Excellent video! Exactly the way I was taught by a master luthier. The only nugget I might add is to tape off your pick-ups before leveling. The metal shavings have a way of finding the magnets. Another way to cut down on the fine metal particles is to use scotch-brite pads instead of steel wool. Again, awesome video. Thanks for the detailed information.
This was the best video on this that I have been able to find, and I've been through a lot. Great attention to detail. I would also recommend that people be sure to apply a good bit of painters tape and completely cover your pickups beforehand or you'll have a fun long time trying to get the metal shavings and steel wool off of those magnets :)
Fantastic video, THANKS! Maybe it's just me with my extensive background in classic wooden boat building and restoration, and now into stringed insturments as well, but there is another an option available to you other than steel wool (which I personally WILL NOT allow anywhere near my shops, be they of a nautical or musical nature). It's Brass Wool (admittedly hard to find), or bronze wool (much more common), and both of which can be found at any decent Marine Chandlery, at most Hardware stores that cater towards the fine furniture refinishing market, and even at specialty suppliers catering to fine jewelry shops. Like steel wool, these non-ferrous abrasives are available in grades from coarse to ultra-fine. Please save yourselves from the nightmares that any ferrous particulate matter, especially those of a microscopic airborne nature, WILL cause you!!! -Eric-
Hi Chris, I am a former orthopaedic specialist, so guitar builds are one of my favourite areas because there are a lot of similarities between both specialities which is the biomechanics and I have been watching your channel for a while and the reason is mainly the way you are thinking and explaining your thoughts. I really enjoying them please keep the good work and I know sometimes we have to understand that not all people are thinking the same and are so open to varieties of thoughts at the same time. However the results are the main proof of our practice and thoughts. Thank you again kind Regards from ENGLAND UK.👍
good explanations of what you're doing and why combined with good camera placement makes this one of the best and most informative videos I have EVER seen on TH-cam. fine work, Chris! and thanks.
Perfect timing for me, I just finished a re-fret on a scalloped Brazilian rosewood fretboard. I found two spots about two strings wide a slight (barely noticeable) high spot after crowning and polishing. The scalloped board was chippy and I had to meticulously re-construct many fret slots. I leveled the board the way you checked for high spots with a rocker. Came close to perfect, but I want to level those 2 high spots, seeing as this isn't horseshoes or hand grenades. Thanks for the tutorial.
This is so encouraging...thankyou for sharing this flat file technique. Was always dis-couraged by people saying it was necessary to run the whole board....my common sense always disagreed....and the same with needing a $50-$100 crown file. Using a sharpie will help to visualize my efforts. I am encouraged to fix those two tiny spots that have bothered me....and if it goes easy (which I feel confident of now) ...ill check my other guitars.
Loved the good tip for grinding off the sharp edges of files! ( Their ALL kissin the grinder!) I have changed the file for 400- 600 sandpapers wrapped on a piece of foam for spot levelling. Goin down slow! Great Video Cheers!
This was great, but as a tool and die maker/ mold maker always clean between grits of steel wool or sand paper as to not drag heavy grit back into the lighter grit.
I'm not a professional machinist or anything but whenever I break edges with a file on something I machined I only push it across. Never with a sawing back and forth motion. I guess if your sanding and polishing afterwards it doesn't matter but pushing only makes a better finished and more even break. You can also feel when the edge is gone.
Awesome video! Thanks for your straight, no fluff, process description and techniques. I am new to performing some.of these actions on my guitars and this video is precisely what I needed to become proficient.
I bought an 30 year old guitar to refurbish. It was bought from a collector/songwriter and had several flat spots. As I was cheap and inexperienced I thought about the flat spots and decided to try just adding a bead of solder to the flat ones. Filed them down, crowned them. Works great. Probably not as durable but it still works.
John Connor -- I had to chuckle about the solder on the frets. Yeah, I'll work for maybe a week or 10 days, then you'll notice grooves in the solder. Solder is just way too soft to work very well. A suggestion:. Look up Ted Woodford. He has several vids on how to replace frets. My old mando needs 6 or 7 frets replaced and I will review Ted's method. This guy knows his stuff. Good luck, friend. Bob
Great video! Particularly appreciated the 3-minute mark where you actually walked through how to use a fret rocket and to only mark parts of the fret that seem to be high. A lot of other videos breeze through this stuff.
