DIY Fret Crowning and Polishing Hack, REAL TIME SAVER!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- Want a Guns and Guitars shirt? buy one here: teespring.com/...
Facebook: / gunsandguitarsofficial
Instagram @gunsandguitarsofficial
Support me on Patreon: / danthompson
This is a quick hack that I came up with that has gotten me stellar results at leveling, crowning, and polishing frets. It's cut my time down in half, and I have gotten awesome, consistent, repeatable results. The tool is extremely simple to build, so this hack isn't so much about the tool as it is about the theory and technique. Let me know what you think in the comments!
After a lot of hesitation and avoidance, I finally performed my first level, crown and polish using Dan's method and I have to say that it was practically fool-proof (I know, because I'm practically a fool). I'm really pleased with the result!
how long did the process take?
@@kerdum the world may never know
Bro let us know, I'm planning to do fret leveling myself, a fellow fool haha!
@@ironwoodbranch6720 Bro, So how did it go? 😄
nice
Dan, I love the unpretentious and diy style! You make me feel like I can do my own repairs and mods without sweating bullets. You're the man.
You are an awesome dude, Dan!! Very clever.
I too have a jig for rounding frets. Imagine taking a piece of say, 1 by 2 and drilling a hole a little larger than the fret diameter. Then take said wood and split it down the middle. You end up with a groove which you then put your various grits of sandpaper in. Essentially you are making a grooved file.
I think the workshop is definitely a good choice for your maintenance/diy/tools videos.
Finally, someone who has the background music low enough so I can still hear you talk. Great Fret crowning technique!!
raybbj - Agreed on both points! Nothing frustrates me more than watching a video with the background music too damn loud to hear the dialog!
Bass boost is the worst
I retired recently and fret levelling and crowning was on my must learn list. Got good at fret levelling but still perfecting crowning. This is a great tip and way cheaper than a crowning file. I will certainly try your technique. I love simple cheap tool techniques that yield excellent results. That brief fret crown you did looked superb. Thanks, I am inspired.
That was possibly the best thing I've seen all day. Pretty genius. I might put felt on my little foot things for protection, but I really can't fault your design. Thanks for sharing that.
Excellent idea! It never would have occurred to me to preserve that thin line on the very top until I realized I now made that fret lower than all of the other ones. So obvious now that you pointed it out. Well done.
re: Steel-wool shavings getting stuck to the pickups.
Use cheap modeling clay (Play-Doh) to remove the shavings.
Works like a charm!
Or put tape over them before you start
Going to steal this for my magnetic pickers in my garage with all thier irremovable shavings
@@FirstLast-om8li after you do a clean, put a grocery store plastic bag around them before picking up shavings, then just remove the bag when done. To get bag flat to the magnet to start, just put some washers on them to hold bag flat.
Awesome tip Dan. Nice work.
Brad Angove A wild HANDSOME S.O.B. appears!
Brad Angove I love your channel too! I've learned a lot from this channel, and your channel! 👍
Hey Brad! I'd be super cool to see you guys cooperating some time! :)
Brad, your sexy and your work is stealer
Thanks that was awesome l have just subscribed to your channel
Big fan of your channel and videos. Because of your channels i was inspired to go around and mess with mine and my brothers' old basses. Im at the point now where ive bought the diy jazz bass and i am turning it into a monster. I even bought the carbon fiber pickguard from Nikocarbonworks. This crowning video is just what i needed. Thanks for having the channel in general. Great inspiration
Great method !
I was considering a fret crowning tool, but not only are frets different widths and crowning curves, I am afraid of gouging my fretboards with the tool. Thanks man !
Great vid, and it's a slick trick. I've used several ideas like this over the years to re-crown, but I still find crowing files super efficient and so cheap it's hard to justify making your own unless you just really want to. I'd also highly recommend jeweler's rouge on a Dremel buffing wheel instead of steel wool for polishing. You can do a whole neck in under 10 minutes, and the results are really notably smoother unless you work down to 0000 steel wool (which will mean a LOT more buffing).
STELLAR VIDEO DAN!!!! Thanks for taking the time to make it and share it. 😃👍
LittleBone fret file has been around since 2011. It can be made with sand paper as well.
Best video on crowning frets!
Thank you mate!
I love your luthier videos, keep them coming! You have great video production!
