Wednesday 12 June 2013

Telecaster Two - 17 - Finishing Fret Levelling and Polishing

Continuing with the fret levelling and polishing I continued to use my triangular file to put an even shape on each fret.  I'm looking to file the sides of each fret leaving just a thin flat spot on top.


I started using masking tape last night but found that electrical insulation tape was more robust and protected the fingerboard better, hence the garish red neck!


Once each fret had a thin flat spot on the top of each fret I improvised a grooved sanding block (The little grey triangle of plastic in the picture above).  I then folder a piece of 400 grit wet and dry sandpaper in between the grooves in the block and went over each fret smoothing out the rough sides and gradually rounding each one over at the same time.


I advanced through 800 and 1200 grit wet and dry on each fret and then 0000 wire wool bringing each fret to a nice shine.


Finally I polished each fret to a high gloss shine with 'Nevr-Dull' metal polish wadding.  I then removed the tape and buffed the frets up with a soft cloth.


I think the frets look stunning and they all feel smooth and I know they are now level with each other.  I think It was a good idea to use jumbo frets on this build for a couple of reasons, firstly the were easy to level because they allowed me to take of quite a lot material where required.  Secondly they compliment the 'fatback' profile of the neck.

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