Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Yeah you really need to start with level and crowned before any decent setup can happen. Especially when it comes to fine tuning the classic Ric tone. The lower you go the more problems will start showing themselves.
Continued success.

I'm awaiting the delivery of some luthier tools to level and dress my frets on my 1982 4001. The process MUST start, it seems, with making sure the fingerboard is FLAT as possible. I've successfully adjusted my truss rods to really flatten them with strings on, but to work the frets properly, I need to make sure it's flat with the strings OFF. So, once my tools arrive, I will:

1. Remove my strings.
2. Clamp the body down to a stable workbench.
3. Use the fret straightedge (with notches) purchased from https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OFEYVIY?ps ... ct_details to make any last minute adjustments to make my neck as straight and true as possible.
4. Mask off all the fretboard material to protect the finish/wood during fret-leveling.
5. Use a fret rocker tool to see which frets are high and low and decide what needs to be done to level them as much as possible in relationship to each other.
6. Mark all frets with a sharpie atop them to see where material is removed.
7. Start by using a fret file to remove material carefully and slowly.
8. Double and triple check with the fret rocker tool.
9. Reapply marker to the tops of the frets and then sand with a fret leveling beam and some very high grit sandpaper.
10. Reapply marker to the tops of each fret and use the crowning file to crown the fret profiles properly.
11. Cross sand the frets to round them all slightly with some 400 grit.
12. Check with fret rocker again, everywhere.
13. Use some 0000 steel wool to brighten and do the first round of polish on the frets.
14. Follow up with some fret dressing rubber erasers to brighten and shine them even more.

That's my game plan for my fret-leveling. However, I'm also doing this:

15. Removing the old tailpiece
16. Use template that shipped with the 4003V2 tailpiece to drill #41 pilot holes for tailpiece components.
17. Reconnect grounding wire (some options here).
18. Restring with OPTIMA RB Flatwounds.

Play.

I’ll do a lot on my basses but fretwork is not one I’m willing to take on. If I screw it up then gonna have to do a refret which opens a whole other can of beans. Especially on a clear coated, bound Ric reck. So I am thankful I know a tech I can trust and who prices fairly so I can just have him do it.
However, if I was on my own and had to do it myself I would. Sounds like you have researched well. So I’m sure you will do great and learn new skills to boot!
Only thing I would suggest is use guitar sanding pads and not steel wool. Especially if your board is not finished like some of the newer rics are.

lumgimfong wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 5:43 pm I’ll do a lot on my basses but fretwork is not one I’m willing to take on. If I screw it up then gonna have to do a refret which opens a whole other can of beans. Especially on a clear coated, bound Ric reck. So I am thankful I know a tech I can trust and who prices fairly so I can just have him do it.
However, if I was on my own and had to do it myself I would. Sounds like you have researched well. So I’m sure you will do great and learn new skills to boot!
Only thing I would suggest is use guitar sanding pads and not steel wool. Especially if your board is not finished like some of the newer rics are.

Oh, my fingerboard finished wood will all be protected with masking tape. Only the frets will be visible, so I'm running no risk of damaging the finish on the wood.

Cool! Let us know how it works out! Curious to know what you find works well for the job!

I will post my results. FWIW, I've been a woodworker for a long time and am pretty good with working with materials and tools, so I'm not jumping into this effort cold. I'm like 99.99% sure my bass will turn out fine.

Bighouse wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 8:12 pm I will post my results. FWIW, I've been a woodworker for a long time and am pretty good with working with materials and tools, so I'm not jumping into this effort cold. I'm like 99.99% sure my bass will turn out fine.

Pics of some of your work?

jps wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:01 pm

Bighouse wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 8:12 pm I will post my results. FWIW, I've been a woodworker for a long time and am pretty good with working with materials and tools, so I'm not jumping into this effort cold. I'm like 99.99% sure my bass will turn out fine.

Pics of some of your work?

Well, lately all of my woodworking has been for stuff around the house- more carpentry like work than fine woodworking.

Here’s a sample: https://imgur.com/UIWgGVJ

Imgur has not been working for me for a couple years, now; all I get is a blank grey screen.

Here are some examples of the woodworking/carpentry that I was involved with for our house renovation projects over the past 10 years. We had contractors but I did all the design work and helped them with the actual construction. One example of that is the rough framer and I installed the pocket doors as I was very particular with how that went. The wainscoting in the dining room was also a very hands on thing for me; we never had wainscoting in the room and I wanted it match my ideas exactly. I even made full scale drawings of the wainscoting on the walls to get the proportions correct (on the old walls and on the new walls, these were gut renovations).

Here is second set of drawings of the wainscoting after the new walls were in place.
Notice how flat they are, kind of like this discussion of flat necks.

Nice work! I've done a lot of finish carpentry here at my place- as well as the rough carpentry, plumbing, electrical, sheetrocking, taping/mudding, painting, staining, flooring, tilework, cabinetry, casework, landscaping, irrigation...the list goes on and on...and STILL there's more work to do.

If IMGUR isn't working for you, I'll see if I can figure out how to attach the image of that gate from my post above.
And, to keep it on topic, the neck on the moongate is flat in the forward/aft direction, but has some serious curvature in the port/starboard directions.

This is another one of my time-sucking hobbies. I like to make things.

Cool, kind of a variation of a Japanese moon gate.

Our next door neighbor need a good contractor, I'll give him your card. (you do work along the Lake Erie shoreline area, right - the South shore )?

Bighouse wrote: Thu Jul 07, 2022 11:51 am This is another one of my time-sucking hobbies. I like to make things.
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You're an Avenger?!?!?!?!?

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You're an Avenger?!?!?!?!?
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I wish. No. A wannabe Mandalorian.