Comment

Comment by Suspect Device on August 11, 2012 at 7:18am

I made a couple of those fret beveling file blocks too. They work great and are a definite time saver. Though I'm finding I prefer an angle just under 45 degrees, since a lot of the initial steepness gets filed down when I crown the frets.

Comment by Tom Caneschi aka cbg tom on August 11, 2012 at 7:17am

This is my home made version.

Comment by MadGomer on August 11, 2012 at 6:00am

Elwood TB's StewMac link is a good picture of what I made too.  I just used a little wider block of wood, but for most 3-string necks his 2X2 should be just fine.  Going lengthwise on the neck & doing all the frets at once rather than doing them individually at 90 degrees to the neck, you won't hurt the fretboard at all.  It only takes a few minutes to make one of these - try it if you get a chance.  Much less hassle than taping or trying to hold a shield in place while you file in my opinion.

Comment by Tony Davies on August 11, 2012 at 5:46am

If you are worrying about scratching the fretboard when dressing the frets  just put masking tape on the fretboard.T

Comment by Jan Westphal on August 11, 2012 at 5:44am

My results are best when I cut the fire with a small saw just a tiny bit larger than needed and hammer it in. The trimming afterwards can be done with medium sanding paper without scratching the fretboard too much.

With a file I always had damages at the fretboard.

Comment by MadGomer on August 11, 2012 at 4:45am

Jamie - I should have also mentioned that while my approach of filing the frets lengthwise along the neck prevents any marring of the fretboard, you do have to be careful if you're making a wide or angled headstock, as the file can nick the side of the headstock if you go too far.  A little prior planning or some tape can prevent this, just wanted to throw out a caution.

Comment by MadGomer on August 11, 2012 at 4:41am

Jamie, if you do a little searching on this forum you'll find some suggestions on some tools to make to help with fretting.  One is a side cutter with the face ground down so you can cut the fret wire almost flush to the fret board, and the other is a simple piece of wood (I use a 2X4 about 6" long) with an angled slot in it to hold a flat file.   When I'm doing frets, I make two cuts on one end of the fret wire - an angled cut through the fat part, then a 90 degree cut through the tang to square it off at the end.  I then hammer/press the fret into the saw cut with this end flush with the edge of the fret board, and use the side cutters to trim the other end as close to flush as possible.  after ALL of the frets are in, I come back with my block of wood & run the file along the edge of the fretboard until the file just starts to take a little wood from the corner of the fretboard.  I then flip my block over & do the other side the same way (takes a little less effort on the other side since everything was set close to flush when fretting).  This works well for me, but there's no single right way.  If you can't find the post with these tools described, let me know & I'll get you some pix of mine.

Comment by Marcus P. Clarke on August 11, 2012 at 2:36am

I glue the fretboard to the neck. I mark and cut the frets with a fret saw from stewmac. I then set the frets with a fretting hammer from a short length of med/med fret wire. I cut the frets at an angle with a dremal using a cut off wheel as close to the fret board as possible. As I go I file the fret ends with a flat file. After completing the frets I do a final sanding of the neck making the neck smooth so I can run my hand up and down the neck feeling no sharp edges. I do all of my builds this way and seem to get a good result.

Comment by Chuck Cobillas on August 11, 2012 at 2:08am

I have tried filing the fret wire ends after they are installed but it seems no matter how hard I try to avoid marring the fretboard I would always end up doing it on at least a couple. On the last 6 or 7 builds I cut and sand/shape the fret wire for each slot and stick them onto a piece of tape in the order they should go on the fret board when installed. I have found that using a stationary disk sander works best for shaping the ends of the frets for me and I make them just slightly shorter than the fret slot they will be installed in. I have found this to work best for me so far but I may give the "slotted credit card" method a try on my next build and see how that works.

Comment by greg brown on August 11, 2012 at 1:31am

I use a dremel and cut the frets at an angle at the fret board. I then use a chain saw file to dress them. I use tape to protect the fret board but like Hals suggestion of the plastic credit card with a slot cut into it.

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