When to level the freeboard

Longjonlebon · August 2023

Hello!

I’m new to building guitars…and only just bolting bits together naively so please excuse the basic question.

I’ve seen a few approaches to dealing with buzzy frets. Some seem to level the fretboard with a sanding bar and others seem to just approach individual uneven frets with a fret file.

My question is how you decide which approach to take and why? Do you do this at different stages of a build, or is it case dependant?

I have some buzzing on a guitar I’ve bolted together so I’m trying to work out what my order approach to maintenance should be. I get that there is a trade off with action and relief in the neck, but what happens next when you can’t get the relief you want, and the action you want, and no buzzes. Where do you start filing?

Thanks again.

Danielsguitars · August 2023

Check how straight the neck is first, get a bit of relief in it then measure how high the action is at the 12th, I'm assuming you know the basics with something ready made.

My approach to new build is make the fretboard, that's radiused and slotted etc this gets glued on your tapered neck then I flat the fretboard and build it up on the neck, I'm simplifying it because it's different for different builds, generally bolt on necks are much easier.

viz · August 2023

Longjonlebon said:

When to level the fretboard

If Politics Economics gets any worse we should probably consider it

Roland · August 2023

viz said:

Longjonlebon said:

When to level the fretboard
If Politics Economics gets any worse we should probably consider it

Politics and Economics keeps the riff raft out of more important parts of the forum.

Longjonlebon said:

I’ve seen a few approaches to dealing with buzzy frets. Some seem to level the fretboard with a sanding bar and others seem to just approach individual uneven frets with a fret file.

My question is how you decide which approach to take and why?.

During the build the neck should be flat and level before the fret board is glued on and the fretboard should also be flat before the fret slots are cut. Radiusing the fretboard should also result in a fretboard which is straight, although curved from side to side. Consequently any uneven frets should result from one or more not being seated correctly. This could be because the fret was not pushed it until its base was level with the fretboard surface, or because the slot was not cut deep enough, or worst case that you’ve hit the fret much too hard and dented it. Before stringing up I’d run a fret rocker over the neck, looking for high frets. Your decision is then whether to tap the fret in further, or remove, deepen the slot, and put a new fret in.

If there are a lot of uneven frets, and they won’t tap down, then you’re faced with fret levelling using a sanding bar, and then re-profiling the crown of each levelled fret.

GoldenEraGuitars · August 2023

Came here to learn how and when to level a freeboard. Feeling totally aggrieved.

mrkb · August 2023

Free Boiiiiiiiird!! Play FreeBird!

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/38b295bc006539314ccd24b4f165bbe5e8a0a5033256400ec5

PeteC · August 2023

Also - if using one, check that your fret rocker is 100% perfectly level. I bought one I thought was high quality when I started building guitars and kept chasing slight fret issues in the highest few frets - until I discovered that the short edge of the rocker wasnt precision machined well enough

once i had hand flattened it using 600 grit on known flat granite slab then the fret issues dissappeared

Tools are not always what they purport to be !

Longjonlebon · August 2023

Thanks for the advice guys. It sound like I should target and few problematic ones and see if I can avoid doing them all. Many thanks all!!

BillDL · August 2023

A double sided notched straightedge with notches for 25.5" scale on one side and 24.74" scale on the other is a handy tool to have. It allows you to set the actual wood of the fretboard straight (or as straight as is possible) before inspecting the frets with a fret rocker. If the frets are uneven there isn't much sense in using an ordinary straightedge to straighten the neck to the fret heights only, although it can give a fairly quick indication if the frets are all over the place height-wise.

I normally set the neck straight with a notched straightedge and then work my way up from the nut across the entire width of the neck with a fret rocker making notes about which frets are high, and whether they are high in the middle, on the treble side, on the bass side, or all across, and note whether it's very slight, moderate, or significant. I sometimes mark those areas with a felt-tip pen on the apex of the affected frets. By the time I've reached the 6th or 7th fret I will already have a good idea whether I should be able to "spot level" individual frets or whether a full-length fret level is required.

If it's just the odd fret here and there that's high and only slightly high, I can usually address them by using one of those thin metal fretboard protectors that have a slot in them that fits over the fret and I use some P400 or P600 wet & dry paper (used dry) rubbing it with my thumb or forefinger so that the fret dents into the flesh and the abrasive maintains most or all of the oval crown profile and all it takes is polishing with a fret eraser to take out the very fine scratches. On frets that are a little bit higher I will use something like a very fine flat file from a needle file set OR a recrowning file that is designed for much wider frets so that the diamond abrasive actually touches the top of the crown when it isn't designed to do so when used as intended. A recrowning file is supposed to only touch the sides of the fret at an angle to re-profile it to an oval crown again.

If I have a few successive frets that are high but there aren't enough high frets on the rest of the board to justify or dictate a full-length level, I have a couple of very fine diamond abrasive flat files on wooden handles (Chris Alsop - very reasonably priced: https://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/shop/guitar-tools/fret-levelling) that I can selectively level and then recrown with a proper recrowning file.

Longjonlebon · August 2023

BillDL said:

A double sided notched straightedge with notches for 25.5" scale on one side and 24.74" scale on the other is a handy tool to have. It allows you to set the actual wood of the fretboard straight (or as straight as is possible) before inspecting the frets with a fret rocker. If the frets are uneven there isn't much sense in using an ordinary straightedge to straighten the neck to the fret heights only, although it can give a fairly quick indication if the frets are all over the place height-wise.

I normally set the neck straight with a notched straightedge and then work my way up from the nut across the entire width of the neck with a fret rocker making notes about which frets are high, and whether they are high in the middle, on the treble side, on the bass side, or all across, and note whether it's very slight, moderate, or significant. I sometimes mark those areas with a felt-tip pen on the apex of the affected frets. By the time I've reached the 6th or 7th fret I will already have a good idea whether I should be able to "spot level" individual frets or whether a full-length fret level is required.

If it's just the odd fret here and there that's high and only slightly high, I can usually address them by using one of those thin metal fretboard protectors that have a slot in them that fits over the fret and I use some P400 or P600 wet & dry paper (used dry) rubbing it with my thumb or forefinger so that the fret dents into the flesh and the abrasive maintains most or all of the oval crown profile and all it takes is polishing with a fret eraser to take out the very fine scratches. On frets that are a little bit higher I will use something like a very fine flat file from a needle file set OR a recrowning file that is designed for much wider frets so that the diamond abrasive actually touches the top of the crown when it isn't designed to do so when used as intended. A recrowning file is supposed to only touch the sides of the fret at an angle to re-profile it to an oval crown again.

If I have a few successive frets that are high but there aren't enough high frets on the rest of the board to justify or dictate a full-length level, I have a couple of very fine diamond abrasive flat files on wooden handles (Chris Alsop - very reasonably priced: https://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/shop/guitar-tools/fret-levelling) that I can selectively level and then recrown with a proper recrowning file.

Thanks Bill, this is exactly what I was wondering. I think I just need to do a few spot areas like you suggest here. Thanks so much for taking the time with the detailed explanation.

Jon

BillDL · August 2023

You are most welcome Jon.

elstoof · August 2023

I’m as freeeeeee as a board, now
and this board, you cannot chaaaaange

roberty · August 2023

elstoof · August 2023

I once saw an Irish cover band play Freeboard

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