Fret End Bevel Angle

[Rockyjohnstone]

I don't post often, but spend hours reading the "build and repair" forum here. Great Stuff!

I'm doing my first refret. KM-505 bound fingerboard. For the most part, I'm following the pictorial on Frets.com of a Gibson F-5 refret. Great article, very informative.

I got the frets out without any trouble, and ready to level the fingerboard. Still need to order a few tools and fretwire.

I see many tools are set up for a 35 degree fret end bevel. While some can skillfully just use a file free hand, I'm not confident I'll get it to look perfect. I'll likely end up making a gauge of some type for that step in the process.

What's best angle for fret ends to avoid the outer strings from be to close to the edge? Is 35 degrees the standard?

Thanks,
Pete

[MysTiK PiKn]

I tend to think it safer to free hand it. The new fret ends will be close to the binding. Not sure, haven't done this. (yet). It's on my agenda in a couple years it seems.

I also read the F5 article on 'frets.com' - good article. I need to read it again.

Likely someone will have a more experienced answer than this.

Thanks for posting - if you feel like posting more as you enter the process, I'm interested.

[Pete Jenner]

35 degrees from perpendicular sounds about right. Many if not most people round off the ends of the frets after filing the angle. This is sometimes called semi-hemispherical shaping.

Here is a video from Colorado based Aussie ex-pat luthier Beau Hannam rounding the fret ends.



Here's another good fretting video.

[sunburst]

Many folks file them to 45 degrees.
Here's the thing; we want the frets to be long enough (effective fingerboard surface wide enough) to not have problems with the outside strings "falling off" the ends of the frets, yet we want the fret ends to feel comfortable when we play and not feel like barbs sticking out along the edges of the fingerboard. I don't measure the angle, but I like an angle steeper than 45 degrees and then quite a bit of rounding of the fret ends. I don't go for the full semi-hemispherical thing, but I want the fret ends to feel smooth from enough rounding of the edges. Whether we angle the fret ends back or round them back, we're encroaching on playable area, so the more rounding we intend to do the steeper the angle needs to be in order to preserve the same amount of playing surface.
How much do you intend to round the fret ends? Decide that and make your decision on the angle accordingly.
Now for the simple answer: 35 degrees should be fine.

[Rockyjohnstone]

35 degrees seems to be the norm, I'm not confident I should start with that. While a 45 degree angle is steeper and perhaps not as pleasing to the eye to some, choosing 35 will cut back further onto the top of the fret vs 45. If I take into account that dressing the fret ends may remove a little more of the top surface, I could see were a novice (me) might run afoul. I could bevel, say for 40-45, and if I don't like it, make another filing gauge for 35 and redress...

I've been viewing hours of video on refrets to burn the process into my brain. I found by watching this stuff over and over, you really start to learn it almost if you done it yourself before.

Perhaps I'm over thinking this part of the process. But I want to have everything clear in my mind before I start. I haven't even got the fret board level yet. That's another subject I have questions about, which may be appropriate for another thread. I really appreciate the feedback!

Thanks,
Pete

[Pete Jenner]

Pete, I'm talking about 35 degrees from the perpendicular plane- not from the horizontal plane and I think John is saying that also. So 35 is steeper than 45 in our reckoning. As John says, if you are going to round the ends, steeper is better as rounding will eat into the string contact area.

[Rockyjohnstone]

Well that explains alot, and makes perfect sense. I was wondering about that, and was in fact thinking 35 degrees (down) from horizontal plane of the fingerboard. You did point out perpendicular, but it didn't click. Thanks Peter for helping me sort that out. Glad you were able to identify my error by reading my post, as I tend to ramble on at times ;-