Good idea - thanks!! One tip back at you - don’t use steel wool. Magnetic pickups and steel wool do not mix. Trust me when you’ve done a few dozen the steel wool shards will be impossible to clean up and will find their way into everything near your bench. Since they’ll be magnetized they’ll wind up everywhere you don’t want them. They then attract moisture and rust, Making a whole new category of hassle. I switched to scotch brite type nylon pads 15-20 yrs ago - problem solved. They work just as good w none of the problems. Take care.
Thing is, he does the steelwool procedure perhaps with the neck detached, so there should be no bigger fear of creating the hassle you mentioned. What I personally tend to do is to have a strong good vacuum cleaner ready on hands when using steel-wool.
But apart from that, I totally agree - steel wool is kind of a plague in this sense.
Just cover the guitar with a tshirt while working on it. Then wipe the bench down.
I’ve played for 50 years and have always done my own work. I have never advocated the use of steel wool on a guitar neck. There are plenty of alternatives that are specifically designed to clean and polish your guitar and neck, including frets. I’ve used the Dunlop Cleaning System which has everything you need to clean, polish and protect a guitar, bass, etc. They don’t contain any harsh chemicals or ingredients that would scratch your instruments. You can purchase the entire set in a single box for less than $25. I am not sponsored by them but the number of people I've told should get me something!💵 Anywho, I clean using the Dunlop kit, I use my luthier tools for my fret jobs but I polish my frets with a Dremel wand. It’s a lot but I take very good care of my 14 guitars, my younger son's 3 guitars and my eldest son's 5 basses (he’s a touring bassist with the group 'Hawk'. I make sure his stuff is on the nose with setups.).
@@Cigarsnguitars I might try polishing with a dremel. Mine has a container of polish and little polishing wheels in its kit so why not.
if you like to use steel wool, as I do, you can either wrap your pad of steel wool around a rare earth magnet or just kinda wave a rare earth magnet over the neck when you're done. It pick it up in seconds. Good trick if you're using it between coats of finish too.
Hey man! Just wanted to say that your channel inspired me to build-restore a guitar!
I will skeptic about this at first. But I decided to go ahead and give it a shot and to my surprise it really work thanks dude for showing me
That is awesome Thanks Man.everyone and their uncle sell an expensive tool to do the job.Your tool works and the best part is it's almost free !
Absolute genius. You deserve your own TV show!!!! Live your videos!!!!
I really like the concept- I decided to try and 3d print a version...we'll see how it goes Thanks
Best guitar building channel on UA-cam. This dude rules
This video and 2 others from your channel gave me enough courage to attack my bass in an attempt to lower the action. I replaced the steel wool by the stainless bundles they sell at the dollar store. I was able to level the frets, crown them and then adjust everything to get the lowest possible action. I managed to lower the bridge by at least 3 mm I now have 2.5mm at f12 !!! I have been playing my bass too high for like 40 years. I even brought it to a pro shop once and they did not do a job as good as I was able to accomplish with your help. Thank you.
Great video, please keep it up with these types of diy help videos. Also I like the workshop setting way more!
Thanks Dan, just picked up a P Bass neck from Pitbull and i am in the process of building a P bass body out of Paulownia timber. Basically copying my old 1980 P bass (but lighter)so this video was timed perfectly for me. Going over to your patreon page to check out how it all works.Thanks for your efforts and sharing your knowledge.
Were you going to "His" patreon page to copy that too? Or were you feeling grateful and decided to contribute because he sparked something in you that was dead?
Awesome. I have done a few this way, but since I do this a lot I have gotten some gurian files. One thing I'd like to add as optional is polishing. A dremel and some rubbing compound gives it a brilliant shine real quick.
Lots of people have suggested this, so I’m gonna try it next time.
Great demonstration. I don't want to buy more single purpose tools so your method is perfect. Thanks
Hey Dan, Just wanted to let you know that your channel inspired me as well. I built the offset P90 kit from fretwire.com. Upgraded the input jack, pots, tuning keys and shielded the pickup cavity. I also had to shim the neck to get the action right. This was my first ever build and it turned out very nice. Thanks for all the great tips. Your channel rocks.
Thumbs up Dan! I am considering making their Rickenbacker clone. You make it look easy!
Great idea. I am building a cheap $65 strat now and I think I will try this. Thanks for the great videos.
