Any suggestion on where to source a crowning file that will NOT remove any meat from the top of the fret ? I just want to chamfer the edges but don't want to use a triangle hand file.
Thanks
Thanks
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Fret Crowning file question
- Thread starter p12bassnut
- Start date
Do you have a regular concave crowning file, one of the full concave ones? It's designed to do what you are asking: round off the two edges of the fret without touching the top center. If you are cutting the top center, it means that you have filed too far, without watching your progress.
Most of us first wipe the top of the fret with a black Sharpie, leaving a wide black ink along the top of the fret. Then start filing with the crowning file. It will start cutting the edges first, and as it cuts, the black line gets straight on the edges, and then gets narrower. As you file, watch the width of the black line. When the line gets down to about a pencil line width, like 0.025-0.030" wide, that's when you stop filing. That's the indicator that you have filed down the two corners, but left a narrow little strip of the top center untouched. The fret is correctly crowned.
If you keep going, and the black line disappears, then you have gone too far and damaged the top center strip. You've messed up the leveling. You have to back up and level the tops of the frets again.
You can do this process without the black Sharpie, but you have to watch real close, with magnifier glasses. Look at the shiny flat line along the top of the fret. Before crowning, it's wide in some areas and narrow in others. As you file with the crowning file, you want to make the line all narrow and even in width, across the fret. But don't make the little flat line disappear. The black ink just helps you to see the flat line from farther back, without magnifiers.
Tool note: I've found that the Milwaukee Tools version of the "Sharpie" works even better for this job. The black ink sticks better to metal than the office-supplies type real Sharpie ink.
The Stew-Mac Z-type crowning file is something different. It's made to shape the fret into a pyramid with a teeny flat at the top, rather than the traditional rounded dome. Some people like their frets like that, personal taste. But the Z file will also damage the little flat line on top, if you go too far.
When crowning frets, you have to pay close attention to what you are doing. And know when to stop.
Most of us first wipe the top of the fret with a black Sharpie, leaving a wide black ink along the top of the fret. Then start filing with the crowning file. It will start cutting the edges first, and as it cuts, the black line gets straight on the edges, and then gets narrower. As you file, watch the width of the black line. When the line gets down to about a pencil line width, like 0.025-0.030" wide, that's when you stop filing. That's the indicator that you have filed down the two corners, but left a narrow little strip of the top center untouched. The fret is correctly crowned.
If you keep going, and the black line disappears, then you have gone too far and damaged the top center strip. You've messed up the leveling. You have to back up and level the tops of the frets again.
You can do this process without the black Sharpie, but you have to watch real close, with magnifier glasses. Look at the shiny flat line along the top of the fret. Before crowning, it's wide in some areas and narrow in others. As you file with the crowning file, you want to make the line all narrow and even in width, across the fret. But don't make the little flat line disappear. The black ink just helps you to see the flat line from farther back, without magnifiers.
Tool note: I've found that the Milwaukee Tools version of the "Sharpie" works even better for this job. The black ink sticks better to metal than the office-supplies type real Sharpie ink.
The Stew-Mac Z-type crowning file is something different. It's made to shape the fret into a pyramid with a teeny flat at the top, rather than the traditional rounded dome. Some people like their frets like that, personal taste. But the Z file will also damage the little flat line on top, if you go too far.
When crowning frets, you have to pay close attention to what you are doing. And know when to stop.
Thanks so much Bruce
I haven’t attempted the job yet, I was looking for exactly what you provided to prevent a potential failure.
Which specific file/brand do you recommend ?
I haven’t attempted the job yet, I was looking for exactly what you provided to prevent a potential failure.
Which specific file/brand do you recommend ?
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I like these, Stew-Mac's classic style crowning files:
Double-edge Fret File - StewMac
I like these old-style files better than the diamond files. They leave a smoother finish on the metal, needing less polishing after crowning. The diamond files leave the fret covered in fine scratches, which need to be sanded out.
I use the ones Bruce linked as well, I like them, very simple to get the hang of too.
Whatever file you get, get the right size for the frets you want to crown. If you use a file designed for jumbo frets on narrow vintage frets you can easily file the top of the fret on the first pass before doing any actual crowning.
I have tried a couple brands of crowning files, but I guess I am old fashioned. I learned with a simple slim triangle file with ground and polished corners. To me, they afford better control of the fret contour and narrowing that sharpie line left on the top of the fret.
Inexpensive too, about $6 these days.
Inexpensive too, about $6 these days.
I have tried a couple brands of crowning files, but I guess I am old fashioned. I learned with a simple slim triangle file with ground and polished corners. To me, they afford better control of the fret contour and narrowing that sharpie line left on the top of the fret.
Inexpensive too, about $6 these days.
Yep, that's the old school way to crown frets. And it still works. It takes a little more skill and care to get the radiuses even. And a little more time. Nothing wrong with doing it that way. The concave crowning file will get you there quicker, with a more uniform radius.
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