Leveling onereplacement fret

[LARRY KLOSE]

I'm replacing one fret on a guitar that popped up and won't reset--I suspect it wasn't arched enough when installed.  I have the removal and installation drill down pretty well, but wonder if anyone has any good, efficient techniques for leveling the new fret to match the other ones.  I have a crowning file and most of the other tools for the whole job but doing one alone is a new experience for me.  I don't really want to mill the other frets any more than necessary because they've been milled before.

Talk amongst yourselves.  Discuss.<G>

Thanks,

Larry

[Thomas James]

I use this tool to spot level. (a Rick Turner thing)  Aluminum angle 1/16 x 1/2 x 1/2" with sandpaper. True it on a flat surface and remove the rough edges with a file. The tape is added to keep the fret slightly proud and protect the surrounding frets. Finish by lightly dress all the frets. If it's in the upper range you might get away with only dressing into a slight ramp. Should only take a few minutes, including making the tool. 

[Mike Kolb]

Hey Thomas... I love that the tool is apparently sitting on a small stack of IRS tax forms, which confirms that we'd all much rather be playing with tools than taxes :)

[Thomas James]

That is a StewMac packing invoice... so not so bad Mike :)  However, I have learned a good accountant is worth their weight in gold.

[LARRY KLOSE]

That's encouraging--that's the way I visualized the job.  But, I'm planning to Put the tape on a 4 sided hone I got from Harbor Freight.  200-600 diamond grit.  It is very flat, checked it with a Stew-Mac straight edge.  Check it out:

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-sided-diamond-hone-block-92867.html

I used the hone for my last refret job--came out great.

Larry

[LARRY KLOSE]

Forgot to ask: what kind of tape are you using?  Looks nice and thin.

Larry

[Thomas James]

Looks like your plan will work. Though I only like working over a span of three frets if possible. The tape is sold at StewMac as 'Binding Tape'. It's roughly .006" thick. Masking tape would work just as well.

Also, I usually find myself doing this type of job on import guitars. They seem notorious for loose or random high frets. I start by gluing the frets first. Otherwise, they can spring up and down while you work.

[LARRY KLOSE]

I installed this fret today, using the HF hone as I had planned.  I simply put wide tape on the two ends, leaving about 3/4" open in the middle.  It worked great.  In fact, the hone is 2" per side so it's very easy to hang on to and control.  I was able to do a lot of the leveling and get very close to final height by moving it laterally over the fret but aligned lengthwise with the fretboard.  A little file work, crowning with a crowning file, finish and polish the fret and... . bingo!

Re the fretboard, this guitar was built by a fairly novice builder who clearly had trouble getting the fret job done right.  Lots of icky black glue on the fret in question and upon examination, on many others as well.  Fairly easy to get its remains off the surface of the fretboard with scraping and sanding but getting the crud out of the slot was a hassle, even with a SM slot cleaner and fret saw--real gunk. I couldn't really tell if it was ACC with ebony dust in it or epoxy, but it was definitely not professional lutherie.

Several frets are not fully seated but they're close and stable and it all came out level with the original dressing I did when I got it.  I may refret the whole thing at some point, but I want to see how it sounds with a new Cumberland Acoustic bridge before I invest that much time and energy.  It has one of the cheap imported archtop bridges right now and it sounds a little anemic.

BTW, does anyone have a source for a modern, prefab black hinged tailpiece for an archtop?  This ax has a Benedetto style TP with a tailgut, and it's a pain to work with.  I may want to replace it.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

Larry

[Hesh Breakstone]

Just wanted to make two comments in this thread to add to the confusion... er... knowledge base....

First the "L" shaped leveler below that we all know as an idea that Rick Turner came up with can work well however... it was never intended to be a substitute for precision fret work i.e. a proper level, recrown, and polish.  It's a quick, spot fix with the added value of being able to be used with the instrument under string tension.  For the road tech/Luthier for Jerry Garcia this leveler may very well have been able to keep Jerry truckin... but again it's a quick fix idea which most certainly can be appropriate under certain circumstances.  We may even see these for sale on ebay soon now that its' come up..... ;)

Second, and most certainly related again I like to view the fret plane as a whole, as the strings see it.  As such replacing only a fret or three and then attempting to level them in isolation without addressing the entire fret board/plane can be a long walk on a short pier....  It can be done, may address the "suitability for the instrument" or suitability for the client's budget parameters, but as they say in the army in order for the fret plane and attached guitar to be all that it can be... there is no substitute for addressing the entire fret plane as a whole, again as the strings see it. Be the strings... 

By the way I know Rick and he had a great deal to do with why I became a Luthier.  I was a builder only and Rick came on another forum and told us all that we were not Luthiers but simply folks making "GLO's" or "guitar shaped objects....  He went on to tell us that if we did not learn the repair side of the biz we were rasta impostors....  Not his exact words and some creative license on my part but you get the idea....

I didn't like the delivery, didn't initially like Rick much either, but ya know - he was right!  After meeting Rick in 2007 I also learned that I was wrong about not liking Rick much either....  Oh well, I can be pretty good at being wrong sometimes....

[Thomas James]

Just to re-clarify my post. I did credit Rick Turner and the fact that a full fret dress is required after the spot job.  

[LARRY KLOSE]

Hesh,

I'm dialed in with everything you say.  I'd have done a full dress but this instrument is already dressed pretty low so I didn't have much to work with--something I didn't really appreciate that until I started working on this job.  I did do a gentle, light dress after I got the replacement fret in and pretty much close to level.  My goal here was to fix the squishy popped fret (which buzzed and was a tone suck) while the bridge is off so I can see if the guitar is sonically worth keeping after I replace the bridge.  Once I make that decision, I'll either pass it on or do/have done a proper refret of the whole thing from scratch.

The elephant in the room is that this is one of those bargain instruments that turned out not to be such a bargain. I'm just trying to crawl out of that hole... .

Larry