Great. Would you suggest using the file with or without a handle attached? Would the attached handle give more control during the process, or just something else to complicate feel and control. I just want to get the best technique possible.
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All about Fret Sprout
- Thread starter Turnaround
- Start date
The only time I use a file handle is when I need to hog off a lot of material. Fingers of both hands on the file feels like more control to me.
I have a file without a handle. I hold it by the sides as I slide over the fret tangs. I also have more control that way, especially when I tilt it to bevel the edges of the frets (when the need it), I can easily reduce the angle as I go up the fretboard, where the strings are closer to the edges of the fretboard and there needs to be less bevel.
Thanks to all over the years who have given this fine advice.
I have a MIM Jazz neck with maple fretboard, arctic cold, and very low humidity. The neck isn't on a body (tomorrow it will be, just got one!) and the fret sprout was very prominent. I have a whet stone for kitchen knives--actually 3 stones mounted on plastic triangle: coarse, medium, and fine--each is about 2'' wide and 6 or 8'' long. Ran the coarse--very light pressure--over the fret ends down the side of the neck longways. It was easy to tell by feel and sound that it was hitting metal only. When I got close to the finish, I switched over to medium or fine and pretty much got them down to the level of the finish.
A couple of the fret ends had so much metal trimmed that I'll need to slightly re-round the ends using a smooth-sided fret end file that should be arriving in today's mail. With those sharp corners tamed I can buff out the edges where I may have lightly scratched the finish (it looks ok to me now, though I admit I am not super picky about looks as long as there's finish there).
It's over an hour's drive to the nearest tech--who said he'd do it for about 40 bucks--so I am very glad to have been able to do this myself. Again, really grateful for the advice from this community.
I have a MIM Jazz neck with maple fretboard, arctic cold, and very low humidity. The neck isn't on a body (tomorrow it will be, just got one!) and the fret sprout was very prominent. I have a whet stone for kitchen knives--actually 3 stones mounted on plastic triangle: coarse, medium, and fine--each is about 2'' wide and 6 or 8'' long. Ran the coarse--very light pressure--over the fret ends down the side of the neck longways. It was easy to tell by feel and sound that it was hitting metal only. When I got close to the finish, I switched over to medium or fine and pretty much got them down to the level of the finish.
A couple of the fret ends had so much metal trimmed that I'll need to slightly re-round the ends using a smooth-sided fret end file that should be arriving in today's mail. With those sharp corners tamed I can buff out the edges where I may have lightly scratched the finish (it looks ok to me now, though I admit I am not super picky about looks as long as there's finish there).
It's over an hour's drive to the nearest tech--who said he'd do it for about 40 bucks--so I am very glad to have been able to do this myself. Again, really grateful for the advice from this community.
Several years ago, during a particularly dry Wisconsin winter, I spent an afternoon at the Appleton Guitar Center. I noticed that nearly every Fender guitar and bass, from the cheapest Squier, to the most expensive Fender Custom Shop or Signature models, had pretty bad fret sprout. I looked at other brands with unbound necks…Ibanez, Epiphone, Gibson, etc. and they weren’t plagued with sharp fret ends.
At the time, I did amp repair at a music store in Green Bay, WI. The owner had quite a collection of 60’s and early 70’s cheap Japanese guitars, hung high on the walls…Teisco, Kent, Global and many other brands. None had been set up. They were just purchased and hung up. I checked out each one. Most needed a setup…truss rod adjustment, nut filed, intonation, etc. but not one had any fret sprout.
I always take care of any fret sprout on my guitars and basses in the dead dry cold of winter. I don’t really do anything about humidity in our house.
At the time, I did amp repair at a music store in Green Bay, WI. The owner had quite a collection of 60’s and early 70’s cheap Japanese guitars, hung high on the walls…Teisco, Kent, Global and many other brands. None had been set up. They were just purchased and hung up. I checked out each one. Most needed a setup…truss rod adjustment, nut filed, intonation, etc. but not one had any fret sprout.
I always take care of any fret sprout on my guitars and basses in the dead dry cold of winter. I don’t really do anything about humidity in our house.
