Fret bevel File?

[Tom Frei]

I've seen these 35* Fret bevel files, they are angled and file the fret sides all at the same time. Anyone make their own?

[Greg Robinson]

I purchased the ones offered by Stewart MacDonald, I use them all the time for fret dressing and re-frets. They'd be easy enough to make, just a flat file, a block of wood with a kerf cut out to hold it, and some way to hold the file in there, glue or screws. I know some other members have made their own.

I find them to be indispensable tools for any fret work.

[Mark Swanson]

I made my own, from a regular file with the pointed handle removed. I have a block of wood about 6" long, and 4" wide and about 1-1/14" thick....it might be a little smaller but I know the file is a 6" file so it matches there. There's a slot cut in the center where the file sits, it's just a press fit. One side of the block has a bevel cut into it and when I place the beveled part flat on the frets, the file sits at that same angle along the edge of the fingerboard for beveling the frets, and it works really well.

[Tom Frei]

Ah, looks like most people use a table saw to cut the file slot.

[Mark Swanson]

Well, it is just a block of wood with a slot in it. You could cut it by hand, or use a router table too. All it needs to do is hold the file, so it doesn't have to be a big deal. In fact now that I think of it, I have even done it by just holding the file in my hand at an angle and running it along the edge of the neck.

[Mark Swanson]

I found a photo I must have posted before some years back...

[Tom Frei]

Ok, thanks, that looks doable.

[Nick Middleton]

I made one by running a block of wood across a tablesaw (with the blade angled). It was very easy, but more often than not, I don't even reach for that file when I get to that step of fretwork. It's not hard to do it freehand after you've been doing it long enough. I almost feel like I'm using training-wheels when I use that tool

[Mark Swanson]

Right! The biggest thing to remember is (either with the block or not) to not let the file slip off its edge and ride up onto the frets! One swipe like that and you will ruin your fret job, or at least have a lot of dressing to do.

[David King]

I do them freehand but I learned early on to grind and polish the edges off my files for the reason Mark stated above.
Tape over the faces of the file when you buff the edges after you grind them. Rouge will dull a file in an instant.