What did you do to your guitar today?

3bolt79

3bolt79

Moderator
Joined
Jun 28, 2024
Messages
406
Reaction score
799
Well, it's 12:15 here on the west coast....

I just got finished with a light fret leveling and polishing on my new Casino. The frets were a little gritty when I would bend or do vibrato.

I went up a guage on the strings as well, so I tweaked the set up. I went from 10-46 EB Cobalt to 11-49 D'Addario NYXL.

I used a Radius block and various grits of sand paper from 800 to 1000, 1200, 1500, 2500, 3000, 3500 to 5000. I only made a couple of passes with each grit with the block up 3500. Then I used strips of 5000 micro mesh wrapped around my finger tip. Then, I used some polishing compound on a felt wheel on my Dremel.

None of this was enough to flatten the crown, so it went really quick. The whole job took a little over an hour from masking the board to final set up. It plays like a dream now. Frets are now as smooth as glass.

I strobed it and only the D string saddle needed a slight adjust for intonation. The fretted notes at the first fret are spot on as well.

IMG_0914.jpegIMG_0902.jpeg
 
3bolt79 said:
Well, it's 12:15 here on the west coast....

I just got finished with a light fret leveling and polishing on my new Casino. The frets were a little gritty when I would bend or do vibrato.

I went up a guage on the strings as well, so I tweaked the set up. I went from 10-46 EB Cobalt to 11-49 D'Addario NYXL.

I used a Radius block and various grits of sand paper from 800 to 1000, 1200, 1500, 2500, 3000, 3500 to 5000. I only made a couple of passes with each grit with the block up 3500. Then I used strips of 5000 micro mesh wrapped around my finger tip. Then, I used some polishing compound on a felt wheel on my Dremel.

None of this was enough to flatten the crown, so it went really quick. The whole job took a little over an hour from masking the board to final set up. It plays like a dream now. Frets are now as smooth as glass.

I strobed it and only the D string saddle needed a slight adjust for intonation. The fretted notes at the first fret are spot on as well.

View attachment 222View attachment 223
Click to expand...
Didn't know you could use a radius block without loosing some of the crown. I might try that.
 
7 AM here, so I didn't do anything today, but yesterday I tuned one of my guitars to DADGAD for Kashmir from Led Zep. That is a fun groove.
 
BGood said:
Didn't know you could use a radius block without loosing some of the crown. I might try that.
Click to expand...
It’s not that I used a radius block per se for leveling, more or less just to kiss the frets, but a radius block will take off less metal.

I only did a couple of passes with each grit, and removed very little metal. This was more of a polish job, in reality.

A flat beam takes off much more metal and will leave several staggered flat spots, requiring you to recrown. I usually use the radius blocks for sanding fretboards, but they do work great for light leveling and polishing. I basically just removed the tool and chatter marks from the frets.
 
Last edited:
3bolt79 said:
It’s not that I used a radius block per se for leveling, more or less just to kiss the frets, but a radius block will take off less metal.

I only did a couple of passes with each grit, and removed very little metal. This was more of a polish job, in reality.

A flat beam takes off much more metal and will leave several staggered flat spots, requiring you to recrown. I usually use the radius blocks for sanding fretboards, but they do work great for light leveling and polishing. I basically just removed the tool and chatter marks from the frets.
Click to expand...
Yeah I got that, never thought of using it like that.
 
I had to level some frets on my Epi Les Paul. Nothing crazy serious, but with the way I like my action (fairly low) some frets needed a bit of work. I really wish budget guitar brands would spend more time doing fretwork at the factory, seeing as fretwork can make or break a great guitar. I also cleaned up the fretboard and changed the strings. I love the smell of lemon oil lol.
 
Well, today, I did nothing to my guitar. However my friend and future forum member just stopped by with her new Eastman Acoustic. The G string was flat at the 12th.

Turns out she had no relief in the neck at all. So I loosened the truss rod a little and that took care of the problem.

I also recut the high E slot as the slot wasn't well cut. It had a Sitar kinda sound on the open E. The string just wasn't making very good contact on the fretboard side of the nut slot. Seems to have fixed it.
 
