Fret Crowning

Here you can see how I'm crowning the frets on Ward's guitar. For me this is the most time consuming part of fretwork. I like to take my time when I do this because It's very important that you have a nice rounded edge, but you must have that sliver of a flat spot on the top of the fret. This is where I get into this Zen Zone, and I just file and sand until I get what I want.
In the photo you can see one of the fret crowning files that I use to get the edge of the fret rounded after the leveling process. I have several of these, all different radii and grit, for the different size frets that I use. They are coated with diamonds for a smooth, fast cut.

After I round the edges of the fret with the special files, I use about four different grits of fine polishing papers to get the frets to shine like new.

The next step is to check the nut height and determine if we need to install a new one. Usually with a re-fret a new nut is a given. But sometimes there's enough material to just use the existing. I like to save my clients as much money as I can. Especially with the current economy the way it is. So next post will be all about the "Nuts" of a re-fret.