How to Level, Crown and polish your frets 

This is the best instruction video I’ve viewed and learned more from… the parchment paper and caliper is a game changer, thanks a whole lot for that tip!

Perfect, thorough and super easy to follow, thank you!

Excellent instruction. I’ll be doing this in a couple weeks to my salvage project. This gives me more confidence.

Fantastic step by step instruction. After watching, I'm ready to tackle the frets on my first guitar build. Thanks for making this video!

Great informational Your explanation was good. It's scary enough to redo frets but you Made it alot better to understand. Thank you

I’m literally doing my first ever fret level/crown etc right now on my first ever build so very helpful- thanks!

This is exactly how i do my frets, great video of how it should be done.

Very, very interesting, great instruction! You did a great job on the frets. I have a couple guitars that need leveling, crowning, and polishing. I think I can do it, but, way harder and more time consuming than I thought it would be. But, for the kind of results like you got - it will be worth it. Thanks!

Great job Dave

What l learned from your post is to pay someone to do it. Thanks

Awesome Video !!!

Hey David, thanks for the video 👍

I agree with most of what you say, but would like t comment on relief. I’ve played electric guitars and many acoustic instruments over the years. I agree to level flat and adjust relief with the truss rod. The thing I’ve noticed over the years is that electrics in general don’t need any relief. Acoustics are a different story. If you are playing over a mike or playing in something like a bluegrass band, you tend to play louder and harder, and relief is a necessity. A straight acoustic neck played hard will buzz far more easily than one with some relief.

Very cool radiased edges on that body. Have always thought Strats would look cool like that as well. l think I'm going to do the same in my current custom design.

Great video!

See you. It seems like a long time to me from 1985 to now. I realize that there are many mistakes, especially from myself, in dealing with various electric and acoustic guitar problems. Until now I have not witnessed changes that result in accurate installation. Leveling seems to be the mainstay and the pressradius tool is the main pressure. There are many other factors beyond that that must be considered. Until now I have concluded that many people lack enthusiasm for guitar problems. So I feel this is the best. Even though there is a lot that has been missed. Hopefully this can be my reflection. Have a good fight. My greetings from Indonesia. If you need help, I'm ready to do it as long as it's not part of my confidentiality in handling especially freting.

How to mask the fretboard. Excellent - I'm pinching that idea :)

That's a fret Job👍🙏

Oh my red guitar ❤❤❤

I’m a lefty so I start marking my frets at the last fret and go up ( and that’s the only reason I noticed you marking the frets like I do but you are a righty )so I don’t get sharpy ink on my hand and aslo I don’t rub the fresh ink off the fret but I will definitely be using the MDF/ wax paper trick for sure thank you

Great video. Really appreciate the thoughtful explanation and thorough process. I realize I have been polishing the frets with too many grits 400,600,800,1500,3000,5000. Gonna try your method.

Terrific all-around video. I'm an older beginner guitarist who's equally interested in working on my guitar. Bought the Stewmac "fret erasers" but have been unable to get that awesome mirror finish on the frets that you were able to get with your Dremel.

I used to repair guitars, but as of the last seven or either years I work as an amp tech 92.4% of the time, and a luthier 7.6% (I don't know if those are accurate, but decimal points really make them seem real, right? 👍). Anyway my comment is about ad hoc tools. Because I only rarely work on guitars these daysand theyre mostly mine and a few others, combined with the fact that I've always been someone that believes in "share that knowledge," I find more and more often that I no longer have the tools I need…mostly because I've confused sharing the "knowledge" with sharing the "tools." That isn't a good habit to get into. Over time I've found things that work as well, and sometimes better than the expensive Stew Mac, and definitely better than the cheap Amazon tools. The last leveling I did using old worn out knife sharpening stones. I had some of the diamond ones that look like a plate with red dots on them. The dots are the actual abrasive. I must stress that they were fine grit, and they had worn down quite a bit, but it took ¼ of the time to level them.* Another thing that I've been using a lot are the Arm & Hammer magic eraser sponges. They work really well to clean frets and hardware, then afterwards I use treated jewelry polishing cloths. They usually come as two pieces of cloth stitched together at the top: one white and the other some color. I breathe on the fret, then rub it with the white (treated) cloth, then buff with the colored (plain cloth). After a few wipes the frets have a mirror shine and it feels like you're bending the string on glass. A lot of people complain about glossy nitro neck finishes, especially when they're newer because they can get sticky. A remedy has always been to scuff up the back of the neck with 0000 steel wool. I find the magic erasers work much better: they don't remove nearly as much finish, and they pull the dust you've created off of the neck. With steel wool it can be too much, and it leaves a lot of the dust there. You end up just rubbing it back into the finish. Plus it can feel odd, with the sponge you just give it one up/one down and you should be okay. What's left just feels like a satin or matte finish. 👍 *I should add that I've been hand sharpening knives for 30 years, and doing fret work for 20. You might want to stay away from diamond if you're working on nickel frets, they can take away a lot of metal, very quickly: try ceramic or natural stone. Diamond are great for stainless steel though.

Looks great Dave. That is pretty my same process which I got from Dan's fretting video. Glad to see you haven't drank the fret eraser cool-aid.

Here's a tip, use a feelers gauge to check that the neck is straight. Better than a light.

Thank you. What is the compound you use on the dremel?

Which Dremel model are you using in the video? Also which pad and compound? Thank you.

can you link the polish you used...thanks

How does one do this on a 12-16" compound radius neck?

How do you level a multi radius neck where it's maybe 9.5" at the nut and 12" at the body? Seems impossible to do perfectly. Plek machine maybe?

when you create fallaway wouldn't there be I different height between the 6th and 5th fret, and wouldn't the fret rocker rock on that spot? please advise. thanks!

Wish I had this patient 😂😂😂 but too much to pay someone to do it too

how do you polish the scratches off the very top (thin line) if youre not supposed to hit it with the sand paper as you do the sides of each fret? i level with 400.

Do I necessarily need a filer?

May I ask what fret polish you are using with the Dremel tool?

How do you like my V-shaped fret file idea?

You mentioned at the end that you use boiled linseed oil. Is there a reason you chose that oil instead of some of the others used like lemon oil?

Which Dremal wheel? And what is that bar of polish?

Are you using the center z-file or the offset z-file ?

I understand the logic behind making sure the fretboard is dead flat before commencing the leveling work. But I’m also wondering if the neck should be pre-stressed, so to speak, to simulate string tension that might cause bowing (however slight) after the strings are tied and tuned?

One comment for you... TETELESTAI!!!!!

When youre sanding the frets to get the lines and scratches/gouges out AFTER crowning, dosent that take your leveling job out of whack? What grit is comfortable and suitable to be able to sand the tops of your frets with without taking material off to unlevel the frets?

One question, why is it better to use a radiused sanding block instead of a straight profile? Arent radius sanding blocks used primarily for the neck radius it self?

I like your blue bracelet "Tetelestai"... which means "It is finished." Quoted from the most popular and important person in all human history. The redeemer of man kind, Jesus Christ.

All stewmac tools wow you must be rich.

Measuring, scribing tape for the board? Coloring the frets for 5 mins each?, Jesus this ain’t a darn beauty contest man, made it harder than it has To be