Your opinion please on this fret issue?

[Iridescentone]

I thought we were addressing the OP's problem. Or is this thread about something else?



Time honored by whom? No decent tech or luthier I know would recommend it.

The OP's problem was solved yesterday, see post #11. The OP's problem was caused by someone removing too much wood from the edges, and it clearly was not done to fix "fret sprout", it was done extremely poorly to roll the edges.

As far as using a blunt object to knock down sharp board edges I have no clue why you are unaware of the technique. I didn't invent it, but have known of it for years, and it works. Again, no one has suggested that the OP's problem could be helped in any way by the compressing method. Please stop trying to conflate the two things.

 

[Iridescentone]

Save your breath Turnaround. They see some kid going at his glarry with a socket on YouTube and "That's the way it's done ". Why would you want a rolled edge with the frets sticking out?

You wouldn't. And you won't if you do it right. You can use virtually any blunt object, coin, socket, screw driver shaft, whatever. Got a bass with super sharp uncomfortable fretboard edges? Try it, but go easy. Just knock down the knife-like edge a smidge. I bet you'll notice an improvement for 30 minutes of your time and no money spent.

 

[Turnaround]

You wouldn't. And you won't if you do it right. You can use virtually any blunt object, coin, socket, screw driver shaft, whatever. Got a bass with super sharp uncomfortable fretboard edges? Try it, but go easy. Just knock down the knife-like edge a smidge. I bet you'll notice an improvement for 30 minutes of your time and no money spent.

Rounding the fretboard edge using any method will leave the fret ends proud of the fretboard edge. You need to address the fret ends when rolling the fretboard edge.

This cannot be done with a coin, a socket or a screwdriver.

 

[Iridescentone]

Rounding the fretboard edge using any method will leave the fret ends proud of the fretboard edge. You need to address the fret ends when rolling the fretboard edge.

View attachment 5328281
View attachment 5328282

This cannot be done with a coin, a socket or a screwdriver.

Those illustrations show maximum rounding, and are meant for demonstration purposes. That's way more than compression blunting is meant to achieve. And way more than is needed to improve comfort. The degree of rounding shown in your diagram is akin to what Sire does at the factory. You have to remove wood to get that level of rounding, then redress the newly exposed fret ends. But to improve comfort no wood needs to be removed, just a slight compressing of the sharp fretboard edge. And if the fret ends are good to begin with, no extra fret work is needed, afterwards. IOW, edge rounding is a matter of degree, it doesn't have to be an "all or nothing" process.

 

[Turnaround]

Those illustrations show maximum rounding, and are meant for demonstration purposes. That's way more than compression blunting is meant to achieve. And way more than is needed to improve comfort. The degree of rounding shown in your diagram is akin to what Sire does at the factory. You have to remove wood to get that level of rounding, then redress the newly exposed fret ends. But to improve comfort no wood needs to be removed, just a slight compressing of the sharp fretboard edge. And if the fret ends are good to begin with, no extra fret work is needed, afterwards. IOW, edge rounding is a matter of degree, it doesn't have to be an "all or nothing" process.

Look at my first illustration - that's a tiny bit of rounding, way less that "what Sire does at the factory". Check the amount of rounding compared to the size of the fret. Don't be misled by the size of the magnification of the second illustration. Even the first illustration is many times the size of the real world. Both illustrations show the result of fretboard edge rounding without also dealing with the frets themselves.

In the end, if it doesn't matter to you, then live with it. It matters to my and my clientele, and I still won't recommend the compression technique. I think my position is clear and I will say no more about it.