New Fretting Tool Every Guitar Shop Needs!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
- A new tool adaptation for fret crowning to save luthiers' bodies from repetitive strain injury, increase work efficiency, without compromising quality or precision.
***Updates in follow up video, be sure to watch here -
• The Best Fret File Kee...
This is fantastic David! We always enjoy seeing your genius at work!
Thanks! And your diamond files are still the best, by a long shot.
This is great as an accessibility tool for helping those of us with nerve and muscle issues. Would love to see more like this and I have some ideas of my own!
stew mac needs to send you free lifetime product for how they are about to steal your idea and start selling your idea as their own
The best tool we forgot we have,is our ability to share, your genius may never go to market, but it could sure help hundreds of luthiers,and I believe someone eventually will want to launch this product,maybe Bosch theirself might want to look into this,stewmac is crazy for letting this idea slip by, thanks for sharing your knowledge and wisdom,what an excellent fret crowning job it does.
20:00 to 24:00 is a really elegant synopsis of the issues around crowning very low frets and it's the thing that's kept me using triangular files a lot of the time. I know the development and stocking costs would be prohibitive but it would be nice if files could be marketed in a variety of radii rather than "medium" and "large".
Thanks! And as I’m sure you well know, I barely scraped the surface of this issue here because fret shape would be a video of its own. There are still gaps in the diamond file sizes that I still need to touch up on the sides with a 3 corner or rocking of the diamond file. Nobody likes the feel of a school bus shaped crown.
"Scraped the Surface"...Pun (Huge Smile). This is a workable solution, Thank You. RESPECT!@@A2Guitars
Gibson’s fretless wonder era… They came from new, with frets levelled so low they’d be impossible to crown into a true round shape. They just smoothed the corners.
Don't I know it! I have several of the Les Paul/ Low Impedance Gibson like the LP Personal Professional Recording or L-5-S that have the "Fretless (opposite of scalloped) fingerboards including nibs on the binding for each fret and very low profile. I do enjoy playing them as do my students. @@Jonathan_Doe_ from my family tie with Les Himself
@@A2Guitars You barely scraped the surface because you mask your work sufficiently.
I love this. I work on guitars and am handicapped. This will help me more than you know. Thank you so much.
Brilliant idea!
I will be setting one of these up!
Necessity is the Mother of invention!
Not only fatigue eliminating, but overall speed increase with no loss of quality!
Thanks for sharing!
thanks for revealing this game changing approach to fret crowning and for your killer explanation of the file modification and speed control demo! The Bosch model number is PS60-120 as everybody drooling after seeing this revolutionary approach to the most labor intensive aspect of fretwork was probably wondering about.
Brilliant!! My arm hurts for 2 weeks after a fret job. I will be making these immediately. Thank you!!!!! Like and subscribe!!
I've been crowing frets since the late 80's, originally professionally but now only on a few select instruments, and have to say the concept really scared me at first. I would never have thought to make a tool like that. Brilliant! Hoping you put out some videos a bit more often. I did also appreciate the mention of the level/crown/level again/and final crowning concept. ...We'll be here waiting to watch.
Also pretty wild that there are 702 views, I was the 72nd thumb up, and the video was posted 22 hours ago - considering my user name.
Thanks - I’ll be honest, it scared me too! I honestly did not expect to work as smoothly as it does.
How much I love the rewarding work of fret dressing I can't help but looking up to one another fret dress due to the focus and time it takes. Your "idea" is actually a concept that's proven viable. You could create a polish adapter too: leather, wool or any type of cloth with compound. Innovation of the year in my opinion. Well done!
David, that's brilliant! I'd been looking for a small diamond wheel to do this task with a dremel and never found one. This is a great solution, and will likely be the next tool investment I make. Thanks for sharing!
Haha I thought the thumbnail was just click bait. You got me. I'm a novice at this stuff and I've only done four fret levels. Yeah I went cheap and bought one of those baroque files. That thing is a gouger, requires a very light touch. Wouldn't attempt what you are doing but I can see a professionals need for it. Great video!
the saws all is interesting....I wonder if an electric carving knife would work also....less power than the saws all and a lot lighter
I stand and applaud loudly!!! Thanks for this great solution, David. I will most certainly be trying this.
