Fret files, which one to choose?

Wolfetone

I have a Stew-Mac (Gurian) fret file which the burr that I use has worn out. A new burr is £12 but has a two week wait plus shipping. I have a job to do on my Jap Squier and don't want to wait that long. I also notice that the non-diamond jobbies can acuse fret chatter which is a nuisance.

I was looking around at some alternatives which actually turn out to be slightly cheaper but, more importantly, immediately available.

This is the one I have...



I'm looking at this...








Any views? Which are people using??

SteveRobinson

You can buy the spare burrs from Touchstone but you can get a double edge crowning file cheaper from Tonetech.

Adey

I've gota Hosco crowning file, but prefer to use a triangular file as it does a better, more controllable job.

guitarfishbay

I like using a triangular file myself, but I don’t do enough fretwork to where I’d need to significantly speed things up. 

TA22GT

Adey said:

I've gota Hosco crowning file, but prefer to use a triangular file as it does a better, more controllable job.

Same. I rounded the edges off slightly so it doesn't dig in.

gary_mac

As I'm working on frets most weeks, treated myself to a good quality three side fret file from Crimson. I like the idea of the rounded ones but not so much in practice. With the three sided, plus file rubbers, sand paper, micromesh and polish, I get the required result.

Henrytwang

I have used several different crowning files but I currently use one like you already have. It seems to work fine as long as I keep the teeth clear by frequently wire brushing them during use. This cuts down the chatter and keeps the file cutting well.

Adey

If you've got more money than sense, try Stewmac Z-files.

rossi

I use a triangular Swiss file .Make sure its a proper Swiss file .If it doesnt make you eyes water at the price its no good .sme goes for paint brushes too

liamon

What is chatter?

Wolfetone

It's when the file doesn't cut smoothly and jumps leaving an uneven surface. 

meltedbuzzbox

I've only used the stew Mac ones. They're fairly idiot proof

Danielsguitars

i use a diamond crowning file which is great as well as a 3 corner then it's paper wire wool to finish

I found the diamond file leaves a much better fret with less work to do afterwards, the hosco ones seem to leave alot of marks 

Corvus

I got a bit of diamond flat file, about 4mm x 20mm, maybe 80-90mm long or so.Glued a wood handle on, rounded off the edges. Was cheap to do.
Gives a lot of control, you can get up to that peak, creating the narrow pen line, being certain the top isn't being filed any more.

I've one of those cranked ones as well but only use it for starting round-over, didn't like it as a crowning tool. Prone to chatter and the burrs partially dictate your profile I felt. Whereas with a freehand file any size & profile is all fine.