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OK, so when last we left off we had nicely beveled fret ends. Now its time finish up the fretwork. The first thing required is to adjust the truss rod. You can order a notched straight edge from StewMac for a significan't chunk of $$, or you can be 'frugal' (cheap!) like me and DIY. Here's an inexpensive straight edge that I had previously notched for 24.75" scale necks. I just notched the other side for 24". Is it any where near as precisely ground as the StewMac gauge? Of course not! But I did make sure it was reasonably accurate with a framing square and the table on my table saw which I know is flat/true. So, I end up with this ugly/high tech device:
As an added bonus, you can cut the ends off of the ruler and make your self a set of fret rockers. Again, far cheaper than SM.
Next I tape off the fretboard.
Another DIY tool: the fretboard leveler. This is just a piece of corian counter top with two pieces of 320 grit sandpaper stuck on with spray adhesive. Call any kitchen counter place and ask them who supplies their counter tops. Buy a dozen donuts and show up there around coffee break time and ask if you can poke through their scrap bin. You'll come away with as many fretboard levelers as you want for a total investment of $3 :)
I mark the tops of the frets with a sharpie. A litte end-to-end sanding with the leveler until there is no sharpie left and we have nice level fret tops. A little extra sanding up on the high frets is required to create some fall-away which elimantes buzzing when you play up high on the neck.
Here I've used a crepe block to unload the sandpaper. I've been using this block for years and haven't really put a dent in it!
Now the frets are level, but all the tops have been flattened to get them level. The next step is to use a crowning file to make them all round again. This file is two sided: one side for jumbo frets and one for medium (like this neck has).
After crowning, the frets are rounded again, but they need sanding to make them smooth. I tried taking pics after the various grades of sandpaper, but with my crappy shop camera they all looked the same (OK, the camera isn't crappy, I'm a crappy photographer!). Lets just say that after each of 600/800/1000 grit the frets look better and better. Here they are after 1000 grit.
Although you can't tell from this pic, they really gleam after #0000 steel wool.
I used to stop at this point, but I learned a technique which is to use a dremel with a polishing wheel to finish up frets. Take note of the 'blast-shield I've set up on the other side of the neck!
You have to see this in person, but if #0000 was shiny this is, um, more shiny. I swear I heard the noise of two Samurai swords clashing as I took this pic ;)
Now that everthing is shiny, we have to carefully deal with some sharp fret ends. Actually, after all the sanding and steel wool, the ends are not as sharp as when they were first beveled, but they still need work.
You can use small needle files, but I like this fret dressing file. The left/right sides are the file portion. The bottom (flat) is smooth, as is the rounded top. I use the flat side down to juuuuuuust nip off the sharp part where the fret meets the fretboard, and the round side down to juuuust knock the edge off the fret ends. After filing, I take some 1000grit sandpaper and run up and down the fret ends to make sure everything is nice and smooth. 1000grit won't hurt the fretboard either. Hey guess what? The frets are done. Actually the whole neck is done except...
...drilling for tuners...
...and a quick serial number. Do you like my complex serial number formula :) ? This neck is now ready to have a finish applied. More to come...
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