Advice on frets please!

[lpfan]

Hey I wanted to fix the frets on my 60th anniversary strat. You can feel the ends of the frets if you slide your hand up and down the neck. Is it as simple as masking off the neck and fretboard w/painters tape and gently using a flat file to wear down the protruding file ends? I'm assuming you slide the file along the neck horizontally and not up and down that way everything wears even. I've never done this before but I didn't think there should be much to it. Thanks for any info.

[peeper]

That happens when the guitar drys out. The wood shrinks, the metal frets do not. Before filing them down, try getting your guitar to the proper humidity and keeping it there. In a few weeks the fretboard should return to its proper state and the fret ends won't protrude any more. Shoot for 45% humidity and a constant temp around 70.

[lpfan]

Thanks Musikron. I haven't touched this guitar in about 2 months maybe and I recall feeling the ends only a little bit but now its really obvious. Would it be ok to to just take a little bit off?

[deflepfan]

Thanks Musikron. I haven't touched this guitar in about 2 months maybe and I recall feeling the ends only a little bit but now its really obvious. Would it be ok to to just take a little bit off?

Keep in mind, if you take any off now, once the wood goes back to its proper moisture content the frets may then be too low. Best to wait it out.

Sheila

[lpfan]

Keep in mind' date=' if you take any off now, once the wood goes back to its proper moisture content the frets may then be too low. Best to wait it out.

Sheila[/quote']

 

I'm not talking about the height of the fret wire, thats fine. I'm talking about along the sides of the neck, the ends of the fret wire is what I can feel.

[peeper]

I wouldn't take any off. You'll wind up with frets too short for the neck.

 

Let me put it this way.

 

Your frets didn't grow longer, the wood of the neck contracted around the frets ,making them "stick out". If you file the frets now, while your guitar is probably dry and unhappy anyways, when your guitar is properly humidified and the wood is healthy you will wind up with gaps at the ends of the frets. You don't want that do you? I am also sure you don't want any chips in the fingerboard or cracks in the finish either- all things that drying out can cause.

 

If you don't own one already, and this goes for everyone reading this, go buy a small hydrometer so you can properly read the guitars environment. If you keep the case the guitar is in at 50% humidity, then the wood inside will be as well.

 

If your guitar is dry, take a couple paper towels, dampen them with water, place them in an open sandwich bag, and put it in the case with the guitar. Then you wait, days, even weeks. It is a slow process, but it will happen. If the paper towel dries out, replace it.

 

If you do this for two weeks and notice no change at all, then maybe think about filing the frets. But just remember, FRET NOT GROW< WOOD SHRINK.

[Dave]

I think he's talking about roughness on the edge of the frets. I've felt that, too. When I did a fret job on both my Epi LPs, I had the neck taped off and used some 1000+ sandpaper to lightly smooth the edges. It's where they were cut to length and left the edges a little sharp. Careful though, too much polishing and you can change the angle and create a condition where the string tends to slide off the edge when you induce vibrato!

[deflepfan]

Sorry, I knew you were talking about the edges of the frets and not the tops, just wrote it wrong. but same rule applies (as Musikron stated). Let the wood return to its proper moisture level before doing anything to the frets. Even though you had an issue prior, the moisture content may have been low then. Once the content is up, then go for it.

Sheila

[Strumbone]

Sorry' date=' I knew you were talking about the edges of the frets and not the tops, just wrote it wrong. but same rule applies (as Musikron stated). Let the wood return to its proper moisture level before doing anything to the frets. Even though you had an issue prior, the moisture content may have been low then. Once the content is up, then go for it.

Sheila[/quote']

 

 

^^ +1 ^^

[lpfan]

As far as shrinking goes, all of my guitars are kept in the same room and the others are fine, no change in any of them. I see no reason why one would shrink and not the others if they are kept together, but I do understand the whole shrinkage thing. I don't think thats what happened. I think that the ends just feel worse to me now because I just got a new 2002 fender strat and its perfect. I think I just got used to it and when I picked up the anniverary strat, it exaggerated the feeling to me. I'm just going to lightly sand the ends down, I'm not going to take a huge amount off, just a wee bit. Thanks for all the advice everybody. Keep rockin!

[SamBooka]

its a fender. They do that.

 

Yes you CAN take a bit off the end of the fingerboard but if you dont know what you are doing you will make a mess.

A fret that is .005 too short will not affect playability. A fret that sticks out .005 will (because you can feel it)

It does raise the point that you should be aware of humidity issues, especially in winter, but even with reasonable efforts fenders do this. Bound fingerboards do it too but you dont notice it as much.

 

 

Notice that the file is perpendicular to the fingerboard. If you were doing a refret you would would "roll" the file to put an angle on the fret ends. You DO NOT want to do this since the angle is already there and you will just mess up the fret job.

 

If you do do this be very careful of the finish. mask it off so there are no scrapes. use a very fine file etc.

 

I would say this .. when in doubt, DONT.

[twanger]

Get it into some humidity and let the fingerboard swell out. When it reaches the point where you no longer feel the fret ends it's time to give the fingerboard a GOOD oiling with lemon oil or your favorite oil. A GOOD oiling pretty much means that you will be making a mess (paper towels and rags are real handy here) and that you will be letting the oil soak in like overnight or longer if you can before wiping off the excess. Then do this again about a week later. After that just oil it up as necessary and definitely one more time before the furnace kicks on next winter.

[SamBooka]

Getgive the fingerboard a GOOD oiling with lemon oil or your favorite oil. .

Try to avoid oil on maple fingerboards tho :)

[rdsmith3]

Dumb question -- do you have to take off all the strings to oil the fret board? If so, isn't it bad to take off all the strings because it relieves all the tension on the neck?

[lpfan]

No you don't have to take all the strings off but I would recommend it. I would just go ahead and change the strings while your at it. Its ok to take all the strings off, it will not harm the neck. Luthiers do it all the time. Guitars are sensitive to adjustments but they are not made of glass. Umm, at least mine aren't, I'm sure someone will post a pic of a glass guitar after I said that. LOL!

[Gordy01]

I live in a place that is very dry. Wood of all kinds, floors,

buildings, guitars, furniture, all shrink. Every guitar I own has had the same thing happen;

the fret ends protrude a bit after the wood shrinks, even with a humidifier in the case.

It is normal around here to file a bit off the ends when doing a setup.

Maintain the 35 degree angle, and then round off the ends so there are no sharp

edges to grab your fingers.

As far as oiling the fingerboard, take the strings off. You don't want to

get the oil on the strings; it helps to degrade them, and you probably need new strings anyway.

Use a clean lint free cloth and apply the oil lightly, cleaning up any oil that gets on the finish.

Let the light coat of oil sit about a half hour, and then wipe it off thoroughly.

 

WARNING!! Too much oil can soften the wood of the fingerboard, or fret glue, causing loose frets.

 

If you have a tremolo bridge block it in position so you don't have all kinds of trouble

restringing the guitar.