Goldie gets a fret dressing

[Dave]

I had a high 13th fret on my new gold top and did a fret dressing. While I was doing the job, I took some pictures. Here they are and, no, I did not ruin my new guitar (grin). But, I could have... Don't try this at home unless you feel confident that you understand all the relationships involved in setting up a new guitar.

 

 

Goldie before

 

Loosen the strings and tie them back so that they are out of the way.

 

Adjust your neck perfectly flat. Don't go by the fret tops; they aren't level. Adjust to the fretboard surface using a slotted flat edge that matches your fret spacing

 

Tape the fretboard so that you don't slip and scratch the finish.

 

Using an exacto knife, trim away the tape over the frets. Cut at an angle so that you don't cut the fretboard.

 

All the frets are exposed here. Use a fine tip magic marker to blacken the tops of the frets.

 

Wrap 400 grit sandpaper around a block that has been trued to be flat using a jointer or table saw. You can also use a level or other perfectly flat block.

 

Sand LIGHTLY following the fret radius. You don't want to cut too fast or too deep. Watch the tops of the frets and sand until all the magic marker ink is gone from the fret tops.

 

You can see the flat, sanded areas on the fret tops here.

 

Now we polish the frets using 1000 grit sandpaper followed by #0000 steel wool or a finer paper. This paper is called crocus cloth and is much finer than 1000 grit sandpaper. Apply pressure to the sides of the flat areas as you polish. You want to restore the rounded top of the fret without further lowering the height of the fret. After all, the object is to make all the frets the same height and level with each other. Polish out all the scratches until the fret shines like a gold ring.

 

Here is the finished product. The frets are shiny and the job is through.

 

Disclaimer: This is an account of how I did a fret dressing so that you can see how it is done. It is not an instructional or teaching tool. I cannot be responsible if you try this and ruin a perfectly good guitar. Once the sandpaper hits the fret, you are on your own.

[Whitmore Willy]

Dave,

 

Now that was interesting.

Good pics

Thanks

[Ron G]

Hello, Dave. Are you there, Dave? Um, how does it play now after the work you did?

[Dave]

Hello' date=' Dave. Are you there, Dave? Um, how does it play now after the work you did?[/quote']

 

I played it this morning in church for about an hour and a half, including the band's warmup practice and it played really well. I was able to get the action down to just a hair over 4/64 on the low E side and about 3/64 on the high E side at the 12th fret. The frets feel really slick and smooth and there's no buzzing anywhere.

 

This is the 2nd time I have done this on a new Epi Les Paul. I didn't have to do it on my Gibson LP, but both of my Epi LPs needed a little work to to lower to this level. Both of the Epis played well at the factory settings with no buzz, but I like a little lower action.

 

The first time doing a fret job is a little scary. I had to do some serious reading and study on other people's web pages to gain the confidence to give it a try. Once I understood what was going on, I knew that I could do it and it doesn't really take a lot in the way of tools. The important baseline adjustment is the flattening of the fingerboard. If you screw up there, you can create some real problems.

[Dr. Killmore]

Thanks for the tips. My Les Paul Standard could use a good leveling. I have a dead spot when I bend the high E at the 14th fret. I have an old no name neck I can practice on. Thanks.

[timmyinpajamas]

very nice diy .. your work is appreciated

[L1Picker]

Thanks for posting that...very nice work.

[Ricochet]

mmm...shi-ny!... Nice job!

[The_Sentry]

Dave,

 

Thanks for posting this. This is easily one of the most informative threads I have ever seen on this forum since joining.

 

You Rock!

[jfalkens]

Thanks for posting :)

[layboomo]

Nice Work Dave ...you obviously know what you are doing...but I caution those who don't....using a block that's not completely square and flat can do alot of damage very quickly!

[Dave]

Dave' date='

 

Thanks for posting this. This is easily one of the most informative threads I have ever seen on this forum since joining.

 

You Rock![/quote']

 

Thanks, Sentry

We've talked a lot about fret dressing, but didn't have any documentation to illustrate the process in actual use. I just thought I'd take a few pictures to put some graphics into the mix.

[Dave]

Nice Work Dave ...you obviously know what you are doing...but I caution those who don't....using a block that's not completely square and flat can do alot of damage very quickly!

 

Absolutely, my sanding block was cut from a 2x4 using a Delta 10" contractor saw with a cast iron top that is finished to be accurately flat within .005". I ran it across my jointer to smooth and flatten it. I then compared it using a light to expose non-contact areas by placing it on the saw top. It's accurate.

 

The other critical measurement is the fingerboard before sanding. I use a 24" ruler that I marked the frets on with a magic marker. Then, I ground little triangular relief notches on it with a floor grinder. It contacts the fretboard without touching the frets. I use a light behind it to adjust the neck with the truss rod for total contact. Then Iknow it is flat.

[carverman]

 

Absolutely' date=' my sanding block was cut from a 2x4 using a Delta 10" contractor saw with a cast iron top that is finished to be accurately flat within .005". I ran it across my jointer to smooth and flatten it. I then compared it using a light to expose non-contact areas by placing it on the saw top. It's accurate.

 

The other critical measurement is the fingerboard before sanding. I use a 24" ruler that I marked the frets on with a magic marker. Then, I ground little triangular relief notches on it with a floor grinder. It contacts the fretboard without touching the frets. I use a light behind it to adjust the neck with the truss rod for total contact. Then Iknow it is flat.[/quote']

 

I used a Stew-Mac sanding block on mine (6 inches long) with the 12 " radius cut into the block. This allows

you to do a fret dressing with different grades of sandpaper and still follow the contour of

the Gibson fingerboards which are curved, not flat.

[Dave]

 

I used a Stew-Mac sanding block on mine (6 inches long) with the 12 " radius cut into the block. This allows

you to do a fret dressing with different grades of sandpaper and still follow the contour of

the Gibson fingerboards which are curved' date=' not flat. [/quote']

 

I've seen the Stew-Mac tools and drooled over them in the online and paper catalogs. They also sell a fret guard that is a shim with a cutout the fits all frets so that you can use a fret file or steel wool without taping the fingerboard. That would be even better. Since I used the magic marker method, I was able to lightly sand and view the results, continuing one until the last bit of magic marker was sanded off. You are right. You do have to keep in mind that you are not sanding on a flat fret surface.

[The_Sentry]

bump!