3bolt79 said:
Well, today, I did nothing to my guitar. However my friend and future forum member just stopped by with her new Eastman Acoustic. The G string was flat at the 12th.

Turns out she had no relief in the neck at all. So I loosened the truss rod a little and that took care of the problem.

I also recut the high E slot as the slot wasn't well cut. It had a Sitar kinda sound on the open E. The string just wasn't making very good contact on the fretboard side of the nut slot. Seems to have fixed it.
Click to expand...
I have to do something similar to my acoustic one day. It's bearable as it is but the neck is too straight and it has some buzzing when I use a Capo. I would need to adjust the nut slots as well as the saddle height when I do this. I am going to invest in some actual tools soon as well. I found a set of nut slotting files from Music Nomad that will keep me going for a while. I also need a fret levelling beam and a crowning file. What I'm using now is the bare minimum from some cheap set of tools from Amazon. It works, but it's ghetto AF lol.
 
GrandmaShreds said:
I have to do something similar to my acoustic one day. It's bearable as it is but the neck is too straight and it has some buzzing when I use a Capo. I would need to adjust the nut slots as well as the saddle height when I do this. I am going to invest in some actual tools soon as well. I found a set of nut slotting files from Music Nomad that will keep me going for a while. I also need a fret levelling beam and a crowning file. What I'm using now is the bare minimum from some cheap set of tools from Amazon. It works, but it's ghetto AF lol.
Click to expand...
Well, actually if you need to level some frets, a Radius block will get the job done while removing less metal. A Flat beam will leave multiple flat spots, requiring more metal to be removed when you recrown. If it's a compound radius neck, the flat beam is your only option though.

The music nomad files are great. I have the shop set. The diamond files require less or no finishing after making the cut.
 
3bolt79 said:
Well, actually if you need to level some frets, a Radius block will get the job done while removing less metal. A Flat beam will leave multiple flat spots, requiring more metal to be removed when you recrown. If it's a compound radius neck, the flat beam is your only option though.

The music nomad files are great. I have the shop set. The diamond files require less or no finishing after making the cut.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the insight! I will note that. Yeah I have been looking at the M/N nut files for a while now. I can't justify spending Stewmac prices on a set of files I won't use all that often. I want to get a new bridge for my LP eventually and I'll need the files to be able to set the radius.
 
Today, I retuned 17 guitars, as the temp and humidity have changed and we just got over our hot spell here in the Willamette valley.

I tend to leave all the windows open this time of year. I have shade in front of my music room window and the house stays around 74 degrees without the AC, and the AC is set to come on if it gets over 74. Then I'll shut the windows.
 
Today I'm installing a Carvin C22 neck pup in a 1994 Epiphone LP

-100 which already has a Carvin M22SD in the bridge position.
 
Today I fixed a broken nut on my Fender Player Plus top Strat. The B string slot got a lIttle chip taken out on the E string side of the slot.

Baking soda and super glue to the rescue. You can still see a little bit where the chip was if you look close But it works and I didn't have a nut blank to make a new one.

I will order a new one from Stew Mac on Monday.

IMG_1003.jpeg
 
I packed, taped, banded, and labeled a Super Reverb, Weber Mass 100, Variac, and a tube set with Bias Probe for a trip across country.
This (the SR and red thing on top, plus a bunch of other stuff)...
Screenshot_20240620_012558_Gallery.jpg

got put into ...
20240803_210508.jpg

It served me well. It's been all over North America many times, through Europe twice and Asia once, inside some of the finest concert venus, stinkiest dives, and poshest recording studios the industry has to offer and never once let me down. And, I will never look upon it in real time again.
Damn...
 
Today I swapped cheap ceramic P-90 pups for less cheap alnico 5 Wilkinson P-90's and boy ! What a difference, I will even say they sound better than the Duncan antiquity in an other guitar I have.
 
I farted around with the nut on my Strat some more. I will re string it later. I really need to make a new one though.
 
Back
Top