This is a great idea. I didn't have the right type of file for the wood so I found another way to do it. I just put some sand paper rough side up over the frets and run the wood over it to sand out a perfect fret size groove.
Thanks for the video. For those who are criticizing everything from the narration to the man's fingernails. Get a life. The man is putting an idea and some helpful tips out there and you can't appreciate it.
Everyone is bashing on this guy for making his own tools. Maybe everyone don't have the money to buy StewMac tools , or they like making their own tools themselves .
I can't find anyone bashing him. I just had a quick look through the comments, and yours is the only one that mentions that, so if you hadn't, there wouldn't be any. Nice work drawing attention to nothing. 👍
@@Hooverdarnit You got the gardening done AND invented a very useful tool. They just spend their lives on the internet trying to provoke a response to their sad little comments. So fuck them - you're winning!
Thanks! You didn't invent a new tool, but you invented a way to make a concave fret file for free which is a great service to those of use who only file frets a few times a year.
@@theothertroll Commercial crowning files remove too much material for fret end smoothing. This technique allows you to use fine grit and quickly shape/ smooth the fret ends.
Love it ! Great idea.........after I spent a couple of hundred dollars worth the files from Stew Mac........but you know I'm going to make a couple of these babies. Keep the great ideas coming. : )
I use a different method. I take an ordinary larger pencil eraser and make a half-round cutout in the middle of the narrow side with a small round diamond file. To make it go better, I use a stainless steel fingerboard protector with a cut-out for the fret. It is made of an ordinary putty trowel and has similar properties to a pro for a lot of money. I first put 400 sandpaper (cloth) into the groove of the rubber and moisten it slightly with water. The emery squeegee goes easily on the stainless steel and does a good job. I change the sandpaper to 600 and 800 grit. Finally, I polish with a mini sander with a felt disc and polishing paste. But this can only be used if there are no strings. The result is great.
A wood version of a concave crowning file. Unlike metal files, this doesn't seem to leave marks on the fretboard. I was using a concave crowning file and a fret polishing guard to do the same thing without leaving marks on the fretboard. But now I've started using sandpaper masked off with tape so just a one fret wide strip is exposed. its a whole lot faster to fab up than your wood concave sanding block. When you press it down on a fret, it bends to conform to the curve of the fret, so you still get that concave thing going on.
Good idea .I will be doing this and having several lying around in my work tray. Those 4:00 a.m. wakenings pay off a lot. Ernest Warther was up at 2:00 a.m. and in his shop before breakfast with his family and going to work in a steel mill. He left a museum full of handcarved ebony and ivory trains for his family to share with the entire world in Dover Ohio.
I had guy down the street who looked like Tommy Chong work on my wife's brakes for beer and the drunker he got the more worried I got that he would do a good job!Not only that but he was wearing glasses that were all scratched up cracked and foggy yellow !But he did a good job in the end! It was a miracle I suppose!😁
I gotta try this it sounds like a great idea. A friend made me a cigar box guitar and this will be ideal to clean up the fret ends. Thanks for posting this.
Great idea I'll make one or two and maybe I'll try to make a tool ( with the same idea) to sand my Ammoon bass guitar neck, it is a little 'fat' at the back and I prefer a slim neck. Thanks for sharing
I work on guns, mostly 1911's and 2011's like STI's and I work on guitars too, I agree with your comment , they are 2 different things, but the same rules apply for working on them.
I know this is an old comment, but I'm a Gunsmith and I am starting to work on guitars sorta as a side hobby and I'm constantly seeing similarities between the tools, tool making, woodworking, and skills required to work on both guns and guitars. A 1911 slide and rail file works great as a fret end file.
Actually take a piece of thin wet are dry sandpaper 220 lay a small piece over a well shaped fret take a little block of woodsuch as he used here run it across the fret with sand paper over it you get a perfect shaped grove in the wood glue are hold sand paper in it you have the perfect shape just dont make the grove as deep as the fre only about half works wonderfully because its a perfect fit no slop
Stew Mac sells a fret end file for $14.67. Not very expensive, and made for dressing fret ends. There are many types online. Instead of gluing the sand paper, how about buying some with adhesive backing. Still a good approach to making a guitar more user friendly. 🎸
The problem with those (store bought) files are, they are concaved with the same depth throughout the length of the file. My homemade one is tapered, which allows for a much more controlled and precise smoothing of the fret ends. I have a store bought concaved file but the first thing I noticed was how it was useless in rounding off the sides of the fret end. It was because of this shortfall, I designed my tapered, concaved, emery cloth files. Maybe someone does make "tapered" concaved files but I didn't find any.