Excellent and relevant explanation, as for me , by watching the video, I noticed that I am just short with some of the tools to work on the crowning and leveling but you nailed the point of what I need to do next time....thanks.
Great instructional video ! I'm about to attempt fret leveling & crowning on my 83 Ibanez Roadstar2 for the first time ever , I've owned her for nearly 40 years since I bought her new , I need her to play to the best of her abilities , your video will help !
This is a really good video. For a refret..... I've been doing this after the initial beam leveling....going over the frets with the rocker and marking the high spots.....working them close (a sliver high) then going back to the full sanding beam. it's been the secret to removing a lot less metal from all the frets. I have to do a Les Paul I finished leveling a month ago.....went back over it a few days ago with the rocker and found two high areas just under the thin E at the 13th and 17th fret. They just popped up even though I glued in all the frets. I'll do what you did and then just recrown the fret. I believe this is the secret to a great fret job and not removing too much metal from all the frets. Most video's don't show you this. Everyone should thank you. This is one of those secrets most luthiars won't give up. Took me 7 or 8 years to figure it out. Actually I just figured it out this year. Most newbies will end up removing too much metal for many refrets. It's really a mess if they use .040 frets to begin with.....it's so easy to end up below .036 and start having problems. If you use the beam alone I've found the rule of thumb is if a fret is .002 high you'll take .004 off all the frets to get the frets perfectly level. Doing your method makes it much less.
Many thanks Chris, hugely helpful video. I appreciate the detail, pointers and hints all along the process--as well as the time it takes you to do these videos. This is an invaluable addition to the guitarist community's online library.
The best video on this topic on TH-cam! One suggestion. SS frets are still a sort of mystery. You should put it in the title of this video. Some claim they are hard or impossible to level and crown and you did an amazing job!
Very helpful tutorial, my friend. I find I must replace the first 7 frets on my old Flatiron mandolin due to wear and string grooves. I have a home made fret rocker tool that is perfectly flat on all four edges, and is very accurate, as it was used when I built two other mandos a few years ago. So thanks for this vid. Bob
Very good, thank you! I leveled out few high spots of frets on my bass guitar, now the buzz is gone. I also noticed 1 fret was out a few tenth of mm from the fretboard and i carefully pushed that back in flush with a piece of hardwood and a light hammering.
Thanks so much for this video, it gave me the confidence to correct some high frets on 2 of my guitars and I am quite happy with the results. I wanted to add that instead of using steel wool in the polishing phase, I've been using those 4-sided nail buffer blocks (normally used for manicures). I got that tip from an online guitar forum and I was quite surprised at how well the block does this job.
Thank you Chris this is an incredibly good explanation. Stew Mac has a crowning file that will crown both sides at once. It might be the better choice for a novice (like me). :)
Oh good! So I have been doing it correctly. I loathe having to level sand the whole fretboard. I feel I am doing the guitar and it's owner an injustice! Thanks for another great bit of information!
thank you...... a practical accurate process!!! your videos are wonderful!! i learned a lot. i will see the rest of them as soon as my time permits! thanks again!!
Great video and explanation. I will be using your technique to fix a new epiphone with high fret in 2 spots. Checked with the rocker and otherwise it is perfect, but I have 2 trouble spots. I ordered a file and I am ready to go. It also has nut issues, which is frustrating. For fret polishing, I have discovered that micro-mesh pads are amazing. They shine up like a mirror in just a few minutes.
Thank you ,very informative ,and great detail ,easy to get small info too ,much appreciated, since I'm right there with my third attempt at installing frets ,and they look pretty level already ,but will purchase a fret rocker first to see if I'm five or less ,like your goal ,before buying the beam ,thank you ,have a great New Year ,God bless !!
An interesting video. I have a luthier's 3- corner file, but I find i seldom use it. When I find a high fret with my fret rocker, instead of my 3- corner file, I will use my recrowning file, frequently checking with the rocker, until the fret is level.
if not on a hurry, better check all the frets with fret rocker tool. check neck straightness then start all over again to make sure all the frets are level then do the ffret crowning and polishing.
Wonderful video sir you give me the confidence to do few Frets On My Guitar great performance keep it I watch all your videos they are sensational thank you for your time and dedication
220 grit sandpaper seems a little rough/ .0 steel wool also when using a fine file. 400 grit paper on up to 1000 grit and finish off with.0000 steel wool is what I've always used. Course everyone does it different. I will give your approach a try. Good video.
