What could possibly go wrong? (Rank beginner question)

In that case, I'll give it a shot. Thanks, Leftee! I truly appreciate the encouragement.

Pinetree.. What are feeler gauges?

How to use feeler gauges and set neck relief by yours truly...



Also, this a is a great resource for learning setups...

fendercustomersupport.microsoftcrmportals.com/en-us/knowledgebase/article/KA-01939

And of course the friendly folks here at this very interweb outpost are a gold mine of wonderful knowledge, and commiserations when you drop a screwdriver point side down on the guitar top. 

Nice video Drkev. I recall a previous conversation about capo'ing directly on top of the first fret as opposed to behind it (as one would when using the capo for it's more common purpose). I've been doing it that way ever since as capo'ing the traditional way does seem to lift the string a tiny bit, especially with larger fret wire.

I bought this cheap gauge from Amazon for setting action, measure string height when slotting nuts, etc. Its been pretty useful. On the other hand I've found radius gauges pretty useless, lol.

a.co/d/2TZwMgN

My attempts at setting bridge saddles with radius gauges almost always results in action higher than I want on the inside strings. Yes, I'm using the correct radius gauges. And yes, it's probably user error.

Yes, that is best practice for the most accurate measurement. That said, I didn't include it because I didn't want to add any unnecessary complication to the video, it won't change your measurement by more than a click or two at most, and as long as you do the same thing each time it really doesn't matter. Same goes for choosing which frets to depress and measure at. Just pick 'em and do that all the time and you're good to go.

I have a plastic set. If I remember correctly, it came with the "Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" book.

Honestly, it's good enough for me. All I've ever used them for is setting the radius of bridge saddles.

Rearming myself after a twenty-year hiatus from playing guitar, I found myself in your shoes. I discovered the old FDP close to its inception and took full advantage of the wealth of knowledge there. Twenty-plus years later, I’ve got feeler gauges, fret files, radius gauges, and more. Moe’s continues the tradition and I continue to learn.

You can do it!

At the risk of derailing the thread I'm curious Pinetree at your process with the radius gauges. This is the way I've tried with varying results. After setting relief, I've set preferred string height on the high and low E's. Setting the appropriate radius gauge just in front of the saddles the two strings now act as the end of the arc. Raise/lower the A,D,G,B strings accordingly until they just come in contact with the bottom of the gauge. Is this your process? Somehow I always end up with what feels like too dramatic of a string radius and measuring height of those internal strings at the 12th/17th frets often confirms it.

Not that it really matters as I'm quite comfortable setting action measuring string height the old fashion way. I'm just tired of giving my radius gauges the stink eye.

UPDATE: So, after some delays due work deadlines and job-related forced march across the country, I finally took an Allen key the bridge on my Tele and lowered the action. I found it difficult to use the ruler, radius gauges etc., so I eye-balled it. For now.

Here's the good news: Everything seems fine. I'm much closer to the action I'd been hoping for, there are no buzzes, and I didn't break anything. I'm going to head back in and try to get the details right over the next few days. I'll probably take it in to my local shop for a critique and further advice. But so far, so good. Thanks for all the support!

The only time I use a radius gauge is when a client asks me what the radius is on their guitar neck.

I set up string height (action) by measuring the gap between the strings and the top of the 12th fret. When the action is adjusted in this manner, the bridge saddles' radius is perfectly set for the frets' radius.

If you don't have a .012" thickness gauge to measure neck relief (forward bow, measured at the 8th fret), you can use a short piece of .012" guitar string. Works great. For string action measured at the 12th fret, you can use gauged drills ("bits")--the smooth round end, not the fluted end.

When measuring nut action, you want between .018" and .020" between the strings and the top of the 1st fret. If you don't have a .020" thickness gauge, a guitar string works. An even easier way to check is to lightly fret each string at the 3rd fret, making sure the string contacts the 2nd fret. While holding this, look closely at the gap between the string and the 1st fret. There should be about .004" (the thickness of a Post-it note) there.