Official Luthiers Forum!

Well I need a sanding beam. Stewmac has them but man they are expensive. Any suggestions for beams that are flat and not quite as pricy?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

To avoid the expense now and still do a good job, just make a beam with straight grained mahogany and true it up from time to time on a piece of granite with some stick it sanding paper on it. Make your beam at least 1x2x12" . If you go longer make it taller also, and use the 1" for the sanding.

_________________
Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

A nice 2' aluminum "I beam" level worked for me for many years. Either have it machined flat or sand it flat on same granite plate. Even out both sides and stick 80 or 100 grit. Finished off flattning lots of fingerboards with that level. A Starrett straight edge proved it works.

Look up 'sanding beam' on Tower Hobbies site. Model airplane building stuff, about a tenth the price of StewMac's .

_________________
Peter Havriluk

I also use a 2 foot level with sandpaper stuck to one edge. The metal "I" beam construction keeps them reasonably flat - at least as flat as a piece of wood is going to stay with humidity changes and the pull of the strings on it.
You can sometimes find levels at the flea market for a couple dollars - even less if they have broken vials.

A regular piece of 3/4” x 1” x 24” steel bar stock can work well, too.

For ssnding the fretboard I think most of these options would work. However, if you're talking about leveling the Fret plane, I would want something accurate to a thou while having pressure put to it such as a sanding motion. I have a lot of confidence in that machined steel beam.

_________________
Pat

I cannot say enough about the Stew Mac sanding beam. It's really upped my game since I got one and I balked at getting one for years even though a lot of guys here recommended getting one. The weight of the tool is key. You can stick 80 grit paper to it and just let the tool do the job for you.

Most larger towns have a metal supplier, and will sell by the foot.
You can get 1/8” wall aluminum square/rectangular tube in a multitude of sizes.
Flatten with emery paper on your table saw, jointer bed or any flat surface and check with a straight edge. It took very little to true up.o
My supplier told me it was not worth writing an invoice for 3 bucks.
I have had granite pieces which were offcuts from kithen remodels that were not flat, so check these too with your Starret straight edge.

_________________
My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

OLF member murrmac has an eBay store named Technofret. He sells a variety of tools, including leveling beams. I bought two (19" and 8") for $80, including shipping from the UK. Not dirt cheap, but less than SM and my results are greatly improved compared to those I had achieved previously using the kinds of homemade tools described by others above. I know it's a poor workman who blames his tools, but the machined leveling beams are working better for me. Like Pat, I'm talking about frets, not fingerboards.

_________________
George :-)

So allow me to ask a question that should probably have an obvious answer:
Why is the tool for leveling frets different than the tool for leveling fongerboards? Just the weight aspect? Is a heavier beam like the stewmac beam a no no for leveling frets and most use it for leveling things like the finger board bed and such?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I use the SM beam for both boards and frets. I use the long one for 1-12/14 and the short one for the extension.

The weight aspect helps when leveling frets because you aren’t really putting any pressure on the beam. Just moving it back and forth.

Thanks George for recommending technofret, I was trying to find that info as Hesh had recommended them a bunch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

_________________
Insta - https://www.instagram.com/cbcguitars/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cbcguitars

I use the SM beam for the fretboard and frets too. Ditto on what Brad said.

That's what I was trying to remember, Technofret. Dress the frets with the strings on, then remove strings and crown frets.

Lots of ways to get the job done, I've used several. The real indicator is not what tool you use but what level of work you are turning out. If you're getting the results and you like the tools you're using then that's good.

This is just what works for me:
- I use the StewMac beam for fretboards and rough leveling on frets. I keep 80 grit and 150 grit on it.
- Murrmac's aluminum beans are perfect for me when I move to 240 grit and then 320 grit on the fretboard, gives me better control while I add in differential relief. I don't like the extra weight of the steel StewMac beam at this point in the job.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

What Steve said. Murrmac (Tecnofret) for the fine work. I've had mine for a few years and
wouldn't want to go without it

I've made a number of nice sanding beams using 1"x2" aluminum box tubing that I flattened on a granite machinist's stone. Very, very easy to do. (I only flatten the two 1" wide sides where I place abrasives)

Same as Daniel ^^
The money spent buying for what seemed a fairly expensive granite block has been more than recouped just in the 4 fret and fretboard levelling beams and 3 straight edges I'm made with it.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

What Brian said. 3/4" aluminium angle in various lengths and grits are great for fret work with the strings on.

The Stew Mac beam is nice and heavy and worth the money if you want to be very accurate. Before I was ready to spend for one though I made a nice long one out of some really old, thick, stable chunk of walnut using a drum sander. It's not as heavy as the metal one but it will get the job done and if you set up your drum sander properly you should be able to get it within a tho across width/length pretty easily.

Same here, Mahogany and Maple beam.
I always check it with a straight edge before use.
I apply a piece of 320 stikit sandpaper to it.
It’s light weight and allows me to level without taking too much fret off.
I made mine 1/2”wide amd follow the string paths when leveling.
Works like a charm.

_________________
wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Stanley made levels of wood until the early 50's. The best were made of cherry and were stamped with "made of cherry, the best wood for the purpose".

Ed