Not knocking your idea bc it's great, but I bought a $20 (Australian) set of basic guitar maint tools which had a concave fret file, basically the same as you made. They do exist and you can get them for next to nothing.
@@Hooverdarnit No, is isn't tapered, but I can't see how the tapering helps. In fact, I think it being tapered makes it less functional. That's just my opinion though. I'm not calling your took badly designed, as was evident from my original comment.
Well, if your guitar's neck is bowed or concaved, you'll need to straighten it buy using a allen wrench on the end of the straightening rod that is located near the tuner machines.
Some suggestions: A better camera (as you said) clip your nails and take good care of them (for presentation) Use editing software to edit your videos instead of waiting for the queues.
"If they only made a file with a concave side" hmmmm, you mean like a fret crowning file that "Professionals" use? Glad your tool is better than the pros 😉
P220. You can see through the sandpaper to see the printing on the reverse side. He cut this from a sandpaper refill for a mouse sander with a dust trap.
An end dressing file is cheap from Stewmac or other places. It’s an easy job. If you can’t file the ends of the frets without hitting the fretboard then maybe you shouldn’t work on your own guitar.
BTW...they DO make files like that....I've had 2 of these varied for the fret type 6100-6150 etc since the late 80's Stew Mac and others sell them. Much better than this too
You make a statement (Smooth your guitar fret ends easier, faster and better than a PRO!) Yet Richard Turk claims he learned the idea from an old Martin repair tech! well, he is a Pro!, so here is your revised statement (Smooth your guitar fret ends easier, faster just like a PRO!
Lol using scisors to cut sand paper. He's starts out talking about using the right tools for the job, then proceeds to do the rest of the video. Theres a reason why the call it hacks. Some of these youtube vids are great, and then we have ones like this.
You seem to assume I only have one pair of scissors. You also seem to think scissors are too expensive to be dedicated for such a task. The fact is, those scissors were the right tool for the job. Now tell us about your special, dedicated tool for cutting sandpaper.
@@Hooverdarnit lol. Struck a nerve. I use a razor blade, straight edge and cut from the back end like you're suppose to. It's easier and cheaper to replace a razor blade than scissors. But I just bought a fret edge dressing file for $16 and do it the proper way. I'm not a half wit hack.
A real pro and playing squires. Lol. If I had done nothing but play for 46 years, I'd have far better equipment. And I do. Being a guitarist and a luthier are 2 completely different things. But don't worry, I've seen guitar builders that are hacks too. They don't want to learn how to properly build guitars 100%. And as we come to age of where kits and copies become the norm, it will get worse. Understanding the proper process and developing tools to improve the craft are the way, not half ass hacks. At least you don't use a dremel to polish your frets though. That's the ultimate hack.
This is a great idea. I didn't have the right type of file for the wood so I found another way to do it. I just put some sand paper rough side up over the frets and run the wood over it to sand out a perfect fret size groove.
Thanks for the video. For those who are criticizing everything from the narration to the man's fingernails. Get a life. The man is putting an idea and some helpful tips out there and you can't appreciate it.
Everyone is bashing on this guy for making his own tools. Maybe everyone don't have the money to buy StewMac tools , or they like making their own tools themselves .
I can't find anyone bashing him. I just had a quick look through the comments, and yours is the only one that mentions that, so if you hadn't, there wouldn't be any. Nice work drawing attention to nothing. 👍
@@castleanthrax1833 I was bashed for having dirty fingernails. I just came in from gardening and still had dirt under my fingernails.
@@Hooverdarnit You got the gardening done AND invented a very useful tool. They just spend their lives on the internet trying to provoke a response to their sad little comments. So fuck them - you're winning!
Real clever solution! Thank you so much for sharing it here!
You're very welcome.
BRILLIANT!!!!!!! i will have to give this a try. I know they sell professional files similar to this but they are pricey. Thanks for posting bud.
Glad to help.
Thanks! You didn't invent a new tool, but you invented a way to make a concave fret file for free which is a great service to those of use who only file frets a few times a year.
