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diamond crowning files stewmac alternatives

floydman

floydman

Sep 27, 2002
740
248
southeast CT
#1
I am looking into a diamond crowning file for med fret wire about .080 width crown. Between eBay and other online stores we are lucky to have options. I have heard bad stories about the dirt cheap eBay diamond tools. What catches my eye are Philadelphia Luthier supply, Offset diamond file for just under $80. Anybody seen or used these? i am not opposed to investing on quality tools but if this is on par with the stewmac for 2/3 the price that would make a big difference for me.
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#2
A crowning file is a nice tool that makes fret crowning faster and easier. But you don't have to have one to do a good job crowning. You can use a small very fine flat file, or a wooden block with 1000 grit sandpaper, or many other ways. I have several of the Stew-Mac diamond crowning files, and I don't use them very often. In particular, I find most of them to be too coarse. They leave deep scratches, which then take a lot of work to polish out.

An interesting alternative that I've found is to use the edge of a small Japanese water stone, like you use for sharpening. If you rub it on a piece of small round steel wire, you can easily wear a small groove in it. That groove then works nicely for crowning, and it's finer grit than a diamond file. That's what I usually use for light crowning. Only if I have a fret that's had a lot taken off during leveling (which I try to avoid anyway) will I use the diamond crowning file on it first, then smooth it with the water stone.
 
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#6
bssplr said:
I have not purchased their diamond crowning file but I have purchased other items from Philadelphia Luthier supply and always received quality items and excellent service.
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Me too. I suspect this file might well from the same place as the Stewmac one, although I can't be sure. I have the Stewmac version and it is good, but can get clogged up. The waterstone trick sounds worth trying!
 
#7
Yes, I've just found the diamond crowning files to be too coarse. I have one of the Stew-Mac Fine ones, and even that cuts about like 400 grit paper. It leaves deep scratches, especially in Nickel-Silver wire. Then you have to go through a lot of extra sanding and polishing to get those scratches out. And while doing that, it's easy to screw up the leveling....

Before I figured out the waterstone trick, I used to use a hard rubber block that I cut a groove into the bottom of. I'd wrap a strip of 1000 grit wet/dry paper around it, and use that to do the crowning. It was kind of hard on the hands, but it worked well. That seems to be about the right abrasive grit for the job. Crowning shouldn't remove much metal at all. It's just rounding off the two tiny edges of the flat spot on the top of the fret.

I also have one of those Stew-Mac plain crowning files, the one with the concave file teeth. I bought it 20+ years ago and have tried a few times to use it. I still haven't figured out what you can use it for in fretwork. I don't see how you can do any kind of crowning with it, without badly scoring the leveled flat spot. Maybe there's some old-school process where it works.
 
#8
bssplr said:
I have not purchased their diamond crowning file but I have purchased other items from Philadelphia Luthier supply and always received quality items and excellent service.
Click to expand...
I bought some EVO fretwire from Philadelphia Luthier Supply, and since I'm local (about 20 minutes away), I went by to pick up the purchase to save on shipping. Kenny, the guy who runs the shop, is very nice, and willing to chat. He even gave me some extra EVO wire, and even a spare fretboard to practice on. Highly recommended!
 
#9
taped_up.jpg
I have their crowning file ... it does give the correct shape ... but it leave things very rough ... it's not the polish part of the job for sure ... I end up with about another dozen polishing / smoothing pads to get the smooth shine going before the Dremel comes out ...

their diamond coated leveling file helps also ...

I use painters trimming tape to protect the fret board ... and when it's removed , it pulls a lot of dirt out of the pores .. !!

it is kinda fun ... but can get boring ... take your time ...
 
#10
A quick tip about protecting the fingerboard from errant gouges caused by errant and excessively energetic Luthiers. These gouges can cause primal screams. I know this from experience. Unfortunately, a file can go right through most masking tape in a single errant swipe. I know this from experience too. Cue the screams.

I like black vinyl electrical tape for this job. It's slippery and has a tough core material. Try it yourself on a piece of scrap. It's actually quite hard to file or cut through electrical tape. And it has a good adhesive that can be pulled up and used over multiple times.

In my case, I'm mostly doing fretwork on new basses. I'm after speed and efficiency. I don't want to take the time to mask up the whole fingerboard of each neck. I do the leveling (with an oilstone) with no masking. I'm careful, and I use a soft brush to dust the metal dust off the fingerboard. Then I do the crowning and polishing one fret at a time, moving down the neck. I have one of the Stew-Mac stainless shield plates, the little laser-cut sheet with the narrow slot. I used tin snips to cut it narrower, about 1/2" wide. Then I stick that down over the fret with a strip of 3/4" wide electrical tape on either side. Crown and polish that fret, pull it up, stick it down on the next one. Simple and fast. I can usually do a whole neck before changing the strips of electrical tape.
 
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#11
Bruce Johnson said:
I like black vinyl electrical tape for this job. It's slippery and has a tough core material. Try it yourself on a piece of scrap. It's actually quite hard to file or cut through electrical tape. And it has a good adhesive that can be pulled up and used over multiple times.

In my case, I'm mostly doing fretwork on new basses. I'm after speed and efficiency. I don't want to take the time to mask up the whole fingerboard of each neck. I do the leveling (with an oilstone) with no masking. I'm careful, and I use a soft brush to dust the metal dust off the fingerboard. Then I do the crowning and polishing one fret at a time, moving down the neck. I have one of the Stew-Mac stainless shield plates, the little laser-cut sheet with the narrow slot. I used tin snips to cut it narrower, about 1/2" wide. Then I stick that down over the fret with a strip of 3/4" wide electrical tape on either side. Crown and polish that fret, pull it up, stick it down on the next one. Simple and fast. I can usually do a whole neck before changing the strips of electrical tape.
Click to expand...

Very cool! I will try this myself next time. I use the little shield things, but hold them with one hand while filing with the other. Stewmac brought out a version with notches for a rubber band not too long ago, but your idea is better to my mind. More protection and easier all the way down the board.

For levelling, I use the Katana system. I've had great results. I even did a review/demo video of it.



Let me hasten to add that I am not affiliated with the company and have no financial interest in it at all. I just like the product, and so do a lot of other people. If anyone has questions about how it works or why it is so good, I can try to answer them, but contacting the maker would be better.
 

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