Love your videos, especially the more inscripted ones in the workshop! You really inspired me to build guitars and fix the ones I already have. Thanks man!
Awesome! I love the tool and the tape idea! Simple and super effective
REALLY useful tip, and just in time. Got a Craigslist Ibanez and it needs fretwork! Thanks Dan!
I bought some fancy luthier tools but I love the home brew on the cheap version. I'm very tempted to 3D print a couple of these. Thanks for the great videos.
That’s a great idea! I’ve been trying to think of how to make a cheap plastic versions to sell, 3d printing might be the way to go
Put it up on thingiverse please!
I mailed Dan a couple of 3D printed fret crowning tools, as well as making a couple for myself and a couple for a guitar playing friend. I'll wait to see if Dan has any feedback. When it's to his liking, I'll upload to Thingiverse if he's OK with that.
Guns and Guitars : I think you could improve on the design- for example making a way to load a small “roll” of self-adhesive sandpaper and a simple no-tools way to expose new abrasive. There are various grits of emery cloth that plumbers use to clean pipes and jewelers use in their fabrication - maybe some of that product could be used in some way you’d need some strategically placed slots- one behind the flat “tip” so there is still no abrasive there. There is a handheld plastic sander Norton used to make that had a similar mechanism- used rolls of sandpaper.
@@Liberty4Ever how did your 3d printed versions turn out?? Thanks
Lee
Guns and guitars bsck at it again with another quality vid!!! Still waiting for that jazzmaster im gonna cry for waiting
The absolute best video on Fret crowning!
Nice! Also like your method to not masking the whole neck and trimming grits after use.
That's been my biggest gripe with leveling the frets.
The tool, I bought for doing it, seems to not have the same curve to it, as the frets have, resulting in frets, that are the exact opposite of what I've been striving for.
Great tip, Dan!
This really solves a problem.
Although I still wished, there was an easier way.
I'll give this a try. I will say I did purchase a cheapish crowning file that works pretty danged good but I'm always looking for homebrew alternatives and this seems to do the same job with less finish work. I would also like to suggest that for the final polish if you want them super slick hit theme with Autosol automotive chrome polish. Makes them slick as glass. Thanks for all your tips Dan.
That’s awesome, I like the DIY stuff that actually is easy to do yourself.
You got me subscribing bro! Keep up the good work! Greetings from the Philippines.
U r the man love the way u make tools. U r a great artist!!! Thanx for your videos
So simple. So effective. Gonna make two of them. Thanks! Great demonstration, by the way.
Yes, loving the workshop.
it's funny because it actually looks easier this way than with a proper crowning file, i've done this for years with a specialized file and it's always messy and hard to see what you're doing and i always end up going back by hand with a tiny piece of sandpaper on a stick
Dan, you should patent your tool. It's genius!
Saw another vid where you put sandpaper over a fret, facing up. Rub your block of wood over it to create a channel. Then turn the paper over.
That works too, but you really don't want to remove any material from the top of the fret... I guess it comes down to trial and error and what works best for you. I've seen all sorts of methods, some people like fret crowning files and some people hate them.
Probably the most useful guitar tip EVER! I can't thank you enough, TKS!! Thumbs up and shared!
For polishing of frets I use mothers polish. It works awesome but it does get things dirty so make sure you prep properly and clean up afterwards.
Definitely use a marker for the frets to see how much youve taken out or need to take out- to also keep it evenly done.
Really great tip, I think the only thing I would change is to make the actually block out of a plastic/resin material, or an aluminum block as the small 1/4" side of the wood will eventually deteriorate, or become misshaped ,otherwise again, great tip.
Makita vibrating sander with 220 sandpaper, 90 seconds all frets done, steel wool all frets 90 more seconds. Boom, all frets done. Fret board wrecked but frets are in great shape :)
I've done this before. Honestly, if you do this on a regular basis it's worth getting good fret files. For a once in a while thing, this is perfect.
Dude, you're awesome!!! Thanks for sharing the knowoledge.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge sir. It helps me how to start to fix my guitar
Amazing video, thank you for this demonstration!
Thanks for the demo - although I'd rather spend a fraction of the time fiddling, and $80 for an Offset Diamond Fret Crowning File, Dual Width...
... I just want to DIY guitars, not everything else.
Keep making videos! Everybody knows something...
... and together we know it all!
