How To Round Off Fret Ends For Comfortable Playability
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- čas přidán 6. 07. 2024
- Welcome to Crimson Guitars czcams.com/users/CrimsonC... and welcome to Crimson Guitars www.crimsonguitars.com and another Mini-Torial, with Ben Crowe, Master Luthier.
Like many guitar players, Ben sees the fretboard as the User Interface of a guitar and as such, perfectly rounded and polished fret ends make for more comfortable playing.
With very few tools, you can quickly improve the playability of your own frets at home. Have fun and remember to stay tuned and stay awesome.
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:39 First - the tools - all available from Crimson Guitars Shop
0:54 Second - the set-up
1:11 To begin roll over the edges of the frets
2:09 Fret end dressing file
3:48 Next 240 to 320 grit paper to round over the fret ends
5:36 Move on to Crimson Guitars medium, fine and superfine grit fret polishing rubbers
6:35 Conclusion
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This the most comprehensive tutorial on how to fix and smooth fret ends. I’ve saved this video. Thank you!
This is absolutely the best explanation and tutorial I've seen about fret ends. Thank you.
Great looking guitar too!
Very helpful, love these mini-torials. I purchased several of your fret files, fret leveler, and fret erasers a while back and just dusted them off today (haven't used them in awhile). This was a fantastic refresher course.
Cheers!
This is the best video about this subject that I have seen and I've watched many of these videos. Bravo
this is probably the fifth MOST IMPORTANT thing about a guitar ive learnt from Ben haha
Amazing tutorial mate! Just refretted my classic vibe jazz after the previous owner tried to turn it into a fretless bass and your videos have been immensely helpful! Subscribed!
Great camera work on this tutorial! New sub!
The only vid (and I've watched many) that address pointy frets. Thank you!
All of your videos are outstanding.
This is massively instructive, exactly what I’ve been seeking! Thank you, sir! Count me in.
My pleasures thank you for watching! B
Absolutely love all of your videos! It is such an amazing resource
Just what I needed to learn what to do with my Crimson fret dressing file and polishing rubbers. 12bn cool beans well spent. Looking forward to improving my 6 day course guitar!
Hi, I'm from the 6 years in the future and just wanted to say this video is still awesome! I have a few guitars purchased during the global thing during lock downs and most of them have fret issues. Cost wise I could take it to my friend but that's about $300 bucks a guitar so I'm going to do it myself. I've done it in the past a long time ago, it was nice watching this video and really seeing the meat of how this is done properly. So thank you for that!
This is a fantastic tutorial and video. Thanks!
Very nicely demo'd. Thank you!
I love your channel so much, and your guitars are just...amazing.
as always, best video on the topic.
You guys are awesome. Thank you for all your hard work
Great tutorial, thanks for sharing !
Best video about doing fret ends.
Nice binding! It would be interesting to hear some more about where it's from, how easy it is to apply and so on.
what about if its a nitro glossy strat neck?.
Great tutorial, thank you very much!
Spot-on . Just what I was looking for . Also - what a nice dragon-fly inlay . ♥
excellent tutorial. have you ever thought about putting your cavity covers on the front side of a guitar? I really like the look of your descendant model and the back plates are so stylish it seems a shame to put them on the back. I understand that it's a practical solution and that putting them on the front may seem silly but I really think that this would be an interesting design mod.
Nice tutorial!
Thanks a great well-done job on giving instruction to those of us that need to fix the frets.
Thank you so much! I got a (used) Kala tenor uke and the fret ends are like razors. I want to keep the uke, but it's...like you said: the user interface is horrible if the frets are bad. So now I can fix it. Thank you!
Excellent lesson thanks.
Amazing how-to. Can you please do a vid on how to roll tight spliffs? Your technique at 03:53 was quite impressive.
Very nice how much do these guitar cost one like this one but with a chamber body one f hole? Thank U for your time and so much great information 🎸🎶🎸
Thanks a lot! Love those "torials" :)
Simple & Brilliant: thankyou Ben - KRs' Nom
Excellent Man!
Thanks,
Dave in the Adirondacks
Great video
Thank you, that helped a lot. I have a fret board I need to dress.
Great tutorial, plus, the first time I've heard someone with head tatts speak with that accent. Bonus.
Both equally valuable experiences
Rob Halford from Judas Priest has head tattoos and a British accent
Skurge from Thor Ragnarok, tatts beard same facial expressions, and accent
@@ProtomanBlues This isn't an British accent.
What about doing completely rounded fret ends? Like to the point where they look like semi-circles?
Great video!
Excellent mate
Brilliant Tutorial, thank you.
Melbourne, Australia.
Would it be viable to have aluminum binding on the neck? I don't recall seeing it anywhere before, but that seems like a Crimson thing. :s
Idea for a mini-torial .. Can you get Tom to show us how to sharpen scrapers. He showed me on a course it was quick and slick and of course I've forgotten what he did now LOL.
what grit do you use with evo gold? or stainless steel frets??
Would you recommend the same technique for guitars with vintage style frets?