You are awesome ! Ive done guitar set ups on tour for Joe Satriani, George Thorogood , Blue Man Group, Lonestar , Jared Leto and more on tour as guitar tech , have set up guitars in stores and at a Nashville repair company. Its not Luthier level , but its not beginner either . I made my purple strat from scratch 22 years ago , and many players from Reeves Gabrels ( bowie , the cure ) to Audley Freed , like my silly guitar. Anyways.....you are great with the 3 cornered file agenda , instead of all the orher agendas. You mention, not using a stew mac improved style file , because of it gets away from the nice leveling one just did . Agreed! But one other thing is , if you use a crowning file with the contour, it will decrease your peak height , which after a few re crowns , your frets will have WAY less meat . So to me , between the taking away all that precious meat height to not re fret again soon, but also , the creating of the un evenness you just prepared, and un doing it . A human cant possible know exact amounts to use a crowning file with a bulit in radius on the top edge . Unless you are Joe Glaser with a plec machine, and i know Joe well, you should use a 3 cornered file. Thanks again, love your agendas on frets
I was once seduced by the diamond crowning file Stewmac sells, but I instantly noticed how it reduces fret height as you form the crown. As a result, I went back to my three corner file and have been a happy fret crowner ever since. I thought about selling my diamond recrowning file to someone else, but I had used it on stainless steel and it was ruined. At the time I bought it, the Stewmac file cost $52. Now it's $87, not including shipping. My three corner file was $7 not including shipping.
@@HighlineGuitars Hi , quick question, you mentioned the model number of Nicholson 3 corner file in an episode, i can't recall which episode now . Ha . Could you please let me know when you get a chance? Hope you are hanging in there though these interesting times.
@@HighlineGuitars oh one other question, would you purchase stew mac precision notched straight edge and fret rocker, = 130 dollars , or like the file , you have better option? Thanks again
This video stands out as many video, while covering these things, don't really get down to the level of actually doing it, showing you specifically which files are used and how they're used. A three-sided file is often referred to in regards to crowning, and great, but how big a file? How fine a tooth? Those details get left out,, and while here maybe no numbers were mentioned, I can clearly see the file in question and figure it out from there. But especially dressing the ends of the frets, I haven't until now come across a video that shows it being done with such clarity, and shows you how to do it without damaging the fretboard most important of all.
This is great! So if you just want to remove some grittiness from your frets, and don’t want to go fully into leveling and crowning, since you might feel that is best left to professionals, could you just start with the sandpaper?
I have all these great tools and I like low action. Own currently 20 guitars-all fine at various price points. My issue is I have a hard time getting the StewMac rocker to rock although I know the technique. Logic says there has to be some high frets yet I can't seem to finesse the sound or rock. BTW I've had 5 of my favorite guitars Plek'd by the nation's top shop. Now that I have all these tools I'd like to work my other guitars for low action. All rooms are humidity controlled. Will be buying an inexpensive Monoprice guitar to practice on. Perhaps you could do a video on just the finesse and technique of the rocker. Thanks. Good videos as always.
NEVER use steel wool on an electric guitar. The particles will stick to the magnets in your pickups and alter the magnetic fields. Use synthetic non-woven abrasive pads instead.
I found the best way to find which frets and what part of the fret is buzzing is marking them with erasable markers and then playing the guitar so that it buzzes. The strings will chip off the erasable marker revealing the areas that are buzzing.
Best to do a few frets at a time and loosen the strings before applying the marker. You need to strum with a heavier hand than normal and until you see it chipping off. Also you must lay on the marker quickly ( you can't go wet over dry) , if it dries before finishing marking the fret you have to wipe it off and reapply to get an even coat.
Hi Chirs ! Really epic job and informative. I wish I have watched this earlier. Because I just ruin my new neck by leveling that was supposed to be assembled next week. I have a question ❓ is it correct that never crown on the top of the fret. I ruined it by keep crownning it on top of the fret and the sharpie just gone completely. It's my first time so I don't really know what I was doing. But I need to grab this technique. My problem is.there will be a flat surface on top of the fret After leveling. How do I get ripped off that flat without damaging the fret and get the reformed process done. Thank you so much.
