Recommend me a refretting tool kit...
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I’ve not bought the refret kit but I’ve bought some crimson tools. They have been good.
I think with tools you’re best to buy the best you can. Buy right the first time, rather than buy twice.
I don’t think there’s one set which has everything, and some tools you can buy cheaply from any tool shop. For the specialised bits have a look at https://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/shop/guitar-tools/guitar-tool-kits
Yeah but if it turns out I am totally useless then I'll also be skint and useless :lol:Penn said:I’ve not bought the refret kit but I’ve bought some crimson tools. They have been good.I think with tools you’re best to buy the best you can. Buy right the first time, rather than buy twice.
Yeah was looking at his site before. Would be good if you could get the whole lot in a single kit.Roland said:I don’t think there’s one set which has everything, and some tools you can buy cheaply from any tool shop. For the specialised bits have a look at https://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/shop/guitar-tools/guitar-tool-kits
Yeah but shit tools put you at disadvantage straight away. Right tool for the job and all that. Trust me, I should know. I’m a massive tool.lovestrat74 said:Yeah but if it turns out I am totally useless then I'll also be skint and useless :lol:Penn said:I’ve not bought the refret kit but I’ve bought some crimson tools. They have been good.I think with tools you’re best to buy the best you can. Buy right the first time, rather than buy twice.
lovestrat74 said:Yeah was looking at his site before. Would be good if you could get the whole lot in a single kit.Roland said:I don’t think there’s one set which has everything, and some tools you can buy cheaply from any tool shop. For the specialised bits have a look at https://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/shop/guitar-tools/guitar-tool-kits
Why not contact him and see whether he might consider giving you a discount if you bought sufficient single tools to make up a "kit", or combined more than one kit? You never know. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
For the fret pulling, cutting and seating, this selection of tools for £46.28 is more or less what I use and it's cheaper than having to buy them as separates from him or equivalent quality from elsewhere:
https://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/shop/guitar-tools/guitar-tool-kits?product_id=202
When you are starting out with refrets you are usually better to use a fairly long sanding beam with self-adhesive abrasive paper strips stuck to it than one of the shorter 6" fine diamond levelling files. They both have their place and uses, but it's easier to get accurate results with a beam that covers a significant length of the fretboard. I do like his diamond recrowning files and you could do a lot worse than buying two of these in the sizes you are likely to need the most:
https://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/shop/guitar-tools/fret-crowning-and-dressing/TWO-Guitar-Diamond-Fret-Crowning-Files-TF086
The Chris Alsop tools are great - I’ve had various things from him, fret pullers/nippers, crowning and levelling files etc
To piggyback on this, is there a good tool for spot levelling of frets?
GoFish said:To piggyback on this, is there a good tool for spot levelling of frets?
Do you mean just one rogue fret or several frets in a very localised area?
If it's just one fret, then the "Fret Kisser" tool from StewMac is about the best you will get:
https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-fretting/leveling/stewmac-fret-kisser/
It's half price at the moment, but £39.23 PLUS shipping from America might be overkill when there are other ways to sort out one high fret.
I have used a very fine flat needle file or diamond file along the length of a single high fret (or just concentrating on the higher spot) and following the radius to reduce the height, but you have to take it a tiny bit at a time and keep using a fret rocker to check progress and, depending how much material you remove, you most likely will then need to reapply the crown. You can even get away with using fine wet & dry paper eg. P600 or P800 wrapped around a lollypop stick or a square chopstick or similar to do the same job.
To level more than one fret at a time in a localised area your best bet is usually a short diamond file like this:
https://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/shop/guitar-tools/fret-levelling/Two-Fret-Levelling-Diamond-Tools-TF022
either used sideways along the length of the frets while maintaining the fret radius, or in the direction of the neck.
If you mask your fretboard between frets, mark the tops of the frets with a marker in a colour that's easy to see, and then very lightly pass a full length sanding beam along the length of the neck you will immediately see from the missing marker lines on specific frets which ones are high and are being touched by the abrasive on the beam, and where on those frets they are high.
Cheers @BillDL. That's very helpful.
Nothing "pro" and expensive that'll last a lifetime, just something to get me started. If I feel the need I can upgrade later ;)
What would you recommend?