Fret end dressing?

It’s not hard but it is tedious. Well-worth the effort, though. At least in my book.

I bought that kit the last time they were on sale. I’m happy with the purchase.

If you foresee having to do this work on more than one instrument, it’s a good investment. If this is a one-off job... maybe not.

It's not necessarily tedious...it's a zen sort of zone to get into.

The only caution here is to not apply too shallow a bevel on the ends of the frets because it reduces the playing surface on the crowns and the outside strings can slip off the neck. Many first-timers doing fretwork take too much off and there's no fix other than to replace the frets and properly bevel the ends.

Here are some visuals:



Your issue may simply be this: the bevels are fine, but the corners on the bevels need to be slightly rounded over and polished.  You can easily fix this yourself as follows:



Place the modded fret guard over each fret end and use 600-grit paper under your fingertip to scrub the end of each fret smooth and shiny.  Use a fresh piece or section of 600 for each fret end because the paper loads up and will stop removing metal.

The end result should look like this:

That’s a great solution. 😎

If the process makes you nervous at all, a finished maple board probably isn't the one to start with. Maybe for the best to wait for a better candidate to try it on. If you have a steady hand and good attention to detail it isn't that big of a job.

I have a few different regular flat files. They all have the narrow ends smoothed and the corners broken, and work a bit better when worn in a little. I typically start with the surface of the bevel and then do the tang after. I'll never go further than the bevel on an existing neck, so I always have something to watch. If I keep the file clean and my technique smooth I can avoid deep scratches. You can feel when you're done filing because the file will glide slightly differently when you are running across the wood. It can be a bit tricky if the edge of the fingerboard is rolled, but if in doubt just take your time. I finish it off with a file to round/deburr the edges. I have one of the Stew-Mac files and it works great, but I usually use a very light jeweler's file because it cuts a bit faster and gets to the under side of the crown easier, where little burs really like to hang out.