I agree your idea of having to remove really any material from new frets doesn’t make sense. Using a consistent pressing in of the fret is best. However there’s no guarantee. But what if the press arbor had a meter to measure the pressure? Do you think that would solve the problem or will the wood of the board still cause difficulties? Or maybe close enough to work well and do a fine job? Thanks for al your info, it’s great! Knowledgeable you are.
Hello, love you channel and you reply promptly on messages which is great. Can you explain why you level all the frets if instead of spot leveling with fretkisser for example more than 5 high spots? What if guitar has about 5 high spots before 12 fret and some high spots higher on the neck which normally is leveled off anyway to reduce buzz.
These days, I level all the frets and crown them after they've been installed. However, I'll wait to polish them later. Instead, I finish the guitar, string it up, tune, intonate and let it sit under tension for a week or so. Then, I'll recheck the tuning and intonation, adjust if necessary, and play the guitar. If there are any high spots, I'll spot level and recrown. When I'm satisfied all is good, I'll polish the frets and call it done.
Nice video lesson, I am finding your videos more informative than $tew Mac$. Question, I bought a cheap Acoustic from CL with absurd action. The strings were very high off of the neck. I managed to successfully lower the action by adjusting the truss rod and sanding down the saddle some. It plays much better but now but I have a little string buzz on the low E and A strings between frets 1-6. It's minor buzz when fretting barre chords. I think the truss rod is as tight as it'll go. I'm wondering if I should loosen the truss rod just a bit to see if that removes the buzz and then further sand saddle if I need. I'm I thinking wrong or right here? Or what can I do to eliminate the buzz? Thank You.
this is a very nice video on the general side on how to be conservative in fret leveling, but to all of you who don't know, files cut typically only in the forward stroke and the back and forth motion of filing is generally a bad technique
Those 2 first minutes gave me the best advice to know if I have to recrown my frets. Thanks !
Excellent video! Exactly the way I was taught by a master luthier. The only nugget I might add is to tape off your pick-ups before leveling. The metal shavings have a way of finding the magnets. Another way to cut down on the fine metal particles is to use scotch-brite pads instead of steel wool. Again, awesome video. Thanks for the detailed information.
Good tip on the edges of the triangular file
Thank you for taking the time to get a good close up and focused shot with your camera.
This was the best video on this that I have been able to find, and I've been through a lot. Great attention to detail. I would also recommend that people be sure to apply a good bit of painters tape and completely cover your pickups beforehand or you'll have a fun long time trying to get the metal shavings and steel wool off of those magnets :)
Hands down
Fantastic video, THANKS!
Maybe it's just me with my extensive background in classic wooden boat building and restoration, and now into stringed insturments as well, but there is another an option available to you other than steel wool (which I personally WILL NOT allow anywhere near my shops, be they of a nautical or musical nature).
It's Brass Wool (admittedly hard to find), or bronze wool (much more common), and both of which can be found at any decent Marine Chandlery, at most Hardware stores that cater towards the fine furniture refinishing market, and even at specialty suppliers catering to fine jewelry shops. Like steel wool, these non-ferrous abrasives are available in grades from coarse to ultra-fine.
Please save yourselves from the nightmares that any ferrous particulate matter, especially those of a microscopic airborne nature, WILL cause you!!! -Eric-
Hi Chris, I am a former orthopaedic specialist, so guitar builds are one of my favourite areas because there are a lot of similarities between both specialities which is the biomechanics and I have been watching your channel for a while and the reason is mainly the way you are thinking and explaining your thoughts. I really enjoying them please keep the good work and I know sometimes we have to understand that not all people are thinking the same and are so open to varieties of thoughts at the same time. However the results are the main proof of our practice and thoughts. Thank you again kind Regards from ENGLAND UK.👍
This is such a nice video. Very detailed and I can tell that you’re mindful of the small details that us beginners wouldn’t know.
good explanations of what you're doing and why combined with good camera placement makes this one of the best and most informative videos I have EVER seen on TH-cam. fine work, Chris! and thanks.
Much appreciated!
Perfect timing for me, I just finished a re-fret on a scalloped Brazilian rosewood fretboard. I found two spots about two strings wide a slight (barely noticeable) high spot after crowning and polishing. The scalloped board was chippy and I had to meticulously re-construct many fret slots. I leveled the board the way you checked for high spots with a rocker. Came close to perfect, but I want to level those 2 high spots, seeing as this isn't horseshoes or hand grenades. Thanks for the tutorial.