Iv got a guitar that the frets need filed and this is just how I’m gonna do it. Thanks so much for the advice.
I learned this trick from an old school Martin guitar repair tech back in the 80's.
Its a really handy tool to have for sure.
I learned long ago just buy the fret files and save all the time and hassles :p
@@theothertroll surely you also learned a long time ago that not everybody can afford to shell out that much cash for the extremely overpriced files.
@@theothertroll Commercial crowning files remove too much material for fret end smoothing. This technique allows you to use fine grit and quickly shape/ smooth the fret ends.
Love it ! Great idea.........after I spent a couple of hundred dollars worth the files from Stew Mac........but you know I'm going to make a couple of these babies. Keep the great ideas coming. : )
Awesome thanks! I just did it to my Ibanez! Oh man it feels so good! Thank you!
I use a different method. I take an ordinary larger pencil eraser and make a half-round cutout in the middle of the narrow side with a small round diamond file. To make it go better, I use a stainless steel fingerboard protector with a cut-out for the fret. It is made of an ordinary putty trowel and has similar properties to a pro for a lot of money. I first put 400 sandpaper (cloth) into the groove of the rubber and moisten it slightly with water. The emery squeegee goes easily on the stainless steel and does a good job. I change the sandpaper to 600 and 800 grit. Finally, I polish with a mini sander with a felt disc and polishing paste. But this can only be used if there are no strings. The result is great.
A wood version of a concave crowning file. Unlike metal files, this doesn't seem to leave marks on the fretboard. I was using a concave crowning file and a fret polishing guard to do the same thing without leaving marks on the fretboard. But now I've started using sandpaper masked off with tape so just a one fret wide strip is exposed. its a whole lot faster to fab up than your wood concave sanding block. When you press it down on a fret, it bends to conform to the curve of the fret, so you still get that concave thing going on.
Very much appreciated. Thank you for making and sharing such a useful video. This is an optimal solution. Excellent concept.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Good idea .I will be doing this and having several lying around in my work tray. Those 4:00 a.m. wakenings pay off a lot. Ernest Warther was up at 2:00 a.m. and in his shop before breakfast with his family and going to work in a steel mill.
He left a museum full of handcarved ebony and ivory trains for his family to share with the entire world in Dover Ohio.
"Cheech & Chong's Guitar Repair Centre". Man, does this take me back. Thanks!!
I had guy down the street who looked like Tommy Chong work on my wife's brakes for beer and the drunker he got the more worried I got that he would do a good job!Not only that but he was wearing glasses that were all scratched up cracked and foggy yellow !But he did a good job in the end! It was a miracle I suppose!😁
Nice inexpensive and easy invention. Thanks for sharing your idea!
This has just gave me an idea for a wooden z file..many thanks.
The man with experience
got my first guitar in 1966.
Brilliant! Now I find this video after spending all that money on tools. Who am I kidding? I'm going to give it a try anyway. Thanks for the video.
I gotta try this it sounds like a great idea. A friend made me a cigar box guitar and this will be ideal to clean up the fret ends. Thanks for posting this.
This guy sounds like the dude! Lol. Maybe it was when he was a roadie for Metallica.. 🤠 duuuude!
A late reply but I agree Hidari. I paused and shown my wife some clips from the "T.B.L" and she can't stop giggling while I'm watching this.
Clever! Making one now. Will post a link to your video when I use the tool in my guitar build video. Cheers!
very smart. and so handy plus the price is right. thanks so much.
Great idea I'll make one or two and maybe I'll try to make a tool ( with the same idea) to sand my Ammoon bass guitar neck, it is a little 'fat' at the back and I prefer a slim neck. Thanks for sharing
Good way to make a fret crowning file as well!
The old gunsmiths that did revolver action work made all sorts of similar sticks. Orangewood was the preferred material.
I work on guns, mostly 1911's and 2011's like STI's and I work on guitars too, I agree with your comment , they are 2 different things, but the same rules apply for working on them.
I know this is an old comment, but I'm a Gunsmith and I am starting to work on guitars sorta as a side hobby and I'm constantly seeing similarities between the tools, tool making, woodworking, and skills required to work on both guns and guitars. A 1911 slide and rail file works great as a fret end file.
A GREAT and simple idea, this is how things get done, Brilliant!
