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Ep 2 - Gibson Chet Atkins Repair - How to level & crown the frets
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- čas přidán 13. 08. 2024
- Welcome to Crimson Guitars www.youtube.co...
We often get really interesting guitars in for repairs at www.crimsonguit... and this one just had to be filmed.
It is a beautiful old Gibson Tennessean Orange Chet Atkins Signature. These were made between 1958 and 1980 and it is really a rather lovely guitar. The problem is one of really poor maintenance/repair/setup over the years and it is in the workshop to be made playable.
This is the 2nd of 3 episodes following the whole process in depth. In the last tutorial, Ben filled the gaping nut slot holes using the dust and glue method.
In this episode, Ben goes through each process involved in leveling, crowning, and polishing the well-worn frets of this lovely old guitar. You can do this at home with only a few specialist luthiers tools that are available from www.crimsonguit... our own luthiers' supply store in the UK.
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:10 Making sure the neck is straight using a notched straight edge
1:37 Masking off the fretboard and nut
8:06 Use a permanent marker on the frets -
8:42 Levelling file next
10:56 Applying more marking ink then use a 3 corner crowning file
13:07 Another option - fret end dressing file can be used
14:23 Rounding the frets over - the options.
240 grit, 600 grit, fret rubber, and Autosol
20:41 Off with the masking tape
Conclusion
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Thank you again for all your support, we really appreciate it! - Ben
Stay tuned and stay awesome!
Dude, I love your channel so much. Once I have the money I am absolutely buying tools from your website. Between you and Wills Easy Guitar my understanding, knowledge and confidence working on guitars has really blossomed. Thank you. I am so grateful.
Dude your method of finishing the crowned frets, saved me a ton of time, and gave me an amazing job... Ben Thank you....
I can tell people that the notched straight edge is a very high quality piece of engineering. It's solid! Mind you, all their tools are awesome. Proper works of art, made with a lot of thought:)
Great video, thank you.
This is a masterclass. Thank you so much!
Wow metal polish just makes it absolutely amazing I need that stuff
It looks like the end of the fretboard is not getting as much finishing as the beginning
Thanks so much for this video. I used this one and a similar one to learn how to leven & crown frets. Used your file + fret rocker and it worked like a charm.
The next step will be also fretting my own guitar :-)
12:46 Detritus - waste or debris of any kind (according to the Oxford dictionary)
lol thanks, now I can sound smart when someone spills something "what's the meaning of all this detritus??" 😂
This is an old video now, probably from about when I bought my Crimson Custom! Is this still how you'd advise we do fret levelling - I've got a Telecaster that needs a lot of work.
I’ve found using a short fret leveling file the frets in the middle spend more time under the file and the last frets and the ones closer to the nut spend less and less time being filed so the frets end up not being truly level
Detritus Ben? Nice to hear proper English. Not the average fetid spew. One of the reasons why your show is tops. You rock.
Heading to your store as i type. Awesome videos. Thank you so much for sharing this craftmanship. I am located in Faroe Islands, and here it´s only 1 luthier, and he lives on another island, and has no time to do this for me. Thanks again :)
One of Chets old pickup covers is in a little display case at Sam Ash in Matfield Hts Ohio.
That is actually pretty bloody awesome! B
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars They also have old Gibson guitar strings still in the original packaging and a few original Big Muffs still with the boxes and paperwork autographed by their inventor. Cool stuff!
Ty ben for a quick answer. Ty again for all the vids and info buddy.
I like using stronger masking tape (the blue stuff) because then 1 layer is enough. Saves some time. BTW, did you forget to turn the neck rest around for leveling, or don't you just find it necessary?
Ur such a great teacher,u no ur stuff obviously ur a luthier!
I polish with 2000, 3000, and 5000 grit sandpaper then autosol - it's almost blinding how shiny they are
This is how you do it, great video, I learned mine from Dan Earlewine, I use painters tape because its easier to get off, & I love the triangle file, I have the McDonald fret files & they do mess you up at the ends. Excellent work.
I Love All Your Working Videos..!,!! On Your'' GUNS' '..! 👌👌🎸🎸🎸
Only thing I'm abit worried abit is when rounding the frets off crowning them but if I take time I'm sure I'll manage ye!!
