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Protruding "Sharp" Fret Ends
Related Topics: | Truss Rod | Set Up/Level Frets | Underbowed Neck |
“I really appreciate the job you did on my Deering Crossfire. As you know, I
found it so uncomfortable to play that it was becoming a wall hanger in my
office. Since you filed the frets along the neck and installed the 5th string
spikes, it's become a very playable instrument, thanks to your efforts.”
-P.F. Ithaca, NY
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| Deering Crossfire:
Sharp Fret Ends |
Why do fret ends sometimes feel sharp against my hand?
We see this problem quite frequently. Typically, fret ends feel sharp against the fretting hand because they are protruding from the sides of the fretboard or because the fret ends are improperly dressed.
What causes protruding fret ends?
Fret ends protrude from the sides of the fretboard when a guitar dries out. Exposure to a low humidity environment will cause the fretboard to shrink (as well as a myriad of other problems) allowing the ends of the metal frets to stick out. Often times rehumidifying the instrument (to 50% relative humidity) will expand the hardwood fingerboard back to its original dimensions. This is not always the case as some woods (ebony in particular) will not return to their original dimensions once their moisture content is drastically lowered.
How are sharp fret ends repaired?
If the fret ends are sharp to the touch because they were not properly dressed (ends crowned, rounded, sanded and polished) than dressing the fret ends is all that is typically necessary to rectify the problem.
If the fret ends are protruding than they must be filed flush to the sides of the fretboard, rebeveled and the fret ends dressed. There are two ways we go about filing fret ends here at finger lakes guitar repair. The value of the instrument, the customer's budget and the customer's individual aesthetic sense (how picky they are) all determine which of the two methods we employ.
The simpler approach is to file the fret ends flush and rebevel them with a modified mill file (followed by dressing the fret ends).
The more time consuming (and therefore more costly) approach is to file the fret ends flush with the sides of the fretboard and rebevel them all individually with a triangular (cross section) file with safe edges.