What do you use for leveling frets?

Matt300ZXT

Matt300ZXT

Well-known member
I want to buy some more guitar tools to do my own fret maintenance. I am not putting new frets in, so I don't need nippers, presses, anything like that. I know I need to get a straightedge that's notched, and a fret rocker. I don't want a sanding beam as I don't want to take away extra material on frets that may just have 1 little high spot. Yesterday at a friend's house, he was showing me his method and just had rollers of strips of sandpaper, maybe .75" wide that he'd cut off a small spot for me to use with my finger tip, but just curious if that's optimal or if there's a tool that replicates that precision but is more efficient.
 
PLX said:
I use a fret leveler from Stew Mac®
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You talking about a sanding beam? Because that takes off from every fret and eats more material than is usually needed. I was trying to see if there was a tool that makes it easier to just do a single fret, or just a spot on a fret, at a time.
 
PLX said:
For a single fret, I'll use 220 or 320 grit sandpaper folded into a small rectangle.
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Ok, I figured that's what I'd have to do...just didn't know if anyone knew of some slick little tool to make it as little tedious as possible lol
 
There are tools Stew Mac sells for just about anything you want to do. And they often got good ole Danny Erlewine (RIP) to make a video showing you how to use it. If you search on Youtube or Stewmac videos there should be something. I have this plastic thing that holds small loops of sandpaper and you just rotate the loop to expose fresh paper. But I'm sure they have something better now I bought that 20+ years ago.
 
I like this one cuz I can do the whole neck at once.

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jchrisf said:
I believe this is a new tool they just came out with.. I remember getting the email about a month ago:

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-too...by-job/tools-for-fretting/stewmac-fret-kisser
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This is the only tool I use for random high frets or spot leveling. It makes it fool proof. Buy this and a cheap fret rocker on Amazon. You're more than welcome to use wads of sandpaper on random spots with no way to stop you from going too far, stuff like that keeps repairmen like me in business. :)
 
Time to sell... Okay just kidding. As far as I know the only true way to level a fret is to play the ever loving bends out of it and only it. Some of my best recordings. Everything else? Snake oil. Sand paper? All part of a globalist conspiracy to reduce beach fronts and make it appear as if the oceans are rising. Stopped smoking the stuff years ago. 3M? More like mmm?! :unsure:
I'm going to go have another drink. Can I get anyone anything while I'm up? Beer? Merlot? Rolled up 80 grit?
Aaaannnnd I'm out before I die here, on this hill.
 
Funk'n Metal said:
Time to sell... Okay just kidding. As far as I know the only true way to level a fret is to play the ever loving bends out of it and only it. Some of my best recordings. Everything else? Snake oil. Sand paper? All part of a globalist conspiracy to reduce beach fronts and make it appear as if the oceans are rising. Stopped smoking the stuff years ago. 3M? More like mmm?! :unsure:
I'm going to go have another drink. Can I get anyone anything while I'm up? Beer? Merlot? Rolled up 80 grit?
Aaaannnnd I'm out before I die here, on this hill.
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I'll have some of what she's having.
 
There are many different files you can buy to level only 1 fret. They sell fret rockers now with 1 side that is abrasive. So you can sand down the fret with that edge and then check to see if it's level with other edges.
For full fret levelling, i use fret levelling bar and also radius blocks. Depends on the job. Compound radius necks i use the bar.
After you level that one fret, you are going to need a crowning file and different grit sandpaper or fret erasers to smooth out frets.
 
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