Official Luthiers Forum!

I just received one of the Stew-Mac offset diamond fret files. It looks like a high-quality tool. The only problem is I can't tell which cutting edge is which! Apparently one is for narrow/medium, and the other is for medium/jumbo, but they look identical. Not at all like my standard double-edge, non-diamond file, where it's obvious even without the label which is which. And unfortunately I don't have any scrap frets to test on. Does anyone know which side is which? Thanks in advance.

i got one of those aswell im not 100 % because it could be random
i got the finer grit and
im using med fretwire and the writing is upside down when in use
but at first its quite rough so id say find some other guitar to get the inital roughness off
and then youll definatly know then which is wider
tis very easy to take too much off and reduce playablity though

The "Off-Set" is a beautiful siren. I bought the "Gurian" shaped stubby screwdriver handled ones for medium and wide. Total about $14 more-I find them excellent and less confusing. MikeT.

Nice to know I'm not the only one that wrestles with this. The tool works good, but I go round and round trying to decide which side is which also.

Joe

Not to highjack this thread but the Stewmac double sided nut slotting files are not marked either...and I am constantly trying to 'measure' them figure out what's what!!!

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

Same situation here.I took my calipers and a magnifying glass and was able to determine which side was which on both these type of tools.I then marked each side accordingly with a sharpie.
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

I think I've figured out which is which, by comparing with my regular fret file and staring at the crown profiles for a while. As @wolfsearcher said it may be random, but when using the narrow/medium side, the Stew-Mac logo is rightside up.

Doing a level and crown on my acoustic right now...

My double sided StewMac diamond file has two different grits, but the same curvature on both sides. It's the one that pops into a handle with an offset, like the Gurian file. But I think there is another kind of StewMac offset diamond file--like a bar with a curve on the end. Is that the one for two different fret sizes?

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Same problem here, actually I don't like mine and went back to my cheapie screwdriver version.....got one for sale if anyone is interested, absolutely brand new, maybe five frets worth of work, just didn't like it.

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Gwaltney Guitars

I like those files, but i don't bother to try and figure out which side is which- i just pick a side at random, give a fret a couple of strokes, flip the file over, and try the other side. It is hard to tell which side is which with a visual inspection of the file itself, but if you try a couple of strokes with each side it will be obvious which side produces a nicer crown with your given frets.

I "experiment" on the very last fret, just so if for some strange reason it messes up a fret (it doesn't) it will be the one that gets the least play.

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY