Welp, made the plunge. Some guitar tools

  • Thread starter Thread starter Music&Chaos
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Music&Chaos

Music&Chaos

Well-known member
Hey guys,

I spoke with the shop owner, who I mentioned in a previous post, that said I could have their guitar electronic work/repair.

He mentioned that he doesn't think he will be going the setups/repairs or running the shop much longer in general. Retiring basically.

I went ahead and decided that I want to do guitar setups and repairs for this area. I already have a fun/neat business card idea in mind and everything!

That being said, I needed tools, especially for any type of fret work.


Did a bunch of research and figured screw it and went with Stew Mac. If anything happens, I can get lifetime replacements, let's do it.


Have a decent amount of stuff on the way and am excited to get to testing them all in my own guitars.

Will update this once they arrive.
 
That's awesome! A couple months or so ago, I spent a bunch on Skyscraper Guitars' leveling beams (short and long), fret rocker, neck cradle, and notched straight edge. I got a fret end file and the s-file from Music Nomad, and then I got some micromesh and a sort of hard, sort of spongy block to wrap the micromesh around for polishing the frets. I already had some tools before that. That's badass you took the plunge and are going to be doing the work professionally. All the best to you and your new endeavor.
 
psychodave said:
Don't forget a quality drill press as well. It's the one thing most don't think of...
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Luckily it has come to mind several times, as I have an old buddy I do a lot of guitar work with. He has a small one and it has been an absolute life saver. Some things just would not be possible.

Very, very solid advice that is much appreciated. If any other comes to mind, please do mention it.
 
Matt300ZXT said:
That's awesome! A couple months or so ago, I spent a bunch on Skyscraper Guitars' leveling beams (short and long), fret rocker, neck cradle, and notched straight edge. I got a fret end file and the s-file from Music Nomad, and then I got some micromesh and a sort of hard, sort of spongy block to wrap the micromesh around for polishing the frets. I already had some tools before that. That's badass you took the plunge and are going to be doing the work professionally. All the best to you and your new endeavor.
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There are just a few things I waited on, being the notched edge and I am deciding what I want to do for my levels.

I went with a standard old school file for me to hand crown but may go with an S file in the future. Let me know how that holds up!

I need to grab micromesh as well.

It's definitely going to be an endeavor. Been awhile since I set up guitars for pay. Also, I used to give so many lessons, I had to turn students away weekly.

I may jump into lessons as well and go for the gusto as it were again.

Maybe I'll balance IT with it for awhile or who knows, as long as it takes.


Any advise or experiences, please feel free to share them w me moving forward.
 
Music&Chaos said:
There are just a few things I waited on, being the notched edge and I am deciding what I want to do for my levels.

I went with a standard old school file for me to hand crown but may go with an S file in the future. Let me know how that holds up!

I need to grab micromesh as well.

It's definitely going to be an endeavor. Been awhile since I set up guitars for pay. Also, I used to give so many lessons, I had to turn students away weekly.

I may jump into lessons as well and go for the gusto as it were again.

Maybe I'll balance IT with it for awhile or who knows, as long as it takes.


Any advise or experiences, please feel free to share them w me moving forward.
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I've only done a handful of fret levelings myself. Oh yeah, I also got the brass hammer and super glue with lil applicator tips in case I have to convince a fret to stay in place. I've come across a channel on YouTube that popped up in my algorithm. Her name is Tanya something er other and she's from Ukraine and does some awesome videos. Straight to work, no background music, just her refretting guitars, resetting necks, restoring old instruments, etc. She does a killer job.
 
Matt300ZXT said:
I've only done a handful of fret levelings myself. Oh yeah, I also got the brass hammer and super glue with lil applicator tips in case I have to convince a fret to stay in place. I've come across a channel on YouTube that popped up in my algorithm. Her name is Tanya something er other and she's from Ukraine and does some awesome videos. Straight to work, no background music, just her refretting guitars, resetting necks, restoring old instruments, etc. She does a killer job.
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Yeah I needed a brass hammer, so that is on the way as well. I have done very light fret work and spot leveling but honestly have not had a guitar that has needed an entire level. I used a friend's tools in those previous instances. Will be nice to have some of my own. I will check out that YT channel!
 