I would like a better description of your fret dressing file at around 3:00. You call it flat and round but as it goes past the camera it look like it might be concave? I have seen both round (convex) and concave available so which are you using?
Excellent!
thanks. how we can know the material of frets wires .
I could use a tutorial: I have a laminated solid bass guitar body. It's already cut for a pickup and controls, but I'm putting an active pickup in it. That means I need to make a battery pocket somewhere. I have no idea how to proceed. Can you help?
Thank you.
Thanks.
I wish I had thought of that! That's for the great vid
Nice man !
Would love to see a mini-torial for wiring up a PAF hollow, or any hollow really, something that doesn't have control cavities.
I've rewired semi solids. Not the easiest job dude
Great video, thanks a lot = muchas gracias
Thanks
videos like this are so helpful
Incredible tutorial! Inspires confidence to try dressing the shitty fret ends on my Harley Benton!
Superior job. 🙏
Thank you. B
thank you
Thank you yuri
how to make sure not to damage the binding on the side of the neck?
Yes
I just used some cheapo needle files from Harbor Freight and they worked great. There was a 3 sided file that worked perfectly. Think the set of 15 different files was about $3. They have good options for straight edges there as well I think I’m gonna use with sandpaper to roll a bit more of the fingerboard. Turns a $400 Epi Sg special into a Gibson!
Thanks for sharing. Was wondering whether those would work well.
What grit sandpaper are you using on the leveling beam to roll the fretboard edges and what sort of angle are you working at? Is rolling the edge of fretboard supposed to also create that fret end angle?
We have a whole playlist devoted to guitar necks with many, many videos on fretboards and fret levelling. I have attached the link: czcams.com/play/PLp6z5fUMeeAZDHOM1_45XwI_L7EmHF9UG.html
DC
What about using a concave fret crowning file to help dress the fret ends? Thanks.
A nice concave crowning file could work as well, yes. Especially a diamon coated one 😊
Hosco actually makes a similar file - this one:
www.google.com/search?q=hosco+fret+end+dressing+file&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwijze6_5qffAhXM7WEKHVy4B4kQ_AUIDigB&biw=1536&bih=754#imgrc=oc0Xh3vr_DwwnM:
It's an all-in-one type fret dressing file - featuring a concave side along with a rounded and flat side.
They are quite nice, and does an excellent job.
Cheers 🍻
I didn't notice till the end this was a build,lol
On an already built guitar, this would scuff up the hell out of the finish.
Thank you from the US. I have 3 Fenders with sprout and sharp fret ends. No sprout on any other of my guitars that I have noticed. I only have 10 total so the sample size is small, but the fender frets are the worst I have seen. All 2021 75th Anniversary MIM.
Can i do that in a maple neck, maple fretboard or will i scrape off the lacquer? thanks!
You should be able to do this on any neck. Check the link I have given you DC
I've done just as you said, but my frets are still sharp on the bottoms. I've tried filing them and polishing them, but the fret bottom edges are still relatively sharp. It seems the binding on the neck files faster than the frets no matter what I do. Otherwise they are good. How do I fix this? Thanks!
Allen, have you made sure that the frets are actually flush to the fretboard edges? They might stick out a little, catching your hand.. making things uncomfortable..
When refretting a guitar neck, and when it comes to filing the fret ends flush, followed by beveling and dressing, I tend to lay down a strip of masking tape, to protect the edges, when I file it all flush. Once the ends are flush, and the bevel is right, then I make sure I have no fret ends sticking out.. Only leaving me with the fret end dressing to be done.
A proper fret end dressing file would be really good here. Then make sure to really get those corners filed out and then rounded.
Cheers.
Going to do my 80s Tokai telecaster tomorrow that has horrible fret sprout...
multi laminate scarf joints that go behind the volute!
Is this a jumbo fret?
Hi Ben....thanks for getting to the nitty gritties of dressing those fret ends.....you make it look easy but this part can so easily skrew up a beautiful instrument.....great job.
good luck with your guitar sales...wood looks amazing.
My pleasure, than you for watching, I really appreciate your support. B
Apparently this can be done with a foam sanding block and no downward pressure, files or anything else.
Top!
Is this the fret end dressing file you are using in this video? crimsonguitars.com/store/fret-end-dressing-file/
How about finished fretboards? Like Mexican Strats with maple necks? And how do you roll the fretboard edges off then?
Good question, @Sasmitha 😊
When it comes to refretting finished fretboards, on a guitar that you haven't built yourself, for example with a lacquered maple neck, the fretboard edges wouldn't really need any "roll off/over"... That would've been done from the factory. If it's on a guitar you're building yourself, then you would have done this, when carving the neck, etc.
Finished fretboards are always a bit harder to refret, because you have the lacquer to pay attention to..
The important part, refretting a finished fretboard, would be to cut the fret ends flush, after being installed. Then carefully filing the ends flush with the fretboard edges - followed by beveling the fret ends, giving them the proper angle - typically 35 degrees.
That being done, you would start to dress the fret ends, using a fine fret end dressing file, taking down the sharp corners and sides.
The rest is generally shown in this excellent video!
