fretting newbie

I have fretted 4 ukes and they are getting better every time. I seem to find that checking the intonation I will get a couple of tones the same, on two different frets. Upon taking everything apart I have uneven fret height. I have the correct saw and I have the correct plastic hammer. I am using the small size frets sold by Luthiers mercantile. What would be the next tool I should pickup and are there any inexpensive substitutes. I have good files and figure I need to level everything. Is this the case most of the time or once you get good at hammering fret wire you won't need to file. The tools are so expensive I can only manage one ever nbow and then. Also what do you use to polish the wires back to smooth and shiney.

A fret caul/press will eliminate the need for much of your fret dressing. I have one that mounts into my drill press but other free standing models are available. I don't like to use files when leveling small wire, it takes too much off too quickly and leave too rough of a finish. I level with a 6" diamond sharpening "stone" after marking all the fret tops with a felt pen so that you can see the high and low points. If you press your frets in and used consistent pressure, there won't be much material to remove; a couple of long sweeps with the stone should do it. The idea is to barely hit the very top of every fret on the board. I find the recrowning files to be too aggressive. If I need to reestablish a crown I will hit the fret with 600 grit sand paper using the Stewmac fret guards, followed by the use of one of their polishing wheels. Finally, I use a small square file with one "safe" side ground smooth to round off the fret ends themselves.

That sounds a whole lot better than all that fileing. I did have a buddy make me a T press out of 1/2" round steel rod then we flattened the bottom and made sure everything was square. I hadn't tried it since I got the right size saw. Worked great thanks! And of course these necks are on "Gourd Banjo Ukes"....LOL

Filing frets isn't a solution for improperly installed frets. You need to make sure they are seated properly and experience is the best tool in that regard. I find that if I pay careful attention to planing the neck blank and the fretboard flat then that leaves very little work to do with the frets themselves.

Pressing them in makes all the difference for me. I have an arbour press for the job, and they can be found usually quite reasonably priced. Most luthiers I know will use either one of these or their drill press.

I pressed the frets for #3 with a shopmade caul in my drill press and am very happy with the results. No buzzing or scratching.

I bought a press set up from StewMac with the different radiused inserts and such but I just haven't been able to make the transition. I think the main reason is because I fret with the board on the neck and if I were to do it off the neck then I'd need to make changes to my assembly process. I don't mind hammering them and I prefer to plane the fretboard while its on the neck. Less room for error.

I am proud to say that I did two fret jobs on my banjo ukes, one a tenor and one a concert, and they both came out perfect. I ended up using the t-bar my buddy made for me in my drill press. I did take a triangle needle file and made a couple of passes in the slot and I made a couple of passes on the fretwire to bevel the bottom just a little and a tap of the hammer to get it started and the press .....seated beautifully!

For recrowning and filing the fret ends I use a triangle file. I ground the corner teeth smooth and polished the surface so it wont scratch. It is easy for me, but takes a bit of practice at first. Some use the fret crown files, but they are expensive. Probably work faster, but I am pretty quick with the triangle file. There are also cant saw files that are kind of a triangle file with one long side. I might try one of those someday.