I attempted my first fret leveling/crowning/polishing today. It went shockingly well. Not only do all frets work now, but I can do whole step bends all up the high e and b strings with no fretting out. This guitar was a mess before this work.

I followed these steps:
1. Remove strings
2. Adjust truss rod to get neck as straight as possible (verified with notched straight edge and a 0.0025” feeler gauge
3. Tape off fretboard to protect wood
4. Sharpie on top of frets
5. Sand frets with leveling beam/320 grit until sharpie indicates I’ve got everything level
6. Sharpie frets again
7. Crown with crowning file until I’ve left a thin crown, verified with sharpie again
8. Remove scratches with finer and finer sandpaper
9. Polish with fitz metal polish
10. String and set up (0.011” relief, 5/64 low E, 3/64 high e)

Play fast and enjoy my low action. Now I have confidence to tackle some nicer guitars.

I’m sure I missed a step or something but I was shocked by how well this thing plays now.

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Posted by AthensRattler

Classic City, GA

Member since Dec 2013

949 posts

Posted on 11/11/18 at 3:52 pm to AthensRattler

I also taped off the pickups because I was afraid metal dust may find a magnet. I'm not sure if that is necessary or not.

I also put some fret fall away on using the tape over the 12th fret method.

My recommendation is give it a whirl if you have a cheaper guitar to practice on. Read a lot about it and watch a lot of YouTube first. I don't have much detail in my explanations here so don't treat this like a how to.

If you are in BR, the best thing you can do is take it to the FretShack for this work.

This post was edited on 11/11/18 at 3:54 pm

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Posted by TheFretShack

Member since Oct 2015

1383 posts

Posted on 11/11/18 at 5:40 pm to AthensRattler

Sounds like you did it correct, and thanks for the shout out :)

Metal dust won't harm the pickup mags but it's not a bad idea to tape up pickups, for both metal filings and to protect the tops in case the sanding bar gets away from you for a stroke. I am very liberal in masking things via tape because tape is cheaper than finish fixes or component replacement.

I also put tape over toggles and in the case of 335s and other semi-hollows and hollows, the F-holes, because one speck of metal filing dust finding its way into an F and then into one pot body can make it crackly and scratchy when rotated.

This post was edited on 11/11/18 at 5:42 pm

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Posted by AthensRattler

Classic City, GA

Member since Dec 2013

949 posts

Posted on 11/11/18 at 5:55 pm to TheFretShack

quote:
I also put tape over toggles and in the case of 335s and other semi-hollows and hollows, the F-holes, because one speck of metal filing dust finding its way into an F and then into one pot body can make it crackly and scratchy when rotated.

And there it is lol... I was sure I forgot something. I appreciate the help you give us on here, I should’ve asked before I started. So far everything seems good, we will see how all the controls hold up over the years. I’m confident in soldering but I’d be wary to take on any f-hole “ship in a bottle” shenanigans.

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Posted by TheFretShack

Member since Oct 2015

1383 posts

Posted on 11/11/18 at 6:24 pm to AthensRattler

Any work you do on a hollowbody or SH harness is done outside the F-holes. Upgrade EVERYTHING while you have it out because even the nicest components for performance and lifespan are very affordable. The object is to not have to pull that sucker out again and reinstall it again for at least 10-20 years.

The key is strategically organizing the harness in a horseshoe shape like this ...