I'm so happy to explained what a crown really is. Other "tutors" had left me with the impression that it was a little ridge across the top.
Thank you for this video! At this point, fret leveling is my least favorite thing to do on a guitar. Ugh. But this helps. Thanks!
This is so encouraging...thankyou for sharing this flat file technique.
Was always dis-couraged by people saying it was necessary to run the whole board....my common sense always disagreed....and the same with needing a $50-$100 crown file.
Using a sharpie will help to visualize my efforts. I am encouraged to fix those two tiny spots that have bothered me....and if it goes easy (which I feel confident of now) ...ill check my other guitars.
Loved the good tip for grinding off the sharp edges of files! ( Their ALL kissin the grinder!)
I have changed the file for 400- 600 sandpapers wrapped on a piece of foam for spot levelling. Goin down slow! Great Video Cheers!
Thank you so much from France !
damn he the Bob Ross of fret leveling...great video!
And may be there's a little squirrel that hangs out on This fret....
This was great, but as a tool and die maker/ mold maker always clean between grits of steel wool or sand paper as to not drag heavy grit back into the lighter grit.
good tip man thank you!
I'm not a professional machinist or anything but whenever I break edges with a file on something I machined I only push it across. Never with a sawing back and forth motion. I guess if your sanding and polishing afterwards it doesn't matter but pushing only makes a better finished and more even break. You can also feel when the edge is gone.
Awesome video! Thanks for your straight, no fluff, process description and techniques. I am new to performing some.of these actions on my guitars and this video is precisely what I needed to become proficient.
I bought an 30 year old guitar to refurbish. It was bought from a collector/songwriter and had several flat spots. As I was cheap and inexperienced I thought about the flat spots and decided to try just adding a bead of solder to the flat ones. Filed them down, crowned them. Works great. Probably not as durable but it still works.
John Connor -- I had to chuckle about the solder on the frets. Yeah, I'll work for maybe a week or 10 days, then you'll notice grooves in the solder. Solder is just way too soft to work very well. A suggestion:. Look up Ted Woodford. He has several vids on how to replace frets. My old mando needs 6 or 7 frets replaced and I will review Ted's method. This guy knows his stuff. Good luck, friend. Bob
Great video! Particularly appreciated the 3-minute mark where you actually walked through how to use a fret rocket and to only mark parts of the fret that seem to be high. A lot of other videos breeze through this stuff.
Glad it was helpful!
Easily the best video on this subject , he explained so well that even a idiot like me understood.
I really appreciate the clear explanations and up close detailed shots that you put in your videos.
Glad you like them!
Just the video I needed today. I’ll approach it slowly. Thank you 👍
I honestly don't believe I could talk and file at the same time as well as you do.. kudos
Excellent and relevant explanation, as for me , by watching the video, I noticed that I am just short with some of the tools to work on the crowning and leveling but you nailed the point of what I need to do next time....thanks.
Thanks, I really enjoy your clear, detailed, descriptions of the way you approach every given build issue...
I did this twice now and got great results!
Awesome job! Took the time to inspect and fix the fret at the fret’s high spot.
Great instructional video ! I'm about to attempt fret leveling & crowning on my 83 Ibanez Roadstar2 for the first time ever , I've owned her for nearly 40 years since I bought her new , I need her to play to the best of her abilities , your video will help !
This is a really good video. For a refret..... I've been doing this after the initial beam leveling....going over the frets with the rocker and marking the high spots.....working them close (a sliver high) then going back to the full sanding beam. it's been the secret to removing a lot less metal from all the frets. I have to do a Les Paul I finished leveling a month ago.....went back over it a few days ago with the rocker and found two high areas just under the thin E at the 13th and 17th fret. They just popped up even though I glued in all the frets. I'll do what you did and then just recrown the fret. I believe this is the secret to a great fret job and not removing too much metal from all the frets.
Most video's don't show you this. Everyone should thank you. This is one of those secrets most luthiars won't give up. Took me 7 or 8 years to figure it out. Actually I just figured it out this year. Most newbies will end up removing too much metal for many refrets. It's really a mess if they use .040 frets to begin with.....it's so easy to end up below .036 and start having problems. If you use the beam alone I've found the rule of thumb is if a fret is .002 high you'll take .004 off all the frets to get the frets perfectly level. Doing your method makes it much less.
