Can I just re-crown the worn frets?

[john51]

There are no problems with buzzing etc. however some of the frets (mainly from the 3rd to about the 7th under the B,G and D strings) have become flat and cause a bit of drag on the fingers. Is it a good idea to get a fret file and just give them a light crowning - or am I just opening the door to a long term project where a total leveling and re-crowning (or more) is then the only solution??

Cheers
John

[otaypanky]

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w49/otaypanky/canworms.jpg

[Spudman]

Sometimes you can touch up worn frets without having to do the whole neck. There are just a lot of variables that make this a 'do it' project or panky's can-o-worms.

If you've done crowning before then it probably wont be any problem. If you have never have done it then you might seek out a professional. A crown job doesn't cost much and could give you good piece of mind that the job wont get screwed up.

What guitar is it on?

[kiteman]

Usually crowning the frets just take off the sides without taking off the tops.

[Tig]

I wouldn't take on too much with a file unless I knew what I was doing more.
Professional leveling will make the rest of the frets equal to the worn areas, and crowning will dress them up for a cleaner feel. This would be a one time fix and a complete re-fret will be needed next time.

It also depends on the guitar's worth. A super cheap guitar may not be worth the cost of a luthier, and a true cla$$ic vintage can loose value if the frets are massaged too much or replaced.

[Bloozcat]

If there are no grooves caused by the strings then a fret crowning can be done safely. The actual "crown", or top of the fret arc should not be affected significantly if the crowning is done with care.

If you feel that you have the confidence and skill to try this here's what you need to do:

First off, I'm assuming from your comment about there being no buzzing that you don't need a fret leveling before you crown the frets. If the frets do need leveling, there's another procedure you'd need to do before going to crowning. Here's the crowning procedure:

Step 1, tape off the fretboard to protect it leaving only the frets exposed. Use the blue painters tape for this as it will not damage the fretboard. This will take some time to do as it is a slow process. OR, you could buy some of the SS fretboard protectors that the fret protrudes from, while protecting the fretboard.

Step 2, Mark the crown of each fret with a black magic marker. You don't need to slather it on, only so much so that the crown is completely marked.

Step 3, Run the crowning file slowly, evenly, and lightly over the fret following to radius of the fret. Resist the temptation to put too much pressure on the file, a little pressure goes a long way.

Step 4, With each pass of the file stop and check the fret. There should be just a faint black line left top dead center of the fret when the crown is right. From there you just need to polish the frets and you should be good to go.

[john51]

Thanks for the feedback, the guitar is a Fender delux powerhouse Strat (Mex 2000) - and I love it. I think I will go for it very lightly to just remove those square edges that my fingers scrape over- not even worry about having a perfect round crown.

Cheers
John