Nice and I wish you success.

Definitely a good choice going with Stew-mac. I gote some quality stuff from lmii as well, but they shut down last year. There's a number of tools you can get from the hardware store or amazon, or even make yourself, but some things like crowning and nut files you just have to make the plunge and get the pro grade stuff.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
Nice and I wish you success.

Definitely a good choice going with Stew-mac. I gote some quality stuff from lmii as well, but they shut down last year. There's a number of tools you can get from the hardware store or amazon, or even make yourself, but some things like crowning and nut files you just have to make the plunge and get the pro grade stuff.
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Many thanks!

From SM, I grabbed; 8 nut files (an assortment to cover most common electric guitar gauges), fret kisser, fret rocker, dead blow fret hammer, fret end file, triangle file for crowning, the little screwdriver set.... Feel like I am forgetting stuff but that's the majority from there.

I have the music nomad neck support thing and some other supplies.

Still deciding on what I'd like to go with for feeler gauges for nut slotting.

May end up going SM but am undecided currently.

Of course, I have other tools from setting up my own guitars and stuff.

I will just try to fill in the gaps as I go! If I find myself needing a tool for a job in the future, I can just get it as needed.
 
Do you have the little radius gauges with the handles (like a capital T) that you can use to set saddle height on like Strats to perfectly match the fretboard radius?
 
Matt300ZXT said:
Do you have the little radius gauges with the handles (like a capital T) that you can use to set saddle height on like Strats to perfectly match the fretboard radius?
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Yes, possibly the best $8 I have spent in my entire life. It saves so much time it's unreal!
 
Matt300ZXT said:
Do you have the little radius gauges with the handles (like a capital T) that you can use to set saddle height on like Strats to perfectly match the fretboard radius?
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Kudos because if I had NOT gotten a set of those in fairly recent times, you would have changed my guitar tech life.
 
Music&Chaos said:
Still deciding on what I'd like to go with for feeler gauges for nut slotting.
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You can go with feeler gauges from the automotive store. It's the same thing that stew-mac sells but cheaper. Just make sure to get both metric and SAE so you have everything covered.
 
I've built up a healthy amount of Stew Mac tools over the years ..

any specialty items luthier related ... you can't go wrong with Stew Mac .... but you're going to pay

anything i would deem as a " regular " tool I would get somewhere else for a lot cheaper ....

I love Stew Mac's Z-File ..... that thing helped me rescue a few Strats
 
griff10672 said:
I've built up a healthy amount of Stew Mac tools over the years ..

any specialty items luthier related ... you can't go wrong with Stew Mac .... but you're going to pay

anything i would deem as a " regular " tool I would get somewhere else for a lot cheaper ....

I love Stew Mac's Z-File ..... that thing helped me rescue a few Strats
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Which type of Z file did you go with/have? They sell like 3 variants now.

Funnily enough, I am looking forward to using a file and manually trying it but have a feeling I will eventually invest in one of those Z files.
 
Music&Chaos said:
Which type of Z file did you go with/have? They sell like 3 variants now.

Funnily enough, I am looking forward to using a file and manually trying it but have a feeling I will eventually invest in one of those Z files.
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I don't remember which one .... I know it was over 100 bucks though .... I remember that
 
Matt300ZXT said:
I've only done a handful of fret levelings myself. Oh yeah, I also got the brass hammer and super glue with lil applicator tips in case I have to convince a fret to stay in place. I've come across a channel on YouTube that popped up in my algorithm. Her name is Tanya something er other and she's from Ukraine and does some awesome videos. Straight to work, no background music, just her refretting guitars, resetting necks, restoring old instruments, etc. She does a killer job.
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Tanya Shpachuk
I watch her videos too they're great!
 
griff10672 said:
I don't remember which one .... I know it was over 100 bucks though .... I remember that
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If you look at the shape of it, you can tell. One other way to tell is, does yours file one side at a time or both?
 
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