Tele build countdown...

[fender3x]

I had the body sanded and had begun polishing, but have finally gotten the neck sanded down to whatever gray 3M sanding pads are... I think around 800 grit. The neck has also been leveled, and the fret-ends are pretty much dressed. I confess that I cheat on the fret dressing. I hit it with a fret beveling file, and then once the frets are flush I take any burrs or sharp edges off with a maroon sanding pad. Sometimes two maroon sanding pads. This completely destroys the pads, but it works pretty well and is much faster than dressing with files. It only works on a new neck that hasn't yet been finished, since the sponges would also take the finish off.

I haven't finish crowning this neck or the bass neck I am also working on. I started to, but it was going pretty slowly with my "Baroque crowning file." These have worked reasonably well for me. They are mostly idiot proof and don't require much technique...but definitely takes some elbow grease. It cost me about $30 on Amazon, and does the job... But I decided to upgrade to Fret Guru Dagger crowning file, which has gotten great reviews. It's a diamond file, like the Music Nomad and Stew Mac Z-files, and I have seen reviews that it works as well. Keeping fingers crossed (which makes it harder to use a file ;-) ).

Also figure that I am going to have to be able to file fret ends on finished necks as well as on new necks, so I bought an Uo-Chikyu end dressing file. I am pretty sure this is the same as the file made by SM and Hosco. In any case, a high quality Japanese file. Will review them here...eventually. But happy at least to get a little done.

[Trevor Davies]

Looking good.

Funny, I have recently purchased a Music Nomad diamond fret file - part of my Christmas present. I also have a fret end dressing file - needed after a number of guitars suddenly had sharp fret ends after a prolonged heatwave a couple of years back.

I hope the new files are nice the use.

[fender3x]

Thanks! Slow going for sure...

I will let you know how I like the new files. Should be here this week.

How do you like the music nomad file? Did you also get their fret end dressing file? I have seen exactly one review of it, and it was great...also I have heard that they are used by makers like PRS. My main gripe with the baroque file is that I don't think the diamond coating is as good now as it was originally. I still wanted diamond coating for the speed and am hoping the FretGuru files will have a bit of longevity. If not...I'll be sure to check in with you again about the MN files ;-)

Did you go with another diamond file for the fret ends? The one I ordered has a good rep, but it's a conventional file.

I don't have to do the fret ends much. We have enough humidity here, that wood doesn't shrink much here even it it gets hot. The humidity makes me wilt, but evidently doesn't have the same effect on wood.

[Trevor Davies]

Thanks! Slow going for sure...

I will let you know how I like the new files. Should be here this week.

How do you like the music nomad file? Did you also get their fret end dressing file? I have seen exactly one review of it, and it was great...also I have heard that they are used by makers like PRS. My main gripe with the baroque file is that I don't think the diamond coating is as good now as it was originally. I still wanted diamond coating for the speed and am hoping the FretGuru files will have a bit of longevity. If not...I'll be sure to check in with you again about the MN files ;-)

Did you go with another diamond file for the fret ends? The one I ordered has a good rep, but it's a conventional file.

I don't have to do the fret ends much. We have enough humidity here, that wood doesn't shrink much here even it it gets hot. The humidity makes me wilt, but evidently doesn't have the same effect on wood.

How do I like the MN fret file? I have used it on the Mustang and the Acoustic necks - and I do like it! It creates a nice shape to the fret. The fact that there is the top section that does not file seems very important. I finished by running 600 g and then 1200 g wet & dry across the frets before polishing with 0000 steel wool.

My fret-end file is a conventional file (the Uo-Chikyu end dressing file), with one surface being smooth - it seems to do a great job. Took a bit of practice to get the hang of using it, but I'm confident with it now. I have been going back through my earlier builds (and some bought G brand guitars) and using it. Filing the fret ends is now a part of my neck work process.

[fender3x]

Working under deadlines today, but I got the Fret Guru file today. Couldn't resist trying it out on a couple of frets. I'll do a review and compare it to the Baroque file when I have had a chance to use it a bit. I have two necks that are leveled but not crowned, so all I need is a few hours where I am unsupervised.

One clarification: I thought the Fret Guru file was a diamond file, but it turns out to be a conventional file. I have the Fret Guru "Dagger 2.0". It is quite heavy and seems to be good quality. They are quite vague about where it is made. and the file itself doesn't say. I think I got confused because they have one in development that they are calling the "Diamond Dagger" that will be diamond coated.

For now...I just did two frets that were pretty flat and needed quite a bit of filing. It worked well particularly at the beginning. It got slower at once it was a bit over half done. Interestingly enough, I found the Baroque file (which is a diamond file) to do a bit better once I had the fret mostly done with the FG file. Will experiment a bit more. It may be that this is a good combo. I can do the bulk of the work with the conventional file and then finish up with the diamond file. Might also help the coating on the Baroque diamond file stay usable longer....