Somebody sent me a link to this YouTube video showing a loon fashioning a fret file to fit into a saber saw.
DON’T DO IT!
I nearly spat out my coffee when I saw what the video was proposing. I’m not including a link because I don’t want to help this misguided YouT’uber (term edited several times until nice enough to print) to get more views.
But, in short, this is what’s wrong with the premise of automating your crowning work –
- A. It only takes about ten minutes to crown frets manually. 10 minutes.
- B. You want full control of the process, control that only your hands can give.
- C. The saber saw would remove material so fast that you’d likely be removing fret height – the height you just so carefully leveled to!
- D. You’d wear out your fret files so fast that the time it takes to fashion the end to fit your saw would quickly overtake the time you think you’re saving with the saber saw.
- E. If a customer ever got wind of you doing this, he’ll not only steer clear of your shop but he’ll warn everyone he knows!
Now, only the future will tell which one of us is on the wrong side of history – the guy who wants you to automate your fret crowning process or me, the guy advising you to keep the file in your hands.
But it does bring to mind a warm summer day in Pine Lake Park, N.J. around 1958. I was nearly twelve and word was going through our little village that the town mayor (who was also the richest guy around) had just bought a lawn mower that had an engine on top!
People doubled over laughing, we all thought that was so funny! Well, you know what happened. Today, nobody wants a lawnmower that doesn’t have one of those “silly” gas engines!
So, maybe the future will bring us automated fret crowners. But they won’t be anything like the monstrosity shown in this dang YouTube!
I’m impressed by the thoroughness of your response and the fact that you responded far more politely than my post deserved.
In my defense, the Canadians absolutely revere their loons and have even pictured them on their dollar coin, which they call a “looney”. Though a bit of that reverence may have been lost when the two-dollar coin was introduced, which they quickly anointed the “tooney”, but getting back to the subject of fret crowning…
I remember well, the days when I did only a thousand jobs a year, back when I was a one-man shop. But, to be honest, those were a total of jobs done throughout the year, not the number of fret crowning jobs and not even the number of guitar setups, which did approach that number.
Crowning frets with a crowning file is absolutely a ten-minute job in my shop. We come back with various grits of sandpaper on a special tool to finish the frets and prep them for Dremel polishing. I had arthritis in both hands before going full-time into guitar tech business about a decade ago and my hands are no worse off. I can think of other tasks that are harder on the hands than crowning.
I’ve read your thoughts three times over and perhaps I’ll review them again when I have more time. I do appreciate that you took the time to write them and I appreciate the fact that you’re trying to make advancements for guitar techs. I had no idea who you were or your background when I posted my blog, having come in late from the shop, tired, hungry and then receiving a link to your vid from one of my techs. I was way overdue in posting and was grateful for an easy target.
While you have not changed my mind on a single point, I’ll try to remain at least a little bit open-minded and we’ll see if your idea goes the way of the Segway or the lawnmower.
– Cheers!
I have attempted to redeem myself as far as the “loon” thing goes (see my reply to David). As far as his idea – being a famous, well-respected, successful person doesn’t mean every thing you do is correct. Charles Lindbergh advocated for the Nazis in WWII, Thomas Edison delighted in electrocuting dogs and even elephants. I could go on, but I have a guitar shop to open.
But I appreciate your comment.