Thanks again.
hi dan, I have been learning and wanted to say thankyou for the tips and help.
just made my DT fret tool, have not tried yet. i'm sure it will work perfectly.
just made your little tool. works great. thanks
Anybody named guns and guitars I have to sub. Hell yeah. Thanks for this video. Long time shooter and guitar player !!
Regards from southern Indiana.
Thanks for the sub!
Hoosier Daddy Thats 1 more from southern ind.
Glenn Winburn Seymour here. :)
Guns and Guitars Welcome very much.
Dan, great little DIY tool idea! I never look forward to this step either, but I agree it's critical. I made a bass notched straight edge tool out of a cheap ruler same as you did in your other video!
Sounds like a lot of work. I just crown with a crowning file & polish with dremel :P
Great video.
The fret crowning tool is awesome, and it seems faster and easier than the file Ive got.
Valuable info for anyone doing builds or just maintenance.
Thanks!
: )
Thanks, mate. That's a really good idea. Well thought out. I'll be making one for sure.
I love home made tricks and tips. However I'd feel the need to keep replacing the sandpaper as it wears down which would be a pain. I find something really therapeutic and satisfying hand filing with a triangular file.
Nothing beats a proper triangle filing.
Stewmac sells diamond files to do this that don't get dull and they will create the correct nose or crown on the frets . They aren't cheap but they work without having to keep changing out sand paper plus the way the tool is designed it keeps the crown consistent every time where as with what I am seeing here with his home made tool it's much to easy to not get that 45 degree that's needed because his tool will not hold the 45 like it should as it can be tipped in the wrong degrees to easily if you are working to fast or not paying close attention. I would rather spend the money on the correct tool that will take these other other possible problems out of the equation to simplify the process rather than chance screwing the frets up and either having to start over or do a complete refret of the neck which in itself is a pain if you don't have the correct tools especially on a bound neck .
This is really helpful and simple.
After a lot of frustration with expensive files that leave my frets looking like I used a chainsaw on them, I tried this and I'm thrilled with the results. I think I'll try to get some harder wood to make the blocks out of. This really turned out well. Thanks for the tip!
Glad it worked so well for you!
I like to use a diamond crowing file and then sand 400, 1000, 1500, then steel wool, find even 0000 steel wool isn't enough so come back with a dremil and metal polish and buff them up, that's how you get glass smooth frets. your way seems more efficient but i always feel like i can tell if i haven't taken every step!!
Boom. Did this and followed it to the letter. My cheapocaster has been transformed. Strangely I haven't had to adjust the truss since restringing, dead straight fretboard with a nice low action and no fret buzz, is this normal? Not that I'm complaining. Brilliant tip, thanks!
Big fan of your how-to video Dan. You did a perfect job of explaining the theory and subtle details of 60 cycle hum and shielding in your last video. Really thorough fret crowning demonstration in this one! I have a question about the Fret Wire guitar kits. What size frets do they come with? Medium-jumbo or jumbo? Are they fairly tall frets? Thanks!
Right on, thanks man.
FYI: I use a 15 x 24 glass cutting board for masking tape, or vinyl. You can use a straight edge and a razor, and cut any thickness of vinyl or tape in long stripes. And you can also make sharp designs for vinyl.
I really enjoy and appreciate your very clever, usually easy and inexpensive (I'm a cheap Son-of-a-Biscuit too!) hand fashioned tools. And they really work! Thanks for sharing what you do and how you do it. Please Sir, I'd like some more!
I haven't seen a vid from you in a long time. I'm glad you "stuck to your guns".
I remember the videos when some people gave you shit for combining your two passions.
Tried this method and was really amazed with the results 😁😁
Here's an idea for your next build: Epi LP Junior converted to set neck (dowels in place of screws, glue smeared in), with a 3 saddle tele style bridge!
The best DIY tool for guitar fret crowning!
You could add a block on the outside of that obtuse angle of the shape as a spacer to stop you leaning the tool over too far and taking the top off the fret?
I'm gunna have a bash at this I reckon. Good advice.
LittleBone fret file
Yo bro! You saved my live! I bought this cheap fret crowning tool from Ebay and it does nothing to the fret. I was about to spent 70 bucks on Stewmac but decided to jump on your channel to see if you got anything related. Thank you very much Dan!
