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when sanding bare fretboards with a stu-mac aluminum radious sanding beam
should i have the truss rod fully loosened and test with a straight edge
is the process the same when fret leveling ?

would you start from the soundhole and sand twords the head when leveling frets ?

should a fretboard be very slightly tapered from the nut down to the soundhole?
if so working with stu-mac radious sanding beam should the process be done before
the tool is seated onto the wood or after the radious is complete ?

what do you use for smoothning frets after leveling /crowning ?

thanks for the feedback guys

Hi Murphy - I install the neck on the guitar with the fret board already glued onto the neck (bolt on neck) and then use the radius sanding beam with first 120 then 220 paper on it.

The truss rod is neutral but just snugged ever so slightly to engage it.

Once the fret board has been leveled/radiused I fret the neck and then reinstall the neck and hit the frets with the beam again which already has the 220 paper on it. 220 is fine for leveling frets and does not scratch as much as 120.

Once the frets are level I recrown as required with a SM fret crowning file and then clean up the frets with sand paper and micro-mesh pads.

hi Murph,

I level with the truss rod either neutral (Allied) or slightly snug if the neck wants to vibrate from shaping and such ...

Frets ... I level them with a 1/2 inch glass plate, and 600 grit, rolling to follow the FB radius, and checking with a 6 inch precision rule for flatness. Then shape the ends and touch up the crown with a crowning file. Then tape off each fret, 20 strokes on each with a finger as a backer with 600, then 1200, to remove any file marks, and gently round over each fret. Then with my older dremel, small 2 inch buff, full speed, buff each fret with jewellers rouge .... they now end up shiner than before I started.

_________________
Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"