Autosol is great, but I'd recommend 'Belgom Alu' for even more smoothness. I've been polishing metal for the past four years, and Belgom is one of the best things to finish polishing with.
also...Semichrome Polish....all US guys it - for scratch remover on body finish too
wow..that shows really "in depth" how you do your fret leveling! i do love this vid! ...i just would have liked to see you oil the fretboard, but that's fine! :)
Yea. Me2! 👍👌🎸🎸🎸
is there a reason you like using the leveling file over something like a flat beam that's longer?
Thanks Ben but when do I know when my frets are passed a dress and need renewed? I have flat frets from frets 10 upwards to the point I am dragging/catching
Is it just me or is that a Tardis taking off at 10:00?
Throw enough echo and reverb on it, and it would be.
I have to fret notes way harder than usual to avoid buzzing on my newest acoustic guitar, is this because the frets are too low or because maybe the neck is too straight ? I would really appreciate if anyone could help.
I literally invented this exact taping technique years ago. Proves that no one is truly unique and maybe there’s some metaphysics to thoughts after all.
I'm very happy with the result thank you so much
do you have special Crimson Guitars masking tape and magic markers? oooh, and custom detritus brushes, too?!?
I am so going to but one of those straight edges having the right tool for the job makes it so much less painful
Where is the best place to ask a possible vlogcast question?
Great video man! btw can you explain why steel wool are nasty for polishing frets?
Thanks
If you have pickups the steel wool will shed as you rub it along the frets while polishing. The steel hairs that fall away from the wooly pad are attracted to the magnets in your pickup and enough of this material built up around the apparatus will damage the pickup and even short the wires. You really have to tape off the pickguard well if you choose to use steel wool.
i'll have you know I use y ring finger nail to score the tape.
around 10 minutes, while leveling. Does the same method apply for compound radii?
An excellent instructional video! Thank you.
Anyone use sanding sponges to remove scratches after crowning? Great vids by the way
Hey Ben. Love your Vids!! Why dont you just use the thinner masking tape for the higher up frets instead of using the thicker and cutting along the fret?
TJ Stilijer, because then the excess that he is making use of, would become nothing more than trash. Why not use that waste, before it actually becomes trash? Sure, it doesn't account for much more than a fraction of a penny with 1 job, but incorporate that into a 30-50 year career. And we are only talking about tape. Change your mindset to more expensive things like epoxy, sandpaper, pigments, oils and so much more. How much do you think all of these "penny saving" tips would save you, over the course of many years? You obviously have no clue how business expenses work.
I'm currently fixing up an old spanish guitar at the moment and the new nut i have is a different size. could you tell me how much height I need to have between the nut and the fretboard? I don't want to get it wrong and ruin the action or something.
What grit do you use on the levelling pane?
How often should I polish my frets? I'm in afraid of doing so.
I have a question, if I may. Regarding levelling the frets- surely the levelling file needs to touch all the frets by the same amount? From 8.39 to 10.14 the file is running the length of the fingerboard but the lowest and highest frets are only being touched by the last inch or so of the file, whereas the other frets are being touched by the whole length of the file. Surely removing the neck position pickup and the nut and then running the whole length of the file along the fingerboard and over the nut slot and headstock (without touching the latter obviously) would mean that all the frets would be touched by the whole length of the file?
I have been wondering about this for a while as well. Opinions?
Yes, an answer would be nice. Its been over a month since I asked the question.
been watching your videos for a while now, can you make one with you selling the crimson custom tools start up package for fret leveling tools. I need one! With there was a company that sold and talked you through it. ( the supplied tools)
what is the sandpaper version of the fret rubbers
Question: do you leave the thin strip of ink for the polishing stage, or should you take if off as the last bit of crowning with the file? I hope that makes sense lol
Leave it for the polishing stage, it is the bit you don't want to touch until the very end of the process now
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars ok cool, thanks :)
can i ask ... when you have just one black fret left ... how do you know that that fret isn't TOO low.. where sanding down to it's level would make all the frets too low?
Couple of things there. I always run my finger up and down the frets to see how “bumpy” they feel in relation to the board. It doesn’t take a crazy skilled hand to know how much fret you have left to work with. Most of the time you’re good...and you’ll know when the frets are too low, trust me. Secondly, leveling down to the lowest fret is seldom as far as you think it is. You’re not really taking off much material unless you’re really going at it. Lastly (this may be a bit controversial)...I’ve done hundreds of levels over the years and most of the time, when there’s a fret that’s lower than the rest, it’s way high up on the neck. For example, you’ll be working on a fender with a lot of “skateboard ramp” or an acoustic fingerboard that falls away and the very last fret is a bit of a holdout. I tend not to worry about that so much. There’s basically nothing for it to buzz into anyway. So if it comes down to telling a client it’s time for a $300 refret or letting a guitar go with the last fret a little low, I’ll often just let it ride. I haven’t ever had that one come back to bite me so I think it’s pretty safe to say at this point.
