Official Luthiers Forum!

Fillipo, I don't think your frets are fully bedded when you are doing the first leveling. My thought was to first just flex the neck before you fret so the frets will seat good. 0.1" sounds pretty good.

For fret leveling I've been using sandpaper on a flat object of one kind or another. Latest is a #5 plane body. I screwed up my first fret job with sandpaper on a level which led to my first re-fret. I like the idea of a nice flat, sharp mill file - and I have one in the shop that is either 8" or 10". I know exactly what you mean by being able to feel where the file is cutting and you just don't get that kind of feel with sandpaper. I'm going to try that.



As far as the quote above goes. I think most folks on the web look for consensus because there are always the one-off opinions out there and it is difficult to tell which ones are valid and which are not. Easier to take the main road. On the other hand, after hanging out at these guitar forums for 10+ years I've identified a handful of builders whose work and opinions I respect (Howard is for sure in this group). When these folks make recommendations, I pay attention.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Can you comment on that statement? I normally slot my fretboards deeper than the frets, then fill the sides with some stick shellack. Or are you talking about space between the frets and the top of the fretboard due to the "gunk" between them?

Thanks,
Steve

The Doc Watson approach to fret leveling ...

Me, I like to have visual evidence of what is happening to the frets, and the best way to get that evidence is with an accurate 19" sanding beam with a high grade abrasive.

I'd just like to chime in...
I neglected to chamfer the slots on my first build... had a hell of a time getting fret's to stay down..... and had to level twice as well....
I'll be chamfering my slots in the future...
Worst part is I'd read to do it... was planning to do so... and just forgot in the heat of the moment.....

Oh ya, lots of stuffs get forgotted in the heat of the moment.

Maybe thats why we has them moments...you think?



blessings

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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"3) too heavy a hammer could be bouncing the frets during install."

To an extent I agree, but - does it not depend how hard you use it. I feel a heavier hammer with a lighter hand can work well.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Many years ago, I built a Don Teeter String Compensation Jig. This is similar to the Earlwine jig. I made it for a particularly troublesome bass neck with crooked grain that took a dog leg bend when strung to tension. But since then I use the jig for every fret level job because it helps me get slightly lower action than doing without. This is more useful for electric guitars where the players want super low action, but it benefits my acoustic builds and re-frets too. It also is useful for classical guitars without a truss rod because it gives you a way to level the fretboard without string tension.

Am I right in assuming that you bed your bridge saddles in hide glue too?

Why not make all the frets adjustable height as in bridge/saddle on an archtop?
(Ducking and running now)