Many thanks Chris, hugely helpful video. I appreciate the detail, pointers and hints all along the process--as well as the time it takes you to do these videos. This is an invaluable addition to the guitarist community's online library.
Absolutely practical and helpful.
Thank you very much.
Henry Bon Ruiz.
just ordered some of the tools in your links. thank you for posting this
Great teacher, explainer , and super knowledgeable
The best video on this topic on TH-cam! One suggestion. SS frets are still a sort of mystery. You should put it in the title of this video. Some claim they are hard or impossible to level and crown and you did an amazing job!
They are a bit more work, but not worth the extravagant claims.
If you keep your frets polished they'll last a long time anyway. Capos kill frets
Great clear demo. I’ll give it a go.🎸🕊
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience!
Big thanks GB! I don't do this for money, but it surely helps!
This was great, thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very helpful tutorial, my friend. I find I must replace the first 7 frets on my old Flatiron mandolin due to wear and string grooves. I have a home made fret rocker tool that is perfectly flat on all four edges, and is very accurate, as it was used when I built two other mandos a few years ago. So thanks for this vid. Bob
Very good, thank you!
I leveled out few high spots of frets on my bass guitar, now the buzz is gone.
I also noticed 1 fret was out a few tenth of mm from the fretboard and i carefully pushed that back in flush with a piece of hardwood and a light hammering.
A most excellent tutorial as usual. This really helps newbie guitar luthiers like me
Thanks! Am building a stewmac Les Paul Jr. and found this to be a good step- by- step guide. Terry from OZ.
Exceptional Explanation!!💥🎯💯
Thanks so much for this video, it gave me the confidence to correct some high frets on 2 of my guitars and I am quite happy with the results. I wanted to add that instead of using steel wool in the polishing phase, I've been using those 4-sided nail buffer blocks (normally used for manicures). I got that tip from an online guitar forum and I was quite surprised at how well the block does this job.
Great to hear!
Thank you Chris this is an incredibly good explanation. Stew Mac has a crowning file that will crown both sides at once. It might be the better choice for a novice (like me). :)
Oh good! So I have been doing it correctly. I loathe having to level sand the whole fretboard. I feel I am doing the guitar and it's owner an injustice! Thanks for another great bit of information!
thank you...... a practical accurate process!!! your videos are wonderful!! i learned a lot. i will see the rest of them as soon as my time permits! thanks again!!
Very good video and process. I hate taking off more fret than I have to also. Have to agree with Steve (below), a fret rocker is a must.
Great video and explanation. I will be using your technique to fix a new epiphone with high fret in 2 spots. Checked with the rocker and otherwise it is perfect, but I have 2 trouble spots. I ordered a file and I am ready to go. It also has nut issues, which is frustrating. For fret polishing, I have discovered that micro-mesh pads are amazing. They shine up like a mirror in just a few minutes.
Great video! For those reading, quality tools help as well!
Excellent ... Very informative, clear narrative and quality video.... Just what I needed! Cheers 😊
Excellent. Thank you very much. Wonderful instruction.
Thank you sir 🙏..... For your time and your knowledge.... Your appreciated !!!!
Thank you very much for taking all the time to explain every step, you are really helpfull, cheers, the best for you!
So very helpful gave me the courage to work on my epiphones and Mexican strat . Subscribed
Thank you ,very informative ,and great detail ,easy to get small info too ,much appreciated, since I'm right there with my third attempt at installing frets ,and they look pretty level already ,but will purchase a fret rocker first to see if I'm five or less ,like your goal ,before buying the beam ,thank you ,have a great New Year ,God bless !!
An interesting video. I have a luthier's 3- corner file, but I find i seldom use it. When I find a high fret with my fret rocker, instead of my 3- corner file, I will use my recrowning file, frequently checking with the rocker, until the fret is level.
I do the opposite. We all should do what we know works best for us.
Thank you! Best explanation and demo I've been able to find.
Great tutorial, it feels like a proper class.
I found myself blowing away the metal fragments as you filed! 😂
😅
Excellent video and process
Thanks for sharing
My pleasure
if not on a hurry, better check all the frets with fret rocker tool. check neck straightness then start all over again to make sure all the frets are level then do the ffret crowning and polishing.
