Cigar Box Guitar #2: Rockin', Neckin', & Headin'

Say hello to my little friend!

The Fret Rocker is a neat little invention.  You use it to check fret height along your guitar neck. Basically, you place the rocker over three frets.  If the middle fret is higher than the other two - the fret rocker will rock back and forth.  If it doesn't rock - those three frets are equal in height to each other.  You then go up and down the whole neck - checking all of the frets this way.  The rocker has four different sides of different lengths (because the frets get closer together as you move up the neck).

Any frets that are "proud" (higher than their neighbor) need to be filed down.  A good way to remember which frets need to be filed (and to make sure you are filing them evenly) is to cover them with magic marker.

Normally - you would use bright blue or red - but orange was the color I had at hand.

Egads!  Another file?

Enter fret file #3 - the Fret Crowning file.  What do you do if you have a fret that is too tall?  You file it down of course.  How do you do that without scratching the shiznit out of your fret board?  You use a fret crowning file.  Notice that it has two smooth areas where it contacts the wood and a metal file that is arched like the top of a fret?  If all goes well - you will give the proud fret a haircut and make it similar in height to its neighbors.

Things I didn't take pictures of:  Polishing the frets with Steel Wool.  This is an important step as it does two things:  1) Removes any filing marks from the previous steps and 2) makes the frets look super shiny.

...and also helps the instrument play better.

It's important that you use 000 (extra fine) or 0000 (super fine) grade steel wool.  If you use a kitchen grade steel wool pad - you will make a righteous mess of your fretboard and frets.  One note: even with the super fine grades of steel wool - you should either cover the wood parts of the fretboard with painter's tape or buy special metal fretboard/fingerboard guards for this task.  If I am working on 1 or 2 frets - I'll usually use a fretboard/fingerboard guard.  If I need to polish the entire fretboard - I usually use tape.  This will allow you to run the steel wool up and down the fret board and smooth out the fret ends.

...pretty sure that's not how sandpaper works...

Now that the fretboard is in good shape - it's time to take a look at the neck.  Out of the box - the neck was pretty smooth - maybe even ready for a finish.  But since there was no indication either way - I decided to give the neck a quick pass with some 220, 320, and finally 400 grit sandpaper.  The neck is now definitly ready for a finish.

"Not in my store you don't!"

The kit came with a brand logo on the headstock, "5 Star."  I generally use coins on my headstocks - specifically Irish coins that have a harp on them (see picture below).  So, I'll be removing the existing logo.  

Why does it look like my ankle is broken in this photo?

This was done with 80 grit sandpaper - which is quite aggressive.  

I switched to 120 grit once I got to this point.

Then I worked my way up through the grits to 400 grit.  And now the headstock is ready for a finish.

Just for giggles - I dry fitted the coin where it will eventually live

That's the money, sonny.

Pay no attention to that sheen on the headstock.  That's for a future post.

Cigar Box Guitar #1: New Year - New Guitar

Another Guitar, Jerry? 

Santa got me a super fun gift that I'm starting to build this weekend.  

...I need another guitar like I need a hole in the head - but does it count if some assembly is required...? Thank you to Lisa for the present.

It's been a while since I've built an instrument - so I am a bit rusty.  

Therefore, I'll be following the directions on this build (it's a kit after all - so R.T.F.M.).

The instructions recommend starting with the frets - which needed a bit of a haircut.

I mean, I did buy all of these tools.  Might as well use them...

Step one is to file the frets flush with the neck. As with all things guitar - there's a tool for that. This is a double-sided fret file. The first side has a metal file that shaves down the frets evenly at a 90 degree angle.

  

At what point is "too many" actually too many?

Step two: The other side has an angled metal file to put a "ramp" on the fret ends. I believe this is at a 30 degree angle.  This will make it easier to "dress" the frets in step three.

It would be a shame to just let all those specialized tools rust...

Now the frets aren't poking out of the neck. Which means I'll have fewer cuts on my hands. Which is nice.

I'll need to check these frets at the end of the home-heating season to see if the wood contracted any more.  The lower humidity indoors in the Winter causes the wood to shrink.

The joys of living in New England - soupy in the Summer and arid in the Winter - means that "fret sprout" is a thing.  Which is a bit of a misnomer - as the frets aren't moving.  The wood is expanding and contracting around them.

Ladies and gentlemen - I give you the iPhone Macro Mode

You may be able to see that there are still hard (read sharp) edges on the ends of the frets - so now I need to dress them with another special file (Yay! Expensive specialty tools!).

Small - but mighty!

Please welcome the smallest file in the tool bag - the Fret Dressing file. Its job is to round off any edges left over from the first files. It's fiddly work but important if you don't want to cut your hands every time you play the instrument.

...what old people do...

My favorite part about this file (yes, I have a favorite part - I'm old now. This is what old people do...). Ahem, my favorite part about this file is the rounded bottom - which prevents the file from scratching the wood up as you work on the frets.

Now that the fret ends are silky-smooth it is time to work on the fret height.

Enter the Fret Rocker...