Fret Edge Dressing

[BuffaloBass]

all you "grunts" must remember "Edge Dressing" huh!?

Anyway, just got a mint Mexi P from a TB'er here, and it has the typical fretboard shrunk a freckle and frets are protruding a few thou on each side.

I'd rather do this myself, although I have an excellent luthier here.

First, rosewood boards ( aint never had one before) , should I lemon oil the board first and "swell it".

Exactly what type of file is used? ( I have an assortment of machinsits files, including some fine rattails)

Do you simply use masking tape on the edges of the frets and dress them down?

This bass will be my son's first electric, and I want to make it comfortable for him, WITHOUT making it look like " Hack Joe" had a hand in it. Frank sent me a beautiful bass, and I'd like to keep it that way.

THNX!!!!

[62bass]

You can oil the rosewood and it'll make it look better but I have never seen that swell the wood to any appreciable degree. In fact, you don't want to swell the wood. That's why now is a great time to do this work before the summer humidity swells the wood again.

I mask off the edge of the fingerboard and run a very flat piece of plate glass coated with 300 grit paper along the ends of the frets to bring them down to wood level. A flat wooden block will do the same. Some guys use a flat file.

Then I use a small triangular file to round over the fret ends to make them more comfortable. I mask between the frets. Some use a file that has been ground smooth on each of the 3 corners on a grinding wheel. I don't, but work very carefully to avoid damaging the fingerboard. I've got a nice workbench mounted light with a magnifying glass mounted in it that I use to get a close up view of what I'm doing.

You sound like you've been around a while and should be competent to do a very good job yourself. Good luck.

[BuffaloBass]

62, THNX! I'm more comfortable around big block chevy engines than fretboards, but I'll work slow and careful.