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Glad you were able to get your frets in order! It makes a huge difference. Since I have started doing this I have really begun to see how many store-bought instruments have a very incomplete job of it. It's one of the major items that distinguishes between expensive and cheap instruments.
I have heard that diamond cutting files go dull over time. So far so good on mine, but I expect that at some point it won't cut well. I have heard that's not just a problem for the "inexpensive" files, BTW. Even the SM ones will eventually go bad. When mine does go bad, I am guessing I'll go for the FG rather than the SM.
I don't think there is a way to get nut files or crowning files cheap, They are purpose made precision tools--maybe the only ones you really need for electric guitars. That said, SM doesn't make them. They order them from a factory in Japan. I got a little better price getting mine from the Japanese version of eBay. I think Music Nomad has their own made. Fret Guru seems to have them made in Poland.
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Thanks, that is great info. I'll check out those vendors.
Any advice on buffing wheels? I'm looking at doing it with my drill. To be honest, I'm not even sure I'll do more than the fine grain sanding, but in case I do buff the body I don't know what material the buffing wheel should be made of...wool?
Thanks!
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I asked the same question a while back...
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...t=12584&page=2
I bought a cheap palm random orbital buffer, that uses a sort of cotton fleece bonnet. TD has had better experience than I have with this equipment, and he chimes in on that that thread. You can get a pad that will fit the same bonnets for your drill.
So far the best luck I have had (documented at the end that thread) has been to make a sort of DIY buffing wheel that I can put in my small drill press. For that I used two 6" (70 Ply) cotton buffing wheels with a 1/2" Arbor Hole. I used a bolt with about a half inch diameter, which is the largest sized shaft my drill press would take. I also use a soft foam "cone" made for a hand drill to buff inside the horns.
I have only used it for one guitar so far, but I liked it pretty well, particularly when I realized that if I turned the drill press backwards I could pretty easily buff all the surfaces (except the inside of the horns).
The hand buffer that I have is not very strong, and does not produce much heat. Same for the drill press which is slower than any of the built-to-purpose buffing machines I have seen. I think with a hand drill you may need to be a little careful that it does not build up too much heat. The other thing you'll want to be careful of is how you anchor the body since you'll have at least one hand on the drill.
Pretty much everything I used I got on Temu. The RO buffer, you can get at any cheap hardware store or auto parts store for around US$25.