Its not the one with the orange handle by any chance is it? Cuz I just ordered one from ebay like that. Cheers
I made one out of aluminium a while ago , works great , however I still reach for my favourite needle file . Not easy to break habits .
Awesome tool idea. I will be using this. Thanks.
Subscribed to this Channel for your builds, but i really like where this is going. I just have one suggestion: can you also record your customer builds? Not fancy like the reviews and ultimate builds, maybe just a timelapse without commentary. And I also wanted to say that I love the workshop set. It's much more professional than the greenscreen.
Great video! Awesome content! Thanks Dan
Great video dan!!!!
This was a pretty spectacular episode. Good stuff. 👍
Thanks for sharing your up to date ideas of DIY tools :) haven't fishing my neck job and winter is almost done.... Can't wait to get a peice of wood :)
Dan, AWESOME DIY tool.
What if.. Instead of cutting just 45's. What if you had 2 blocks: block 1 has one side at 45, one side at 60. Block 2 has one side cut at 70 and the other side at 75 or 80. This way, there would be less rocking and more control. You'd probably want a set of blocks for your different grits of paper just to make it as efficient as possible. Also, make the width of the flat area that rides on the fretboard be just slightly smaller than the narrowest fret space. What do you think? Wouldn't this give a bit more control and a more precise crown? Is this something you have already tested or a similar idea and found out otherwise?
DaveR I like ur additional ideas, would make it perfect
You are correct, you would have more control, but having that many blocks to be constantly changing out the sandpaper on I think would slow down the process. Either way is fine I’m sure
DaveR That's genius dude, it practically makes it foolproof! Id rather switch blocks and take more time if it eliminates accidentally ruining your fret level. If you get a chance to try it out, it'd be really cool to let us know how it goes on the facebook group. Thanks again btw for recommending the group to me on TTK's livestream the other day.
To be completely honest Andrew, with the dozen or so guitars I own and the 3 kits I have going, I bought the Z-File. It's about as foolproof and quick as it gets. It cut the time of doing an entire level and re-crown by a ton. If I didn't have all the guitars I have, and hadn't gotten into building kits, I'd be all for taking this route. Dan's block tool is a great idea.
Sure thing man! and check out this guy below Brad Angove( ua-cam.com/users/BradAngove ) . He's the MAN when it comes to painting. Painting opaques, candies, and clear coats, I have learned a TON from him.
I totally agree, if I had that many necks to upkeep the Z-File would be my preferred choice as well. Honestly they'll probably be my first stew-mac purchase when the time comes, so I'm glad to hear you like using them. I'm mainly flirting with this idea for tuning up a Squier or two ive got laying around while I grow the kit and tool fund. Which Z-file did you get?
I’ve been wanting to try building some kit guitars as a hobby but can’t shell out a bunch of money on expensive tools. The walk throughs and idea you have provided are awesome. I’ll be building a couple of these and your other tools. I didn’t want a half done job on the neck etc. thank you for the time and effort you’ve put into you videos. Liked and subbed
This is going to save some fretboards. I had been using a triangle file, and although I tried to file one corner of it down I still gouged up a couple of my fretboards. Dirt cheap used guitars, so I'm not concerned about them. But I needed to find a way to prevent that before I start doing more expensive kitbuilds.
Thanks for making this video. Great tip!
Thanks for the info Dan!
Genius idea! Thanks!
So much work, but I bet it's worth it. Thank you!
This is just awesome! I wish a knew that last year, when I was putting together my partscaster. Well done!
Thanks for the tip , I now feel brave enough to re-crown my 1990's classical guitar.
Awesome, good luck with the project!
thanks for the methods and tips, well done.
Would I be mistaken in noticing that many of the frets were not completely seated before they were leveled?
Hey Dan, I'm a big fan of your channel. Thanks for sharing this information as I just picked up a 7 string that's REALLY in need of a crown and polish. Also, I made a couple of vectors a while ago with some cool mashups of well, guns and guitars. My idea was to put them onto t-shirts but after finding your channel I really feel like the images belong to you. If you'd like, PM me (or however that works on youtube) and I'd be happy to send them to you along with any permission you need to use the image free of charge! Thanks again for the awesome content! Cheers from Memphis.
Definitely will make this for when I re-fret my strat!
I like the workshop/shed setting for the DIY tools and maintenance videos
Question: Are you ever going to follow up on that cheap reverb pedal that you didn't actually get to review because it came broken?