Grand Wazoo Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 On the subject of fret sprouting, it is understood of course the it's not the actual fret which "sprout" but the neck wood receding instead. This can happen at anytime, to new or old wood and it depends on the environment in which the bass / guitar is stored. In my case I have a new "fresh" Mighty Mite" neck fitted to a Squier body. The neck was given 3 coats before fitting to the body, 2 coats of "amber" stain to give it that vintage aged look and a last coat being a nitro gloss seal. The neck was allowed to dry naturally in a airing cupboard for 4 days and eventially fitted to the bass. Now, two weeks later the wood is "adjusting" to my home temperature and as a result a bit of shrinking has taken place, there are no cracks at all in the coating which means that has taken well but the fret edges from the first to the last are edging out at either ends and feeling quite sharp in places. Is there a home remedy for this or will it need to be taken to a repairman to be filed? I was wondering if there is a safe method to re-nourish the timber to kind of reverse the process of shrinking with filing as the last resort. This is a whole maple neck with maple fingerboard by the way. Anyone experienced in this "fret sprouting" phenomena? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Didn't think sealed maple necks shrunk. I've fed very dry rosewood boards with loads of oil and sorted sharp fret ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettsguitars Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 oil or wax once a month foir the first year of it's life. then 2 or 3 times a year and lemon or almond oil on your fretboard whenever you change strings will prevent your neck shrinking like some kind of sandi toksvig mutation. if it's too late and your frets are already sticking out, you can file them if they're really bad. filing frets is a job that you get confident with after a few attempts. it's easy to f up the side of your neck which you don't want. if they're only slightly sharp, just mask off the neck/body transition area of the body, take a fine sanding pad from b&q and smooth em out. you can polish up with wire wool. you could also use a falt 'stick' with sandpaper which would be better than a sanding pad. either will do the job though. keep the board fed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettsguitars Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 aah, sorry didn't read the postr properly. basically, sounds like the neck was not stabilized before coating. still the same procedure though. just becareful not to sand thru your clear coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 My 30+ year old G&L suffered from this. Feeding the rosewood did nothing to replenish it as wear was a contributory factor too. The only thing to do was to file the frets back. It requires a couple of specialist tools and a bit of very careful filing so it's probably a wee bit hands on for most. A good luthier can sort it for you no probs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Wazoo Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Thanks for all the advices, I will take it to a workshop to have it resolved. thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.