Fret Crowning File- which one is the one?

[Chris Mudd]

Hello all,
I have been reading the library and comparing the fret crowning files from Luthiers Mercantile, Stew Mac and Grizzly.

I have the budget for 1 file for crowing medium frets. I am a medium fret kind of guy with a garage shop, but can see how the Gurian could be really versatile.

the but the reviews for the Gurian are mixed.

The double-sided files from all 3 look useful, but have a range in the cost, and I can't afford the diamond files.

What do you suggest for the first good file?

Chris

[Mark Swanson]

Save up until you can get a diamond file. they are the only ay to go, and every time you dress a fret you'll be glad that you spent the extra bucks. I think the best one is the Stew-Mac one with the curved ends. It will last your lifetime.

[Warren May]

I have the StewMac double and it works okay but if I had it to do over again, I'd go a different route. The one peeve I have with it is it is hard for an old man who doesn't see well to figure out which side is medium and which one is fine. It isn't well marked, in my opinion. Also, the flat profile makes it a little hard to see where you are and the angled one Mark mentions looks like it would be easier for you to see the work.

[David King]

I'm not that impressed with any of the crowning files, I have 5 or 6 of them here and they all get clogged rapidly and they all leave deep scratches that take a long time to sand out. My current preference is to use a 1/8" x 1" x 6" stick of hardwood and file or carve a groove on each edge using a chainsaw file or round needle file.

I put double stick tape on each side and wrap a 2 x 4" wide strip of silicon carbide sandpaper across the concave edge. I start with 400 grit and file away, switch to 800, then 1200 (or just make three sticks). I can do 2-3 frets before I need to move the sandpaper 3/16" over for a fresh surface.

It doesn't cost anything so give it a try and see for yourself if you think it's workable.

[Mark Swanson]

I use a similar type of setup. In one of Dan Erlewine's books he suggests using a rubber squeegee from an auto parts store. These are sold in various sizes, the one I use is just over 1/8" thick. You can slice them up into any convenient size. I file a rounded groove in an edge, and wrap sandpaper around it. I usually use a fresh surface for each fret, it's very easy to shift the paper along as I work. So, I level the frets, and then crown them with a diamond file, then polish with the sandpaper. I find the file is a little too rough to go directly to the 400 grit, so I start with 320, or sometimes even 280 when I don't have any 320, and then go to the 400 and on through the grits. I find I can stop at 600, and then use a small piece of very fine steel wool with the same rubber backer and it polishes the frets to a mirror shine.
The stick idea sounds very good, and I want to give that a try!
I've also got a set of the Stew-Mac "fret erasers", has anyone tried them? In my opinion they work well but are a lot slower than using the sandpaper.

[John Sonksen]

I bought a double sided, toothed file from stewmac and was surprised by how tricky it was to use. I thought it took quite a bit of effort and would have saved my money for the diamond file had I known.

I've also bought the sanding erasers and I have to agree that they are very slow. I bought the whole set and was a bit disappointed with the result at the end. Of course I don't think that I did the best job removing the initial file marks before moving up to those. I'm still learning, but the whole process felt rather ham fisted, and I'd like it to be a bit more refined. If I make many more I'll likely get the diamond file and a sanding stick, seems like people like that route.

[John Hamlett]

I use the Gurien file; the handle with replaceable burrs. It is my favorite, I like it far, far better than the "diamond" files, (my Stewmac double edged diamond file stays in the drawer and I nearly never use it) but it only does part of the job. I follow it with a safe-edge triangular file to get the frets feeling really smooth.
As far as I'm concerned, "the" file does not exist. Good fret work requires more than one file and more than one technique for different situations (like the bar frets I recently re-crowned so that the owner will actually play his '34 Martin instead of keeping it in the case because it is too hard to play).

[David King]

I like one of my Gurian burrs, the widest one I think, the other two have anomalies down their whole length so they don't leave a rounded surface on both sides of the fret. I got the first generation Stewmac diamond file and I think it's worse than useless (except for rounding off chipped glass and ceramics).
I do have one excellent file that does a 1/8" radius. I bought it for $15 at a specialized tool store that was going out of business. It was labeled "Pillar file" and it had an illegible stamp on it and probably came from Finland or Sweden. It's square and has two flat cutting sides and two concave cutting sides with all four corners bevelled. It's 9" long so lots of teeth to wear out. Needless to say I've been looking for another one ever since.