Whoops! The Bosch Model number is PS60-102
Ingenuity is ALWAYS appreciated! Excellent explanation of the how and why. My hat off to you!😊
Hey Dave, glad to see you’re putting videos up again! Thanks for sharing
You sir, are a genius. I'm going down to my workshop and shaping my fret files to fit my electric carving tool. Thankyou from a luthier with longstanding RSI! I have a worn out file that I have stuck a thin strip of "micro mesh" on (with impact adhesive) to use as a final polish. I think this will work well.
Wow David congratulations on this fretting tool. Thank you so much for sharing. I look forward to trying this out.
Amazing! Brilliant idea. I love the detail you go into with your videos. Very helpful 🙏
Man I've done fret leveling on just my own guitars, and I couldn't imagine doing that every day, even with nice tools. It totally makes sense you guys would get repetitive stress injuries from that kind of work.. Its always nice to see folks like you innovating to overcome issues like that! Great work, thanks for sharing!
I think you would like the metabo saw. It’s smaller and takes off a bit less material
I H A T E Fret crowning, but with this rig, i could probably love it! Only thing I can "crab" here, is that you level without a Neck Jig. I cloned the early "Stewie" jig, and eliminated all RE-LEVELLING!
The neck jig is a very useful tool - I worked on Dan’s original one for years, and used several iterations thereafter.
That being said, the methods I’ve developed since I feel have surpassed the results I could get with the jig, though I acknowledge that I could not have developed them without it along the way. I hope to make videos detailing my newer processes in the future, but it may be a while before I can fine time or means to do so in videos.
Yes! This is really great. thanks for sharing. Subscribed!
I got a nasty blister filing a nut slot today.
I have been working on and off over the last five years doing metalworking on CNCs etc. There’s such a huge gulf between a PLEK and the luthier hand tools. Looking forward to the innovations to come.
I get the feeling that stewmac marks up their good diamond fret files A LOT!!!There’s probably a lot of room to have quality files made over seas with the sawzall shank shape. I wouldn’t be surprised if you can have these made for less than $20 a piece. Yes, they are made with diamonds, but they are small pieces and not that expensive.
I would find a tool maker and partner with them. Even if you partner with stewmac in the future.
I can’t believe it. I was just looking at your guitar intonation physics earlier today. I feel lucky that I looked at the video. Seems to be the reason why TH-cam suggested this new video. Awesome. Really great. Thanks again.
Hey, don't knock BOSCH, I bet that saw is stronger and less wobbly than many other brands, even at a smaller size. Been doing it the hard way for 4 decades already, and was a very early proponent and adopter of Stainless steel frets: Daaaaaaaaaang do those tire you out, and do a number on your tools, but they are great, so as for the advantages to the guitar owner over those of me the luthier I have to go with the former, and deliver the best results I can. I learned extensive metal working and am great with files, and long strokes and a purposely aimed sculpting motion is required to do a great job by hand, and I don't have any problems with bumping into the side of the neck, or going sideways, and short strokes take much longer. This of course can be a big time saver, and nothing wrong with that as long as it can do the job right, so I am going to have to try this. That saw looks just right for the job, and BOSCH has never let me down so far... It will be a lot of work making the files fit the saw though, so I agree that if not Stu Mac, someone should make them or get the manufacturer to, maybe even just a good adapter!
Oh dear, now I will be all occupied to come up with an easier way to make the files work with the saw!
Shagsall? Who knew? Always an education, David! Thanks for all the fine work you fellas have done on my guitars. Always ready to learn! When you take your guitar to A2 you don't have to fret! Innovation is just up the stairs. Thanks a million,
Hi Rob, thanks! And good news about the stairs - there are none anymore.
We moved to a much better location a few months ago, outside the city limits, so make sure to call before the next time you come by to get our new address (free parking, no stairs, much less traffic).
Fine good idea but you must be careful not to get the frets too hot, even buffing with a dremel can get em really warm on a fast enough speed.
I was concerned about this as well, and actually setup a FLIR thermal camera to observe temperatures in early testing.
