Grinding down frets?

Hey all, long time no see. I have a quick question from a friend of mine who recently bought a new acoustic guitar. His main issue with the guitar is that the metal frets hang a little off the edge of the neck (they are a little too long), so when he plays it, it kind of cuts into his hand. He was going to grind them down, but decided against it because he wasn't sure if this would tear off the finish. He asked me if I had any suggestions, and I told him I didn't really know, this isn't really my expertise. So I told him to wait a little while so I could ask you guys your opinion of the situation, so he doesn't do anything he'll regret.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Ace

That is kind of a problem, and grinding them down would seem logical. I'm not an expert on this either, but I guess if done with the proper tools and logic, it should be alright. What was he planning on using and how?

Grinding sounds like a high-risk approach.

The usual method involves a small, fine file. Take off both E strings, to get them out of the way. Take your time - haste makes for sloppy work, and mistakes leave permanent marks.

I would use a dremel tool with a gridning stone tip rather than a file (just to save on hard work, and dremels can be very precise too). I"ve had to dremel my acoustic before... its scary as hell but if you're steady-handed and know what to do you should be okay.

I would be worried about loosening the frets in the fretboard ?

I'd search for the recommendations of a local shop. As I think about it... I would be one un-happy camper if anything happened to my baby. :(

I've also done this with a file by hand, having used a couple of layers of masking tape in between the frets to save the wood if I slipped a little.

If the guitar is of value, either in $$$ or sentimentally, I wouldn't do it... get a pro to sort it...

Have a read ofthis for the overview & pick the relevant steps:

http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/fretwork/ts28ford/ts28ford.html

Also Dan Erlewine's books are good to have for jobs like this.

,,,oops...forgot this site:

http://www.gibson.com/Products/Places/Repair/Tech%20Tips/Dress%20your%20funky%20frets/

:o)

Probably too late to help. But maybe someone else will read this.

I've done dozens of these.
I'd avoid a dremel if I were you. If you want to slip and screw up your finish, that's the tool. If you want electric power to grab your fret end and pull it out of the board, that's your tool.

Mask off the fret ends so that the area around them is taped over.. protect your finish. watch for scratching through, put on new tape.

fine file.. strokes running downward.. dont file in an upward motion pulling the fret out of the board at the end where it's MOST LIKELY to pull out.

You have to file them so they don't stick out.. and then you have to very slightly angle the fret end on top of the fret. not so much the string falls off when you fret.

then mask all around it. even on the board and use some emery paper or steel wool.. mask off pickups on elec.s so you don't get metal filings in the pups.
and smooth it out. again carefully. You can take more off.. but you can't put any on!

It's not hard, just be careful about pulling up on the fret end, scratching the finish on the neck, putting mars next to the fret on the board.. and get it nice and smooth when you're done.

don't be in a hurry.
TWANG

Originally Posted by: TWANGONEProbably too late to help. But maybe someone else will read this. ...

TWANG

yeah, what he said. Another reason not to use a Dremel that he didn't mention is that the speed of the little beasties develops some pretty intense heat. Seems that might cause the frets to deform, and could cause some problems with the glue holding them in place.

Just use lots of tape, some gentle file action and lots of patience.