Bow werby too: Rebuild: Update 8

Some fretwork updates to present. The process is virtually the same as before, with only a few differences which I will highlight in this post.

Beginning where I left off from Update 7, I first used my 35 degree file block from Update 12 from 2010 to bevel the ends of the frets. It is a loud and barbaric process, often shocking onlookers. However, with a delicate hand, the destructive might of the bastard file can be tamed, and used for good rather than evil. I beveled the metal until the cream fretboard binding just gets grazed by the file. With this done, the frets now need dressed, for they are naked and unlevel.

I used my homemade fretboard level to check for a flat neck. If I see light shining between the aluminum level and the rosewood fretboard in the middle, I know the neck has a slight up-bow. Tightening the truss rod will straighten the up-bow. Too much, however, will lead to a back-bow. I was worried the neck, without strings and a completely loose truss rod, had a back bow. This would make fret leveling difficult/impossible without some sort of jig. Fortunately, the neck had a slight up-bow and straightened with one or two truss rod quarter turns. I glued more 400 grit sandpaper to the same block of aluminum as before, and did an initial leveling of the frets. I did this until all frets get some contact with the 400 grit. I used a Sharpie as before to see which frets are being sanded. Now onto some new stuff...

I figured since I have a second chance to fret this guitar, I may as well one-up my previous work. The frets weren't bad before, but some fret buzz showed they needed a little more work. The neck of this guitar is quite long (neck/body joint is at the 19th fret) so it is, I assume, more susceptible to string tension induced neck warping. This is were neck jigs like the Erlewine jig and machines such as the PLEK machine come in handy. They allow the frets to be leveled properly with the strings tensioned. Thus, slight neck warping and fret height variations can be leveled. I do not have any of these, so I thought I'd figure something out on my own.

I first determined the string tension the neck faces tuned to standard tuning with 10 gauge strings. This is roughly 120lbs of force (~20 per string...). I planned to simulate this string tension with only 5 strings, meaning each string needs to exert ~24 lbs of force to equate to 120lbs. Tuning all 5 strings up 1 semitone equates to something like 115 lbs (I lost my calculated values). This is close enough for my purposes. I would use the stringless channel of fretboard to level with the aluminum block.

Yay, pictures. I string up the guitar with five strings tuned up 1 semitone (G to Gsharp, etc). Check for a level fretboard, then sand with the aluminum block. I'd take the next string off, add the previous, and repeat until all Sharpie is removed. There really wasn't much sanding too be done. This tells me the neck doesn't change much with tension.

I unstrung the guitar, taped the fretboard, and re-Sharpied the frets.

Frets are freshly fashioned with felt-tipped marker. The leveled plateaus will need re-rounded with the rest of the fret. This is where the Stew Mac fret file comes in handy. I filed each fret until only a sliver of marker remain.

I found a square, 3 sided file (i.e. one side is smooth) in my garage. This is perfect for rounding fret ends. A few passes smooth them out.

The frets can now be sanded and polished. I used the following steps: 400 grit dry, 600 grit dry, 600 grit wet, 1000 grit wet, 2000 grit wet, 0000 steel wool, polishing compound w/Dremel pad. On each fret. The picture above shows pre steel wool (right) and post steel wool and Dremel (left).

***VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:

For those who are actually reading this. Buffing the frets with a Dremel induces loads of heat if done for even a few seconds. I found out quickly that this wasn't a good thing once I started. I began Dremel-ing my first fret to a shine (20th fret) only to see it got too hot touch and began pulling away from the fretboard. I muttered a panicked "oh shit" under my breath. The heat melted the glue on the fret, and it began coming loose. I pressed it down with a block of wood and squirted a little more superglue under the fret. It dried and the fret didn't budge anymore. Luckily, the fret leveling wasn't affected at all. Crisis averted.

My solution to this was to use 0000 steel wool followed by a very brief buffing on the fret ends and fret tops. I mean very very very brief. Just a quick touch to smooth out any little imperfections.