So far I’ve yet to record temperatures over around 42°C, but yes, generating heat is certainly an issue to keep aware of.
Clever! After decades of giving StewMac all my money, I've been using a modified version of the Thomas Ginex bump-plates & sand paper system for about 15 years now which has been fast and efficient, but I still often use several SM and custom fret files depending on the job. Thanks for the new idea.
Brilliant. If I were a professional luthier, I would definitely attempt to recreate your reciprocating fret files idea. So cool, and I’ve got to say you are being extremely generous by sharing your idea with the industry.
That said, you really should contact a patent attorney and apply for patent(s). You might decide not to enforce it, but it’s your invention, and you should protect your ideas in case you’re ble to negotiate exclusive fabrication and distribution agreements.
Like you mentioned fret files are expensive; especially from SM; though you get what you pay for. StewMac also doesn’t so much as blush at pricing their pricing structure. Anyhow, great idea and good luck.
Fretfucker does have a nice ring to it, too!🤓👍
Great video! Learned a lot. Big production would def benefit from this idea.
Excellent idea and exectuion! Shared.
Hi Dave - great video! love the tool bodging
Welcome back to TH-cam!
Good to see you!
Great Idea Dave ty for sharing
Surprised you didn't have an affiliate product link in the description. I need this now.
I have to admit I first was going to say your nuts!, but after watching the whole video, I sort of like how you think.
Awesome idea ! What a great tool for so many luthiers doing fret jobs on a daily bases. Lets hope Stewmac can manufacture your idea. I'm sure they'll have no problem making a profit.
I hope so too!
fret fkr!!!!!
seriously though, great idea, thank you for sharing.
great proof of concept, lower rpm maybe? only for the sake of not "overdoing it"
This is how the world was built! People taking things to the next level and in the guitar repair/setup world time is money....we will never be millionaires but we can definitely make our lives easier
wow love it dave i'm on board ya work smarter not harder .thats why i'm a CNC guy where precision matters
man, im about to start a stainless steel fret job, and boy do i wish i had one of those
genius idea!
When Dan E came up with the first Jaws hand held fret press, he said it was too complicated to ever be produced by StewMac.
Your video subject matter is amazing.
Curious what you think about this: Someone at one of the fretwire companies once told be that the further you file into a fret, the softer the metal gets. One more reason I don’t like spending considerable time reworking old highly worn frets.
I'm testing a similar concept with a rasp blade for re-shaping necks, instead of using a Shinto saw rasp.
Wow, you should get credit for your invention
What a great idea , Thank you
Very interesting and well presented Video, This approach will certainly reduce the amount of "Elbow Grease" required, which given that more manufacturers are now utilising Stainless Steel as a Fret material wiill for some Luithers be the way forward.
Repetitive strain injury is no joke !
Love it!
Cool trick brother!!!
I do far more building than repair and thus my crowning needs are minimal, so my initial reaction was utter horror. 😂 But for jobs with heavy leveling I absolutely see the use of this.
Well done
A critique of this "technique" just hit the Guitar Flipper blog - hilarious!
Thanks! Everyone’s welcome to their opinions. I know full well this will get pushback from some who have not used it and may not grasp how such a tool can actually improve precision (or how serious repetitive strain injury can be for lifetime professionals), but that’s fine with me.
I hope they didn’t see our saddle slotting mill video. The thought of using a laminate trimmer on a guitar top instead of a hand chisel might give them a heart attack. 😉
Hey get StewMac in on this! This is a great idea.
I have this Bosch saw, and I've been a machinist and toolmaker, and this saw has withstood some brutal stuff, and still works like new. Wow a sex toy adapter, this saw is brutal, but is very controllable. I'm sorry this guy even brought it up. WTF?
At first I thought I might object to power filing frets, but then again, I do start guitar top carves with a chainsaw disc on an angle grinder.....so I guess I can't really object to this method. Just be careful not to go too deep.
Brilliant
Very clever! I'm going to get one too!! Thank you!🤣 edit: this is ingenious!!
Amazing! Thanks for the tutorial! Wish that technology and files was around in the 80's when I was doing 4 fret level a week.
