I had a go at a fret dress

thermionic · September 2023

I found myself watching a YouTube video on fret levelling about a week ago, and realised that I knew what needed to be done, in what order, and why - from flicking through Dan Erlewine books, reading posts on here, and watching videos. I’ve often thought of investing in the tools and trying it on a couple of cheap Squiers off Gumtree one day. Then I realised that the tools aren’t that expensive… £150 got me a Crimson fret levelling kit and a radiused fret crowning file from Tonetech. I have a few mid-level (MIM Fender, Epiphone) guitars with less than ideal fretwork, so decided to give it a go.

My recently aquired (from ebay) Roadworn Telecaster played well initially but some buzz and rattling had become apparent. I wasn’t convinced about fret rockers but a few minutes with the Crimson fret rocker confirmed that there was a couple of high frets, so off came the neck. There was still a little backbow with the truss rod loosened, but I thought that’s as good as I’m going to get, and some relief will be added once it’s strung up again.

https://i.imgur.com/MICwFrG.jpg

I used 320 grit sandpaper on the levelling beam, which seemed quite fine, but ok as I was a bit worried about taking too much off on my first attempt (the Tele had quite tall frets anyway). I stopped when the last of the blue marker pen spots disappeared. The frets looked very flat at this stage. I started crowning with the radiused/grooved fret file but soon felt confident enough to do a bit with the triangular file. They still looked a bit flat but decided to stop in case I took much off. Polished the frets with some wet & dry paper, 3 grades of Crimsom fret rubbers, and finally a polish with Autosol and a Dremel. After taking the tape off, the crowning looked much better - very pleased for a first attempt.

https://i.imgur.com/zIyUgRL.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YD6ccxF.jpg

New set of strings and it’s playing very nicely, no rattling or buzzing, and super smooth on the bends.

https://i.imgur.com/Gv65zoV.jpg

lovestrat74 · September 2023

Nice one. I keep threatening to do the same one day. Like you, I too would need to purchase all the tools!

axisus · September 2023

Nice one! Like most guitar building stuff, it's not rocket science. If you are handy with tools, prepared to read up and approach it confidently most things can be done.

thermionic · September 2023

I’ve been getting better over the years at setting up my guitars but until now I thought fretwork and nuts were better left to the professionals… I’m glad I gave it a go - as you say, it’s not rocket science.

I will do the same to my Epiphone Les Paul next and the tools will have paid for themselves after that.

Devil#20 · September 2023

I did the same. You can bin off the radiused file. You get much better results with the triangular file once you're confident with it. It's worth getting a good set of tools. The cost seems a bit eye-watering initially but, like you say, after work on 2 or 3 guitars they've paid for themselves. You're also likely to make a much better job of it than 90% of guitar techs because you'll spend much more time on it rounding the fret ends and polishing the hell out of the frets for that super smooth feel under the strings. You'll often need to tweak the nut slightly and again get the best nut files you can comfortably afford. I got mine from Guitar and Woods in Portugal. Slow and steady on those files and keep checking. You can do a cheat fix if you go too deep but best to get it right. It's very satisfying when it's done and playing beautifully. Like having a new guitar and, apart from your time, you've just saved yourself £50 or so. Don't forget you're still taking time to get it to and from the guitar tech anyway, plus fuel.

guitargeek62 · September 2023

^ this, triangle files give far more control and accuracy.

Nice work though, congrats!

Danielsguitars · October 2023

I bought a diamond crowing file years ago, after using a triangle file only to go back to a triangle file because i can profile the fret much better but it takes some practice, you'll probably slip and scratch a fret here and there but well worth it in the end.

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I had a go at a fret dress

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