Actually take a piece of thin wet are dry sandpaper 220 lay a small piece over a well shaped fret take a little block of woodsuch as he used here run it across the fret with sand paper over it you get a perfect shaped grove in the wood glue are hold sand paper in it you have the perfect shape just dont make the grove as deep as the fre only about half works wonderfully because its a perfect fit no slop
Stew Mac sells a fret end file for $14.67. Not very expensive, and made for dressing fret ends. There are many types online. Instead of gluing the sand paper, how about buying some with adhesive backing. Still a good approach to making a guitar more user friendly. 🎸
Great idea! Done just like a PRO, only better.....Thanks :)
Guys, a word of advice. If you’re gonna do any fret dressing, ALWAYS remove the strings!
...and protect your fretboard with removable tape
@@frantisca especially since most all tape is unremovable. 🙄
You can make your own "fret guard" or use blue painters tape. No sticky residue left behind.
What a fantastic tip. Thank you!
brilliant love it !!!!
Excellent Video, thank you.
They do make a file that is concaved for this job. It's called a quarter round file. They also make half round files for crowning.
Are they tapered like the ones I made?
Negatory
Very nice idea, thanks!
EXCELLENT IDEA!! THANKS FOR SHARING!!!!
I've got a crowning tool from Ebay, about ten bucks; but this looks like just the ticket for doing fret ends.
The point here is the depth & taper. Stew Mac will have these out in different colors & widths. (just made a set for myself)...
Great idea man.Thanks
They do make concave files just for this job. Any luthier supply company will sell you a complete set of fret files.
The problem with those (store bought) files are, they are concaved with the same depth throughout the length of the file. My homemade one is tapered, which allows for a much more controlled and precise smoothing of the fret ends. I have a store bought concaved file but the first thing I noticed was how it was useless in rounding off the sides of the fret end. It was because of this shortfall, I designed my tapered, concaved, emery cloth files. Maybe someone does make "tapered" concaved files but I didn't find any.
@@Hooverdarnit I can't wait to try it. I have shaped "rounded" fret ends with a fret dressing file, but the idea that your tool tapers seems genius.
Great idea! Thank you for sharing.
I will try this. Thanks for sharing.
SO simple, Thanks!
Sweet TY 4 IDEA
There are concave fret end dressing files available and they work great and fast.
A concaved file is one thing. A concaved file that is tapered is another.
Not knocking your idea bc it's great, but I bought a $20 (Australian) set of basic guitar maint tools which had a concave fret file, basically the same as you made. They do exist and you can get them for next to nothing.
Did you get one that is concaved AND tapered like mine?
@@Hooverdarnit No, is isn't tapered, but I can't see how the tapering helps. In fact, I think it being tapered makes it less functional. That's just my opinion though. I'm not calling your took badly designed, as was evident from my original comment.
Great tip, thank you!
Brilliant
Hey brother thanks, my Chinese squire is the same.. what did you say about straighten the neck? .. btw great tutorial
Well, if your guitar's neck is bowed or concaved, you'll need to straighten it buy using a allen wrench on the end of the straightening rod that is located near the tuner machines.
What happened? I fell asleep waiting for him to get to the fucking point.
The point is, how to make the perfect tool for smoothing the fret ends.
Useful tip my man...thanks. 😸
Bamboo would be excellent for this
Thank you, damnit.
Very interesting, I shall try to improve on it. Perhaps use a larger piece of wood so you have a handle.
Got this beat, I'll put it up when the patent comes thru.....I will say the future is...pull tabs...😉
Awesome !!! Thank you !!!
thx for the tip!
It would have been nice if he actually showed it in use.
Some suggestions:
A better camera (as you said)
clip your nails and take good care of them (for presentation)
Use editing software to edit your videos instead of waiting for the queues.
As far as the fingernails go, alot of guitarist who fingerpick keep them grown out for that purpose.
This is brilliant , but forgive me lm going to use fretwire instead of the nail.
Nice! What grit was your emery cloth?
The finer, the better.
"If they only made a file with a concave side" hmmmm, you mean like a fret crowning file that "Professionals" use? Glad your tool is better than the pros 😉
The thing that makes my design unique is - it's tapered. Until you've used one that's concaved AND tapered, you don't know what you're missing.
what grit is that emery cloth
I don't remember but it was the finest I could find at the local hardware store.
FOCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS
High...I mean, hello
What grade emory paper?