[John Hamlett]

It is true that you have to pick through the Gurien burrs to find the ones with a smooth cut, but I've owned and worn out enough of them (burrs) over the years to adapt to the ones that don't cut as well as I'd like. After all, I don't expect to file the top of the fret with the burr and call it done, there's more work to do after that, so the faults can be corrected.

[Rick Davis]

Another Gurian fan with similar caveats.

We've played with the fret erasers and find them useful for some stuff but not much. They'll definitely flatten the tops of carefully rounded frets if you're aggressive with them. The finer grits are very good at removing gunge from nasty, stained, tarnished, bloody electric guitar frets though, and save the micromesh etc. for the better instruments.

[Jacob Porter]

I'm still pretty new at building. However, not being a man of means, I have a version that's working for me that you might try. I use a flat file along the ends to flush the edges with the board at close to 35 degrees. I then use the rough side of a cheap, yet flat, sharpening stone to level the frets. (make flat by setting sandpaper of appropriate grit on a known flat surface and rub.) Tape the board if you haven't already. Use a triangle file with one edge ground smooth to file the crown back into the frets till you see just a sliver at the very top. Use fine steel wool to polish.

[Simon Magennis]

See step 7 here:

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier ... fret6.html

Frank Ford is just using sandpaper in this case. Good enough for Frank; should be good enough for us. I have a double file like Warren May but from a different source (probably same file) and have the same feelings about it.

[Rick Davis]

Frank's sandpaper technique may be OK for a refret, where you're removing small amounts of metal and leaving the fret crowns basically round, but it's not going to work if you have to remove much material. For a grind-and-polish, you'll need a better way to re-crown the frets and that's where the specialized files come in.

[Brad Heinzen]

I like those curvy StewMac diamond files as well. I've been using the same one for years.

[Michael Lewis]

The files need to be used a bit to take the "new" off them or they are too aggressive for me. An aggressive file is more difficult to control though it removes material pretty fast. I have a StewMac diamond file that I seldom use but it comes in handy sometimes. My main crowning file is a Raubacher I paid $7.50 from LMI many years ago that has a 2 and 3 for the sizes. The 2 side is well worn now but the 3 side is still aggressive because I don't use it much. Like John Hamlett I have a triangular file I ground with safe edges for finish crowning, and it leaves a very smooth surface and is kind to the fingerboard.

The main point about crowning frets is to understand what you need to do to make the cross section of the fret nicely crowned and get it done. Whatever tool you use you will have to learn how to make it do what you need it to do. You don't just grab a file and start grinding though it is almost that simple. Lots of practice helps.

[Bob Hammond]

David, re the 'Pillar' file, last week I stopped by a local jewelers' supply (C.R. Hill, Berkley MI www.crhill.com) and I remember seeing the name 'Pillar' on a file. I'll stop by again and have a look to see if there's one that matches your description. Btw, this supplier has a variety of fine tools and jewelry finishing supplies at reasonable prices.

[Bob Hammond]

I stopped by the jewelers supply and they have a variety of Swiss-cut files that do not appear on their website. I've found the Simonds website that gives much useful information. These files are also commonly used for gunsmithing. A decent little file for a variety of things is a Nicholson Tungsten Point file (~$5) that is commonly used for cleaning electrical relay contacts. It's about 1/4" width, 1/16" thick, and 3-4" long with rounded safe edges.




http://www.simondsinternational.com/fil ... =mnuPFiles

Also, while browsing the store I found 3M Radial Bristle abrasive discs that look very promising for cleaning and polishing. For an initial tryout, I bought the middle-grade blue 400 grit discs and tried them out on the socket of an old chisel (the brighter spot nearer the handle). They produce a smooth satin finish, and I expect that the finer grits should produce a bright polish. I have mislaid my thin draftsmans eraser shield that I use to protect fingerboards, but as soon as I find it (just after I buy another one), then I'll try them out on a fret.

http://www.esslinger.com/3m-radial-bris ... heels.aspx

[John Sonksen]

David, here's the jewelry supply store where I bought the copper disc that I inlayed in my headstock. They have lots of files, looks like Pillar's included

http://portlandjewelrysupplies.com/site ... at/43/ctn/

[David King]

I see the Grobet Valtitan pillar files but they are the normal type with parallel sides but none with concaves like a fret crowning file which is what I have.
Valtitan files are interesting, they are the hardest temper available, RC-72, and designed to work on platinum.