Fret Level Crown & Polish My First Fret Job

In this video, I walk you through the basics of a fret level, crown, and polish.
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In this video I take an old used 50 dollar guitar I bought online and make some significant repairs to restore it to its former glory.
The frets were worn and damaged and I thought this was a good opportunity to finally take the plunge and try some fretwork.
I ordered some basic supplies from Solo Music Gear and set to work.
If you need supplies like this check out Solo Music Gear
www.solomusicgear.com
All in all I am very happy with the final result.
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[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

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[@57stratkat]

It takes a while but I also use painters tape to cover the board to prevent scratches and to keep all of the fret filings off the board. It also helps protect the edges when you are filing the fret ends. It is really satisfying when you have greatly improved the playability of a guitar.

[@74dartman13]

I did basically the same thing. Took an old beat up guitar I got for cheap, and did the fret work. It makes a huge difference in the playability. It turned out so well, I invested some money and time into it. Upgraded the electronics and hardware and ended up with a guitar that I play every day. It's really rewarding when you do the work yourself and end up with a great playing instrument!👍😎🎸🎶

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

Hey Dartman! So glad to hear from you. I hope you and your family are well. Regarding your fretwork that’s so awesome! You are so right about that feeling of doing the work yourself. I wish I had done this years ago. If you don’t mind me asking what model guitar did you end up doing and what electronic upgrades did you do choose? Cheers mate!

[@74dartman13]

@@LucasCrossleyGuitar well, I found a Spectrum Strat copy at a yardsale and bought it for $15, just to practice my guitar repair skills on.The fret work turned out so nicely, so I started upgrades. Tone Ninja 19:1 locking tuners, roller string trees, bone nut, I "rolled" the edges of the fretboard to make playing comfortable, a new Trem with a large brass block, and for the electronics I used Bournes pots( the smoothest pots ever), orange drop cap, an Oak Grigsby 5 way switch, and a Switchcraft jack...all on a cool aged perloid pickgaurd. I modified the neck pickup with neodymium magnets and replaced the bridge pickup with a single size humbucker. All for around $200 total. Imo...it's one of the best guitars I've ever played. I had to make it my own with a new finish, so I painted the body with a cool burgundy color...and the face of the headstock, too. I love it! I hope you and your family are doing well, too. Take care!👍😎🎸🎶

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

Absolutely awesome! Definitely love rolled fingerboard edges. That’s high on my to do list too. The guitar sounds amazing!

[@74dartman13]

@@LucasCrossleyGuitar thanks! Ya, Darrel Braun did a video on rolling the edges with a drywall sanding block. It's easy, fast and does a great job! Good luck with it!🙂

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

Thanks buddy! I’m a fan of Darrel. He’s got some amazing content. Seems like a super nice guy too.

[@kongssund]

Nice job, sir. Did this myself on a cheap guitar a couple of times myself. Wanted to save the money and actually learn to do it myself. I just use a straight beam with sandpaper. 400 and 600. Then different fret eraser up to 8000 for polish. Finishing it with a 12000 pad + gorgomyte. Best investment i made. Now i have done it on my Esp`s and Gibson`s aswell. It plays so much better with "new" frets. I have now understood the importance of crowned frets :)

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

Thank you Kongssund. I'm so glad I to the plunge. Sounds like your work went well also! Cheers!

[@xocnibor]

Such a great video. You demystified fret work for me. Thank You!

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

Thanks Robin. Much appreciated

[@57stratkat]

If you'll use the sharpie again after leveling the frets, it makes it easy to gauge when you have narrowed the crown enough with the crowning file.

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

Thanks for the pointers Icey. Much appreciated. Cheers.

[@57stratkat]

Hemp oil works well if you want to avoid petroleum distillates.

[@johnjolly9519]

Nice job 👍

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

Thanks John! Lots of fun.

[@KaosII1968]

I know you only spent $50 ....But you did scratch the hell out of the fretboard. Masking tape is pretty inexpensive... especially if you don't buy the pro blue painters tape. You made it look pretty easy. I've done quite a few in my time.... usually run into some kind of issues. Also, whatever year it is.... definitely pre 2002. Charvelle has a bunch of identifiers on the logo that can give you sort of a window. I have a few 80's Model 4 and model 3's. I love their necks.

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

I don’t think I did too bad. I wouldn’t call myself a luthier though lol. My crowning job was ok. I have no idea what year the guitar is. I bought it pretty much just to muck around on. To be honest, I much prefer stainless frets. I would be hard pressed to buy guitars that don’t have them stock. Unless I was buying something a bit more traditional.

[@telecasterbear]

I am used to the 7.25 radius on my 1977 telecaster. That charvel board is so flat.

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

It really is. I think it’s a 16” radius

[@yallevereatenbeans2723]

Would you say this was a particularly hard job to do, or more just time consuming? I've been doing my own set ups for years and I know how a fret level is done, but I worry that I'd screw up a guitar if I tried it myself.

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

Hey there! No I didn't find this to be too hard. A little time consuming but honestly its just that I am not that patient lol! I highly recommend practicing on a cheap guitar like I did. For the 50 dollars I spent I didn't care if I wrecked it :). Cheers!