I'm not sure what grade # is was but it was the finest I could find at Ace Hardware.
Hooverdarnit thanks. And thanks for saving my fretboards.
@@JMonk26 You're very welcome.
P220. You can see through the sandpaper to see the printing on the reverse side. He cut this from a sandpaper refill for a mouse sander with a dust trap.
This is rounding fret ends NOT rolling fretboard edges!!
It roles fret edges like a PRO.
You talk a good game but you didn't show it !!
Have another beer for me. How do you set the harmonics. Lol
If the bridge on the guitar's body is not set right, the harmonics will be off.
Harmonics or intonation
Harmonics. Intonation is a result of correct harmonics.
Lol they do make curved files just for this.
What makes my design unique is that it is tapered.
what about stainless frets?
It might take a little longer on stainless steel but it would still smooth them down.
you could have summarized this whole video into 2 minutes. A lot of filler conversation.
Mr. impatient lol maybe that's why you didn't type your full name just C B ? What's that cr.. ? just kidding
As is just about every other UA-cam video.
too much filler conversation
Use the right tool! Scissors are completely dull. HaHa
jc Ripp then uses tin snips to cut paper
Totally Chong
An end dressing file is cheap from Stewmac or other places. It’s an easy job. If you can’t file the ends of the frets without hitting the fretboard then maybe you shouldn’t work on your own guitar.
Gee, I've only been playing guitar and working on them for 54 years but what do I know?
Larry - - - shut the fuck up.
BTW...they DO make files like that....I've had 2 of these varied for the fret type 6100-6150 etc since the late 80's
Stew Mac and others sell them.
Much better than this too
You make a statement (Smooth your guitar fret ends easier, faster and better than a PRO!) Yet Richard Turk claims he learned the idea from an old Martin repair tech! well, he is a Pro!, so here is your revised statement (Smooth your guitar fret ends easier, faster just like a PRO!
Better than a pro?
If you have a mind to.
I tried to watch it, but your fingernails man.
I know. When I watched it myself, I cringed at how dirty they were. I was working in my garden earlier and hadn't taken to time to clean them. Sorry.
Hooverdarnit
Just giving ya shit. But if you were doing dirty work, I understand haha.
guitar workers? you mean luthiers?
What is the definition of a luthier? Answer: A person who works on guitars.
Hate to be THAT guy, but a luthier is a guy who makes guitars. People who works on guitars are just guitar techs.
Good idea, but your nails is...your nails
As I said many times in the comments, I was gardening minutes before I made this video. I washed the dirt from my hands but not my nails,,, sorry.
Dude...u rambled and repeated too much....geeeesh!
Lol using scisors to cut sand paper. He's starts out talking about using the right tools for the job, then proceeds to do the rest of the video. Theres a reason why the call it hacks. Some of these youtube vids are great, and then we have ones like this.
You seem to assume I only have one pair of scissors. You also seem to think scissors are too expensive to be dedicated for such a task. The fact is, those scissors were the right tool for the job. Now tell us about your special, dedicated tool for cutting sandpaper.
@@Hooverdarnit lol. Struck a nerve. I use a razor blade, straight edge and cut from the back end like you're suppose to. It's easier and cheaper to replace a razor blade than scissors. But I just bought a fret edge dressing file for $16 and do it the proper way. I'm not a half wit hack.
@@GreatWhiteLionSnake You use your razor and I'll use my scissors. I have at least a dozen of them. I assigned one of them to do hard labor.
@@GreatWhiteLionSnake And another thing; The only job I've had for the past 46 years, has been as a professional guitarist. I'm a REAL PRO dude.
A real pro and playing squires. Lol. If I had done nothing but play for 46 years, I'd have far better equipment. And I do. Being a guitarist and a luthier are 2 completely different things. But don't worry, I've seen guitar builders that are hacks too. They don't want to learn how to properly build guitars 100%. And as we come to age of where kits and copies become the norm, it will get worse. Understanding the proper process and developing tools to improve the craft are the way, not half ass hacks. At least you don't use a dremel to polish your frets though. That's the ultimate hack.
Get to the point..damn.
How could you not know what the point is? The point is making the perfect tool for the job.
Hooverdarnit little less filler......Good idea though
stop all the xcuses and side notes.... just show us the solution and stop all they whys and wherefores
nah, maybe you just need to go see your doc for some chill pills
nah he's right