How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

More-Gear-Than-Skill

More-Gear-Than-Skill

New member
So i got me a Squire Affinity J-Bass, to thump away on.

It has those evil-edged frets. How do i cure? Can i take a needle file and just reduce them. Or do i sand them? Do i hammer them down firmer first? 0000 steelwool?

Lemme have it, if you will.

otherwise its nice. Cheap too, some mullet dinged the back with his belt buckle, so i got a killer deal on it. (2 sets of strings would have cost more!)
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

I WOULD NOT get a hammer near them unless you really know what you're doing.

Using a small file will probably be the safest way to go.
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

It's not just a Chinese thing. Right around half of the Gibson Les Pauls in our Guitar Center have that problem. There's probably some other guitars that do, too.

I'd use a file, then some sandpaper, and finally steel wool. Tape off around it with painters tape in case you slip. You can get the files and sandpaper from Stewart MacDonald if you need them.
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

JacksonMIA said:
It's not just a Chinese thing. Right around half of the Gibson Les Pauls in our Guitar Center have that problem. There's probably some other guitars that do, too.
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Are you talking Studios and/or Fadeds? Cos everything else has fret edge binding.
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

Sounds like you need some fret dressing....

ZerbsDressing.jpg


:D
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

I have seen ALOT of MIA strats with the same problem! Its not just chinese, it is just lazy people in the fretting department's of most guitar companys.
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

Zerberus said:
Sounds like you need some fret dressing....

ZerbsDressing.jpg


:D
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Take a wild guess what I put in your dressing while you were not looking? :chairfall :chairfall :chairfall :chairfall
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

JeffB said:
Are you talking Studios and/or Fadeds? Cos everything else has fret edge binding.
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Even on the ones with binding. In fact, they seem to be the more common culprits.

Sometimes I think our GC gets all the factory seconds. :smack:
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

JacksonMIA said:
Even on the ones with binding. In fact, they seem to be the more common culprits.

Sometimes I think our GC gets all the factory seconds. :smack:
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yeeesh...I think you are right. I've seen some binding gouges and scrapes and whatnot, but never sharp ends on anything with the binding on the edge (pauls, SG standards, etc)
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

don't blame it all to the fretting dept.. sometimes the fingerboard wood is not properly dried that the fret sticks out as the wood shrinks when it gets drier after putting the frets on.
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

bryvincent said:
don't blame it all to the fretting dept.. sometimes the fingerboard wood is not properly dried that the fret sticks out as the wood shrinks when it gets drier after putting the frets on.
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My thoughts exactly.
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

JeffB said:
yeeesh...I think you are right. I've seen some binding gouges and scrapes and whatnot, but never sharp ends on anything with the binding on the edge (pauls, SG standards, etc)
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it happens too sometimes on guitars with neck binding. its when you see cracks on the binding. as the wood shrinks and the fret sticks out, it pushes the binding causing it to crack or sometimes breaks free. it happens mostly on some historics because of their thinner neck binding.
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

Yeah you can't blame ANY of it on the fretting department. They file the fret ends flush no matter what country they're in. No one is shipping guitars out with protruding fret ends. It's the factory environment, and the wood choice that's causing the ends to stick out. With Gibson, here in the Chicagoland area they almost always get the binding cracks all along the fret tangs. Its a given. The binding means they won't cut your fingers up like a Chinese strat, but it's happening none the less. Actually Korea used to have a bigger problem with this in past decades, but they've done a decent job of it lately, and I've found it least likely to happen in Japanese guitars (besides USA Hamers, PRSi, and other high quality US guitars)

Edit: Oops to answer the question at hand, the Chinese strat isn't a prized vintage collectible by any means. So a really good novice friendly way to fix this is to first use a flat milling file to flush cut the fret ends and the tangs. Then follow up with a sponge sander, like the kind they use for drywall. You want the finest one they have, and if it has two sides, use the finer side. Press a little hard, so the sponge gives a little, and then run it up and down the fretboard edge a few times. It'll take the burrs away and leave a slightly convex fret end, while leaving a little rollover on the fretboard. It's not the widely accepted professional method, nor is it what I do to any "quality" guitar, but for that strat it's the perfect prescription.
 
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Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

cheerz guys, i will no longer associate this sharp fret thing to Chinese factories, and will do a little filing while meditating on this.
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

theodie said:
I have seen ALOT of MIA strats with the same problem! Its not just chinese, it is just lazy people in the fretting department's of most guitar companys.
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I don't know how lazy the people in fretting departments are, but in my little corner of the world, the air is so dry that fret ends stick out all on their own as the fret board shrinks.
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

Benjy_26 said:
I don't know how lazy the people in fretting departments are, but in my little corner of the world, the air is so dry that fret ends stick out all on their own as the fret board shrinks.
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That why when I do a fret job, I nip a tad bit of the tag off the ends! Takes longer to do but, you will never have that problem with frets! Lazy fret departments I tell you!!!!!!!!
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

Man I read the thread title about 10x before I read fret instead of fart, I was laughing my arse off.
 
Re: How do i cure the chinese ouch-fret?

Wattage said:
Man I read the thread title about 10x before I read fret instead of fart, I was laughing my arse off.
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Ha-Ha! :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: Thoughts of stir-fried cabbage cause me to get GAS, in an ouch way!
 
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