One question, though. Do you need to modify your technique as you go past the fret board extension?
The StewMac files I use here have a wonderful little feature,which is a slight change in angle toward the tip which allows you to work over the extension without any significant change. I touch on this in a new video I’m currently making about this system.
StewMac will steal this idea, get a patent asap dude.
What about just welding the tang part of a bunged out sawblade to the end for the extra half inch? Probably make the whole job easier
That could be an option, with the one caveat that most saw blade tangs come in around .050” width and I wanted to keep up around .065” to make for a bit tighter fit. This may not really be necessary, but with my resources grinding or machining was just simpler than cutting and welding.
@@A2Guitars I was also thinking about that trigger. I do wonder if a stepped potentiometer in the circuit could provide a consistent and repeatable speed setting for ya. Probably back probe the switch and see if you can’t put it in series.
sold!
I built the same setup a few years back using the cheap double sided grey crowning file you get for 5 bucks that has a rubber dipped handle that is way too small to hold for a complete fret install. I took some major flak from the luthier community. As far as the diamond files not holding up they are not meant to handle that much heat but if you went slower and or used a tap fluid they would last forever. I've been using the same 5 dollar Amazon crowning file for over 3 years without any problems. When you use cutting tools off any kind you have to be respectful of feeds and speeds. That motherhumper(hahaha pun intended) your using is way too fast. I've found the slowest speed on my saws all is on the verge of too fast.
Good shout. Cheers. I'm just off to the workshop to adapt my power carver. It goes down to less than 1 stroke every four seconds so should do the trick!
I’ve not been so concerned about the speed, as of course depending on the diamond plating bond type, some should be able to handle it (consider diamond rotary blades).
That said, I have started to use cutting fluids/lubricants since originally shooting this video, and will likely do a follow up regarding this change. I have always used cutting fluids with traditional machining, but not with diamond cutters. After including this with these files, I will certainly be using cutting fluids going forward!
ingenuity at work! i applaud you sir!.. have you noticed the work area of the crown files getting warm at all?.. if so, do you feel the
files will wear sooner than if used conventionally?
also, how doable would.making an adapter be for the sawzall that could accept the files as are or with minimal modification.?
I’ve not been using this arrangement long enough to give testimony regarding wear rate yet, but have begun using cutting fluids (new video coming) which should alleviate this concern.
Regarding the adapter, perhaps, but I was not able to conceive of a simple solution. For me, modifying the file tangs seemed the simplest accommodation.
@@A2Guitars understood, for those of us that dont have fabrication equipment at our disposal, such a task would be out of reach... your creation is worthy of further development. if you know anybody in the metal stamping business, i can see 2 pcs of sheet metal being stamped to cheaply produce an adapter. of course, cheaply only applies once a working prototype has been produced, engineering & production costs to create stamping dies have been satisfied etc, you may never be able to sell enough of them to recover the investment.. good luck with your creation, thanks for sharing it!
im wondering if you could adapt a sawzall blade(s)that you could bolt/affix to the crowning files somehow?.. food for thought.
I couldn't find to cussing in this video I was hoping for 😢😂😂
ShagsAll ... of course, why wouldn't there be a ShagsAll 😂😂😂
I'm mightily impressed at the time and trouble to adapt the crowning tool to a SawsAll... 👍👍👍
❤❤❤
Hillbilly Plek? I think you've got something there, Dave.
Wow!
The tim allen of luthiery lol 😅
genial !!!! 👍👍👍👍👍Danke
For .05 doesn't matter units, use a medium file??? Huh? That one went way over my head.
Love the idea and I agree with your take on the Baroque files. They work great new but by the end of my first fret crowning I noticed that the files were already becoming less effective. Great video and killer design.✌️🤍
7:32 😂
7:32 💀
Brilliant! Does it work with nut files?
I don’t plan on taking it there. Put one on a GraphTech nut and you’ll be down to the board in half a second. 😆
shut up and take my money!!
If only I sold them…
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO fretfker is good with me.
The jury's out on this one. 😶🤔
I hope the jury is okay with me using this on a 1936 Martin yesterday. 😉
😂😂😂😂😂