Wonderful video sir you give me the confidence to do few Frets On My Guitar great performance keep it I watch all your videos they are sensational thank you for your time and dedication
Great instructional video, I appreciate you posting this! Will subb today!
Awesome, thank you!
That's a fantastic video, great work!
This really helped provide a lot of insight into what I should take care and pay attention to for my next mini guitar build project thank you so much.
You have just confirmed what I've thought for years: Wood moves, and save time by using a fret rocker.
220 grit sandpaper seems a little rough/ .0 steel wool also when using a fine file. 400 grit paper on up to 1000 grit and finish off with.0000 steel wool is what I've always used. Course everyone does it different.
I will give your approach a try.
Good video.
You are awesome ! Ive done guitar set ups on tour for Joe Satriani, George Thorogood , Blue Man Group, Lonestar , Jared Leto and more on tour as guitar tech , have set up guitars in stores and at a Nashville repair company. Its not Luthier level , but its not beginner either . I made my purple strat from scratch 22 years ago , and many players from Reeves Gabrels ( bowie , the cure ) to Audley Freed , like my silly guitar. Anyways.....you are great with the 3 cornered file agenda , instead of all the orher agendas. You mention, not using a stew mac improved style file , because of it gets away from the nice leveling one just did . Agreed! But one other thing is , if you use a crowning file with the contour, it will decrease your peak height , which after a few re crowns , your frets will have WAY less meat . So to me , between the taking away all that precious meat height to not re fret again soon, but also , the creating of the un evenness you just prepared, and un doing it . A human cant possible know exact amounts to use a crowning file with a bulit in radius on the top edge . Unless you are Joe Glaser with a plec machine, and i know Joe well, you should use a 3 cornered file. Thanks again, love your agendas on frets
I was once seduced by the diamond crowning file Stewmac sells, but I instantly noticed how it reduces fret height as you form the crown. As a result, I went back to my three corner file and have been a happy fret crowner ever since. I thought about selling my diamond recrowning file to someone else, but I had used it on stainless steel and it was ruined. At the time I bought it, the Stewmac file cost $52. Now it's $87, not including shipping. My three corner file was $7 not including shipping.
@@HighlineGuitars Hi , quick question, you mentioned the model number of Nicholson 3 corner file in an episode, i can't recall which episode now . Ha . Could you please let me know when you get a chance? Hope you are hanging in there though these interesting times.
@@HighlineGuitars oh one other question, would you purchase stew mac precision notched straight edge and fret rocker, = 130 dollars , or like the file , you have better option? Thanks again
@@ZARCOOTER amzn.to/2NMRy5w
@@ZARCOOTER amzn.to/33a7HMa
cheers! been looking for this exact video for quite some time.
Love this video. Thanks for all the detail!
You are so welcome!
This video stands out as many video, while covering these things, don't really get down to the level of actually doing it, showing you specifically which files are used and how they're used. A three-sided file is often referred to in regards to crowning, and great, but how big a file? How fine a tooth? Those details get left out,, and while here maybe no numbers were mentioned, I can clearly see the file in question and figure it out from there. But especially dressing the ends of the frets, I haven't until now come across a video that shows it being done with such clarity, and shows you how to do it without damaging the fretboard most important of all.
I also put a link in the description above to the exact file I use.
This is great!
So if you just want to remove some grittiness from your frets, and don’t want to go fully into leveling and crowning, since you might feel that is best left to professionals, could you just start with the sandpaper?
Probably.
I have all these great tools and I like low action. Own currently 20 guitars-all fine at various price points. My issue is I have a hard time getting the StewMac rocker to rock although I know the technique. Logic says there has to be some high frets yet I can't seem to finesse the sound or rock. BTW I've had 5 of my favorite guitars Plek'd by the nation's top shop. Now that I have all these tools I'd like to work my other guitars for low action. All rooms are humidity controlled. Will be buying an inexpensive Monoprice guitar to practice on. Perhaps you could do a video on just the finesse and technique of the rocker. Thanks. Good videos as always.
I am not aware of any finesse or technique to using a fret rocker.
Wire wool is the way, give em a swipe when you change strings.
NEVER use steel wool on an electric guitar. The particles will stick to the magnets in your pickups and alter the magnetic fields. Use synthetic non-woven abrasive pads instead.
your video helped a lot man thank you so much!!
