duhvoodooman
May 3rd, 2007, 07:56 AM
One of the few objectionable things about the Fullerton guitars that so many of us Fretters bought during Music123's recent closeout extravaganza is that most (all?) seem to have a noticeable case of "fret sprout". This can potentially chew up your fretting hand pretty badly if you slide your grip up and down the fretboard a lot, as many of us do. There are several ways to remedy this--using a sandpaper block, fine flat files, etc.--but I came across a method I found to be very fast and effective.
I work at a manufacturer of heavy industrial equipment with extensive metal machining and finishing capabilities. While out in the shop asking one of our machinists for a very fine flat file to do this fret smoothing with, I noticed that he had a small block of fine abrasive stone about 1/2" square and 4" long. Apparently, our machinists use these for smoothing burrs and rough edges on machined parts. In any case, it was perfect for the job. The abrasive material is hard enough to effectively grind away the protruding sharp fret metal, but fine enough that it doesn't put scratches in the wood on the sides of the fretboard. Also, being 4" long and perfectly flat, it slides nicely along the side of the neck, much as a sanding block would, but without the hassle of needing to replace the sandpaper as it wears. I did all the frets on both sides of the neck of my "Fat Fully" in about 20 minutes this way. I did a little finish polishing at home with fine steel wool, and the neck is as smooth as a baby's butt now.
The abrasive stone I used is called an "india stone". The one I used was a "fine" rating, but we also stock "medium" ones. We buy them through an industrial supply house, but apparently they are also available through sellers of knives & sharpening tools, and you may be able to find something similar in a hardware store.
Just thought I'd pass this along....
** EDIT ** - Here's a photo of these "india stones". The top orangish one is the "fine" and the bottom tan one is the slightly coarser "medium".
I work at a manufacturer of heavy industrial equipment with extensive metal machining and finishing capabilities. While out in the shop asking one of our machinists for a very fine flat file to do this fret smoothing with, I noticed that he had a small block of fine abrasive stone about 1/2" square and 4" long. Apparently, our machinists use these for smoothing burrs and rough edges on machined parts. In any case, it was perfect for the job. The abrasive material is hard enough to effectively grind away the protruding sharp fret metal, but fine enough that it doesn't put scratches in the wood on the sides of the fretboard. Also, being 4" long and perfectly flat, it slides nicely along the side of the neck, much as a sanding block would, but without the hassle of needing to replace the sandpaper as it wears. I did all the frets on both sides of the neck of my "Fat Fully" in about 20 minutes this way. I did a little finish polishing at home with fine steel wool, and the neck is as smooth as a baby's butt now.
The abrasive stone I used is called an "india stone". The one I used was a "fine" rating, but we also stock "medium" ones. We buy them through an industrial supply house, but apparently they are also available through sellers of knives & sharpening tools, and you may be able to find something similar in a hardware store.
Just thought I'd pass this along....
** EDIT ** - Here's a photo of these "india stones". The top orangish one is the "fine" and the bottom tan one is the slightly coarser "medium".