106" x .036")

Or do you think it would be better to go with the taller frets (.104" x .047") and then level them down to ~.036". By doing that that they would have a wider top which is supposed to be good- right?

Thanks!

Steve Ahola

EDIT How would this work for radiusing pre-cut fretwire? Get a block of wood with a slightly smaller radius than your neck, put a wide fret slot in it and then tap the fretwire down with a brass-headed hammer. That would be similar to what you might do on the fretboard but since you were whacking away on a block of wood its not like you will damage your guitar.

BTW I had to tap down a fret on a new guitar yesterday and wasn't sure if it was okay to use my new brass hammer so I put down a piece of leather on the fret just to be safe. So a light brass head is not going to damage or mark a NS fret...?


EDIT2 I just found a video on making your own fretwire bender! It does give the measurements for 16" radius. You would probably want the radius to be a little bit smaller than the guitar neck- right? So that the ends don't want to pop up so much...