Fret leveling question

After levelling, you need to 'crown' the frets, usually with a crowning file - so they all have the same 'summit' and the string makes the same amount of contact whichever fret it is on

 

What you've described raises the question "What method did you use to know when to stop levelling?"

A common method is to run a black magic marker across the tops (crown) of all the frets before you begin levelling. The marker is your guide as to when to stop levelling. When the marker is gone from all the frets you know that the frets are level.

If you don't do this or something like this you won't know when to stop levelling.


Did you do this or some version of this?



Since the frets started out unlevel it's logical to assume that some frets will have more metal removed from them than others during the process of levelling. It sounds to me like your 16th fret didn't get enough material removed from it.

Crowning the frets is not done until they are all level with eachother. The purpose of crowning is simply to put the radius back on the top of the fret not to finish levelling them.

Here's a very good tutorial with lots of pics. It's a 'sticky thread' at the top of this 'Tele Tech' forum.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-technical/201556-fret-leveling-yer-tele-101-a.html

 

The alternative, of course, is to buy some fret wire that's the same width as what you've got but tall enough that you can bring that one fret down to the others. There are some luthiers who prefer this method as it leaves more of your frets, and if done well is less invasive.

If it were my guitar, I'd probably be inclined to go that way, but I have the tools and already have lots of fretwire around. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably just keep grinding away.

 

If your certain that the rest of the frets are level I guess you could just take down the last few frets from the 16th on back to the heel. That's pretty common to create 'fall away' at the end of the board.

 

How's the neck relief? Did you adjust the truss rod or action any, as well as the nut?

I've done quite a few level and crown jobs and a hand full of refrets. I've seen necks with a lot of relief still buzz in places after leveling and crowning.

Back to your method, make sure your consistent on keeping your leveling tool parallel to the neck and perpendicular to the frets. Remove all the black marks completely and use the same black marks to make sure you remove material equally when crowning.

This type of work can be easy and then be a bear!

Good luck

 

This reminded me of a Tonequest article I read awhile back. Neil Young tech Larry Cragg was interviewed about "Old Black", Young's repainted '53 goldtop which is notorious, nay infamous for fretwear. Here's a quote:

"Is it true that it has never been re-fretted?
'That’s another story… it hadn’t until about four years ago
when they had worn down almost to the wood and there was
hardly any fret left – only tang up to about the 7th or 8th fret.
I talked to him about it and the notes just weren’t coming
through. I was sweatin’ bullets, and I got the same exact type
of fret wire and milled them down to the same level of the
frets that were left. He got his guitar back and said, “You
ruined Black – I can’t play it like this. Put the old frets back
in with two years left on them.” Of course, they had come out
in pieces because the tang was the only thing holding the sections
together. So I put the grooves back in the new frets just
where they had been and wore the frets down to almost nothing
and he was happy.'"

 

Wow, good story.

I purchased a D28 that had fret wear down to the tang on the high b and e of the 1st few frets.

 

if there's about 2/3rds of the crown height than can be salvaged - level the board with the truss rod, red or blue or green sharpie the fret tops, level the frets with an appropriate tool (file, abrasive paper/cloth, whatever). if there are divots or extreme flats, use a fret file. after every series of passes, re-color the fret tops. when ALL the color is gone on the last pass, re-color the fret tops and switch to 3m gold abrasive on flat bar. i run through 80, 120, 220, 320 and 600. color the fret tops for each pass - this will give you positive feedback on what's happening to the fret crowns.

TIP: after the pass with each abrasive over the tops of the frets (yer running the abrasive at 90 degrees to the frets, from the neck heel to the nut), pass the abrasive across the fret tops IN THE DIRECTION OF THE LENGTH OF THE FRETS ... that is, from fret end to fret end - this will redirect and orient the abrasive scratches properly, along the length of each fret ... this will not change the levelness of the frets since abrasive bar is spanning lots of frets as you buff their tops.

after the last abrasive pass, re-color the fret tops and crown them ... always leave a slight band of color on the fret tops - if you don't, the frets are no longer leveled. now flap (round over) the fret tops with a successive series of micro mesh abrasive grits, either wrapped around your fingers or on a medium density neoprene block of foam with 600, 1500, 2400, 3200, 4000, 6000, 8000, 12000. when using the 4000 thru 12000 grits, also redirect the abrasive along the length of the fret tops, to reorient the "scratch" marks. now clean up with naphtha and admire.

 

It seems to me that he should have had that one fret replaced and gone on from there, but it's too late for that. Meanwhile, some folks do take a little extra off of the higher frets and he might want to consider that. That would leave more left on the money frets which would be good if he isn't a "shredder" type of player.

Rob DiStefano: 12000 grit. Wow, maybe for some folks but I don't think my sloppy butt would notice the difference.

 

not yer butt, yer EYES.

 

I would like to see a video of this if possible and yes i have seen your pics on your site. I don't get the crowning after each grit. Is that required?

 

video? hah!

"crowing after each grit"? i have not idea what yer talking about. you crown the fret tops once, and only after the frets have been levelled. after crowning, the tops of the frets are "flapped" with progressively finer grits to fully round off and blend the sides of the frets to the tiny flat (and levelled) top.

 

ah k i got you now. Just read it wrong i guess.

 

This is one of those instances where the euphemism doesn't live up to the standard. Sloppy butt just sounds like a hygiene problem...

 

I find that instead of using a sharpie after the leveling to guide the crowning, that a strong unidirectional light source creates a distinct difference in colour on the frets. The flat part is like chrome, the rounded part like aluminium. Just a matter of using the crowning file until the shiny strip in the middle is a hair thin and the same width the entire fret.

I also only use 600, 800 and 1200 grits before using a dremel polishing wheel and compound. The wheel gives the frets more shine than they had when they were still wire. I reckon you can feel the smoothness too - especially when bending notes.

Another thing to note is the sharpie ink can eventually clog your file. Most solvents will remove it.

 

Sounds like cross-sectional radius of your fret wire is smaller than the radius of your crowning file.