How do i level a compound radius board?
Detritus? How many points in Scrabble do I get?
What is a “Gary Block”?
how long do you spend with each grit of sandpaper?
I love your work, but get cracking with part three!! This video cut off WAY too early!
Have you ever used a z file?
I had crowned frets on my Gretsch super chet that looked like a crown on top , not flush...
Question: should I carve the neck before or after putting the frets in?
Thanks
***** tutorialinater I prefer to fret before carving, it gives a more stable surface to work from. The downside is the fret pressure wants to bend the neck back and if you have a pre-carved neck you can see it happening if your fret slots are too narrow, with an uncarved neck it will only move after the carving.. I always use dual action truss rods just in case and rough cut the necks pretty close to their final dimensions before fretting.
Question when your running that file along the entire neck to level the frets how does that make all the frets level let's say some are still high do you only focus on the high ones or continue passing every fret it seems to me? That I'll just keep lowering the low ones also?
the file rides the high frets, so it doesn't even touch the low ones until it grinds the high ones level. That's why it's important that the file is perfectly flat.
richard villafana if you have high frets the perfectly level file won't touch the low frets until it lowers the high frets. Once you see the ink only in spots your seeing the low spots,
Whats your opinion of the Katana fret leveling system and other similar products?
Get leveller needs to be perfectly flat, period. Sounds like a great idea until you realise you end up with some frets barely touched and others half sanded away. I must say though that I am biased, of course, and have not actually used one.
I'm confused. I keep hearing that you should level frets parallel to the center of the neck, not along the path of the strings. I also keep hearing that you should follow the line of the strings. AND I keep hearing that you should follow the center normally, but the strings if the fretboard has a compound radius. I guess it can't make a big difference, or there would be no confusion...
I‘m late, but that gave me to think. I imagine the radius of the frets as a cylinder- if you grind parallel to the center line, you are evenly on the surface. But if you grind at that angle following the strings, you basically have to grind a slight dent in the middle part…
Compound radiuses do compensate for that.
I would always follow the strings. The difference is probably very minor…
any reason you didnt hit it with a radius block at the end?
Radius. Locks are for setting the radius on the fretboard before putting frets in, I would hardly ever consider using one when doing fret leveling, and then never one made of wood that may warp slightly. They simply are not as precise and levelling beams etc in most cases
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars Thank you for the advice!
which one to clean 1st, the frets or the fingerboard?
I generally clean the fretboard first but don't oil it again before you do the frets.. if you do then the masking tape won't stick down!
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars do u have video on how to clean unfinished maple fingerboard?
Hey ben do you ship to the states here... I live in louisiana near new orleans...
docoluv9 we absolutely do, drop us an email or check out www.crimsonguitars.com/shop and it will work out shipping costs etc if you need tools, for a custom guitar we do that in person :)
Great vid. Would have been nice to get a look at the finished product though. You cut out too early.
You can see the final result in the 3rd video.. It was made live last week. How you enjoy it :)
Crimson Custom Guitars Ah, there we go. Thank you very much.
good video thank you,,
Ben why is wire wool nasty?
That's true even though I mask my pickups before using it.
12:04 Bwaahahah....Rather well, how arrogant! You da man!
The reason why your fret dust isnt magnetic is because you use the hypoallergenic stuff. Thats full brass. Brass isnt magnetic. However, other companies use a mixture of brass and nickel and nickel IS magnetic and will murder your pickups. So for your own build guitars, theres no need to tape off the pickups because of your consideration to the people of the world with allergies.
Gotta cover up them goofy tribal tats.
Why did you tattoo your head?
Your three corner file is made in Vietnam 🇻🇳, not in the uk ( I bought one ) and I was pissed of, when I saw it, because I don’t wanna pay for child’s labor, and you should be ashamed of yourself……..
I think that they're made in India now. Still not the UK
I owned one of these guitars, what a pile of junk, and bassy pickups.
I'm not surprised.. it took a lot of work to make it playable.