Wow, learned a lot 👍 I own enough guitars, it would payoff to learn these tool and techniques 👍
Thank you! I find your videos very helpful.
Yes...exactly what I needed to know! Thank you.
I found the best way to find which frets and what part of the fret is buzzing is marking them with erasable markers and then playing the guitar so that it buzzes. The strings will chip off the erasable marker revealing the areas that are buzzing.
Best to do a few frets at a time and loosen the strings before applying the marker. You need to strum with a heavier hand than normal and until you see it chipping off. Also you must lay on the marker quickly ( you can't go wet over dry) , if it dries before finishing marking the fret you have to wipe it off and reapply to get an even coat.
Hi Chirs ! Really epic job and informative. I wish I have watched this earlier. Because I just ruin my new neck by leveling that was supposed to be assembled next week. I have a question ❓ is it correct that never crown on the top of the fret. I ruined it by keep crownning it on top of the fret and the sharpie just gone completely. It's my first time so I don't really know what I was doing.
But I need to grab this technique. My problem is.there will be a flat surface on top of the fret After leveling. How do I get ripped off that flat without damaging the fret and get the reformed process done. Thank you so much.
If you do this process correctly, the flat strip in the center of the top will be as thin as a human hair. Nothing to fret about.
very interesting video.
Very helpful video! Thank you very much 😊😊
I agree your idea of having to remove really any material from new frets doesn’t make sense. Using a consistent pressing in of the fret is best. However there’s no guarantee. But what if the press arbor had a meter to measure the pressure? Do you think that would solve the problem or will the wood of the board still cause difficulties? Or maybe close enough to work well and do a fine job? Thanks for al your info, it’s great! Knowledgeable you are.
Very well done and thanks for this!!!
excellent instruction. thank you!
You are welcome!
VERY CONCISE AND CLEAR SEQUENCE THANKS FOR SHARING
Excellent content, thank you sir!
Hello, love you channel and you reply promptly on messages which is great. Can you explain why you level all the frets if instead of spot leveling with fretkisser for example more than 5 high spots? What if guitar has about 5 high spots before 12 fret and some high spots higher on the neck which normally is leveled off anyway to reduce buzz.
These days, I level all the frets and crown them after they've been installed. However, I'll wait to polish them later. Instead, I finish the guitar, string it up, tune, intonate and let it sit under tension for a week or so. Then, I'll recheck the tuning and intonation, adjust if necessary, and play the guitar. If there are any high spots, I'll spot level and recrown. When I'm satisfied all is good, I'll polish the frets and call it done.
Awesome vid man thanks. Gna give this a shot. What is the big metal file youstart with called and where could I find one?
Great video well explained
Excellent Chris! Thank you so very much for your video's, You are a great teacher, Do you have any books out that you wrote?
Amazingly explained. Many many Thanks.
thank yo so much. your vids are lots of help. would love to buy one of your guitars some day.
Great videos. I'm a little surprised that no leveling problems occur from sanding over the tops of the frets. Not much material gets removed I guess?
No. Very little if any material is removed. All I am doing is removing scratches.
Great episodes! What is the large screw hook for that is opposite you on episode 107? It looks like you could hook your trousers!
I hang my Dremel from that hook.
Thanks, good info.
Highline Guitars -Nice video! Am I correct in assuming that leveling the whole neck is safer for the inexperienced luthier?
these videos are great; thanks!
Nice video lesson, I am finding your videos more informative than $tew Mac$. Question, I bought a cheap Acoustic from CL with absurd action. The strings were very high off of the neck. I managed to successfully lower the action by adjusting the truss rod and sanding down the saddle some. It plays much better but now but I have a little string buzz on the low E and A strings between frets 1-6. It's minor buzz when fretting barre chords. I think the truss rod is as tight as it'll go. I'm wondering if I should loosen the truss rod just a bit to see if that removes the buzz and then further sand saddle if I need. I'm I thinking wrong or right here? Or what can I do to eliminate the buzz? Thank You.
this is a very nice video on the general side on how to be conservative in fret leveling, but to all of you who don't know, files cut typically only in the forward stroke and the back and forth motion of filing is generally a bad technique
That’s a myth which has been busted. th-cam.com/video/xbykic--SKA/w-d-xo.html