On lacquered fretboards it would probably be a good idea to protect the finish with masking tape - causing a minimal amount of marks on the lacquer 😊
I hope this helps.
Cheers.
So if there's binding or something like that, do you just tap over the ends of the board so that only fretwork is exposed? It seems almostt impossible on say, $10k+ guitars, that a luthier could completely avoid ANY tooling marks at all after dressing ~48 fret ends. How?
I have to say that I'm completely against the sanding technique on the edge of the fretboard. Even without binding, I wouldn't want my luthier taking off any wood , especially because most wood is gonna end up showing different coloration where the sanding takes place . Not everyone wants a rounded edge either. I understand this is a fast method, but I would have to be absolutely sure my customer wants that and understands the wood might end up being lighter in color along the edges. And if we're talking a maple meck, you then have to worry about the finish being removed. I'm surprised he didn't mention the downsides to this method and how not to do it with a neck that has a lacquered finish, especially.
where can I find the fret polishing rubbers? I live in the US and cant seem to find them on amazon or stewmac
www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Tools_for_Fretting/Polishing_and_abrasives/Fret_Erasers.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw2f7bBRDVARIsAAwYBBtaBHDTk4veGcDEVnPbDPGvo588BGCCm3skiBth4T3QWA85Qmpre2gaApKHEALw_wcB
Crimson makes them. Those are his tools. Just go on the website.
are those frets stainless?
I got a bass from Fender Mexico and it seems like nobody did this step at the factory haha.
How would this process change for a lacquered maple fret board?
Lacquer after installing the frets and rounding over, once you go to fret level and crown it will remove the lacquer from the fret.
I meant on an already lacquered board. I know to round over the fret board it would require removing the lacquer just curious if there are any extra steps/ precautions to take.
Good point, I really cant think of a way.
Can't help thinking the fingerboard could do with more protection ?? I've Jusrt bought a new Les Paul and the fret ends are sharp so need to do this or get it done, not sure 🤔.
You need to give it a go imo, sharp fret ends are not fun! B
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars I've had a go and because I'm a bit frightened of running the Guitar I've not done enough. It's still a bit sharp here and there 🙄.
Am I the only one that tried to blow away the metal dust while watching the close up filing?😂
It didn’t work for me either.
You did this BEFORE leveling the frets? Oh gosh I feel like I've been just doing it all wrong then...
I thought the same, when you level your frets are you not putting a flat square edge on top of your newly dressed fret ends? Confused. Com?
Leveling the frets should not affect the fret ends. It should only take material from the top
@@gw2031 that's why you crown the frets after leveling
Would you want to do this during the winter so that the frets stick out the most?
Technically I suppose so, hopefully the guitar is dry enough out of the gate that you don't need to do this at home though.. B
Awesome tutorial, Skurge!. But you could treat Asgardians little bit better than you did. Just saying.
what if you don't have carbon fiber binding.. and you're guitar is already built.. and you're fixing the fret ends because the fretboard shrank over time... the sandpaper would damage the edge of the fretboard wood correct?
yes, it would sand the edge of the fretboard if you aren't careful but that is a easy polish and par for the course. B
*sees dragonfly inlay*
*thinks* "its... NOt... a CoHeeD ReFeRENcE!!!!"
I ordered a Warmoth build this month. I hear they don't do these little details so this will come in handy. Thanks
As much as their necks cost they should be perfect and not need any extra work
Never had an issue. Bought a few of them.
where can i get that fret end dressing file
www.crimsonguitars.com/collections/fretting
What grit paper is that you're using on the leveling beam?
Addison Schmidt yes
Why not to protect the fretboard with masking tape before the fret work? I can see the fretboard sanded ...
Because when it is oiled it will disappear again :)
I believe part of this tutorial was to explain that you WANT your fretboard slightly rounded over, just like the fret ends. Makes it more comfortable.
What if you bought a cheap guitar that didn't have this much attention paid to it, and you want to do this without refinishing the fretboard?
Connor Bonnell Just put masking tape down on the wood and you would be fine
I have done this on expensive and cheap guitars and it works flawlessly. When you use the sand paper eraser (fret dressing rubber) it gets rid of all marks on the bindings. If you want to save time and get an awesome outcome, this is the key. Step by step until and finishing up with the final step.
How do i get the fret ends flush?
Nice head human !! Ha Just kiddin.. you're a cool guy. Helpful fret advice and unusual head art 8)
he is Skurge from Thor ragnarok, 's doppelganger
My side gig:-) B
Are those stainless steel frets?
Thanks for the tutorial
Yes I understand but, if a fret board is properly prepared it shouldn’t need any additional sanding along the edges ;)). Just my opinion. Thanks for the reply
It is a tutorial showing how to properly finish the frets, of course a properly finished fretboard wouldn't need this because... It has already been done lol. Sometimes cheap guitars dont have a lot of work done to the frets (My cheap Squire strat for example). Sometimes people have guitars that need the frets replacing, people build custom guitars etc.
Taking the sandpaper to a bare neck just to clean the frets is one way to scratch the board