How hard is it to do a refret?

[old geezer]

I have an older Gibson (yeah, I know...... we should be talking about Tele's) that I would like to try a refret on. How bad of an idea is this? I haven't ever done something like this before, but would like to learn. Because I haven't had any experience with this kind of stuff, I have a number of questions:
1) Because this is a Gibson, is the removal process any different than if it were a Fender?
2) How hard is it to remove the old frets?
3) Once the frets are removed, how do I reinstall the new ones, and
4) I've heard the phrase "leveling the frets". How do I make sure mine are leveled?

I know this is a LOT to discuss, and perhaps my idea just isn't a good one and I should have a pro do the job. I sure would like to learn how to do it myself, though!
Thanks to all.

[petebradt]

Pay a pro. Frets are not something to be undertaken by amateurs.

[maestrovert]

Originally Posted by petebradt

Pay a pro. Frets are not something to be undertaken by amateurs.

+1
i wouldn't attempt a refret on that old Gibson of yours if i were you !

Trust me, you'll be much better off finding a cheap off brand beater guitar to practice refretting on....

[Rock on]

how old is it? Vintage?

[TELEkinetic]

Visit Rob DiStefano's page and view the INFO tab.

Rob is a member here and was kind enought to share his techniques for all the world to view.

FWIW, It is very informative, but if it is a vintage job I'd leave it to a pro or even leave it alone as to not destroy the value.

[Ronkirn]

Removing the frets often will cause the fingerboard to chip. This requires talent to repair correctly. If the Fingerboard is bound as it often the case on Gibsons, the frets must be notched to fit the fret slot between the binding.

This is not a job for the Apprentice and best left to the pro.

Ron Kirn

[eryque]

I learned to do my own fret jobs, though I'm still working on getting them to play totally buzz-free.

It is not an insurmountable task, though it does require an investment in tools. I got a couple of cheap necks to practice on and did 3 practice jobs before attempting my own. In the end, the investment in tools cost about 3/4 as much as a pro refret would have cost. It was worthwhile only because I intended to start building more guitars and it seemed like a fun hobby.

I found that you can save a few dollars here and there on the tools, but good tools make it *much* easier to do a good job.

[Wop Geronimo]

I keep a few crap necks and bodies around to learn such things on. I would say stay with the pros until you practice on a junker some.

[eryque]

I forgot to mention that I learned entirely from from Rob D.'s website frettech.com and Frank Ford's website frets.com. Tons of good info there.

If you decide to proceed and don't have a drill press you can use to press the frets in, let me know and I'll show you the tool I made. I found that I couldn't hammer the frets in evenly and kept getting kinks in them, but I found a cheap way to fix that.

[old geezer]

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I will leave the refret job to a pro and concentrate on learning other things.

[Dookychase]

You can buy Dan Erlewine's guitar repair courses at Stewmac.com or you can rent them from smartflix.com

Its worth renting just to see how its done even if you never do it yourself.

[Lostheart]

Contrary to what some say, I don't think that refretting a guitar neck is rocket science. Albert Collins refretted his famous Tele all by himself because he couldn't wait a couple of days/weeks for it to get back from the shop.
I'd say get a good book on the topic (or study some websites) and get the proper tools and practice on an old crap neck...
After all...most of the Pro's taught themselves to fret/refret at some point...

[d. meyers]

Originally Posted by Lostheart

Contrary to what some say, I don't think that refretting a guitar neck is rocket science. Albert Collins refretted his famous Tele all by himself because he couldn't wait a couple of days/weeks for it to get back from the shop.
I'd say get a good book on the topic (or study some websites) and get the proper tools and practice on an old crap neck...
After all...most of the Pro's taught themselves to fret/refret at some point...

I supose after the first 15 or 20 you can do it well consistently. But would you practice on a vintage piece? Pros don't usually teach themselves, they have a teacher (who fixes the first 15-20 screwy jobs).

[elgorgon]

Originally Posted by Lostheart

Contrary to what some say, I don't think that refretting a guitar neck is rocket science.

I agree - it's not rocket science, it's luthiery.
It can be done on your first try, but be prepared for a significant investment of your time if you want it done right. This was my first full refret:
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...n/Pine%20Tele/
It took about 80 hours of my time.
Also, everything eryque says is true.

[gtech]

The last time I checked for the price of a refret job, it was costing me less to buy a new neck than to pay for the refret...

So I decided I would try my hand on the cheaper necks I have someday, and will see later for the better necks that are worth paying for a refret.

Gilles

[Lostheart]

Originally Posted by d. meyers

I supose after the first 15 or 20 you can do it well consistently. But would you practice on a vintage piece? Pros don't usually teach themselves, they have a teacher (who fixes the first 15-20 screwy jobs).

I agree, a vintage piece should not be the first project to practice fretting on.

Originally Posted by elgorgon

I agree - it's not rocket science, it's luthiery.
It can be done on your first try, but be prepared for a significant investment of your time if you want it done right. This was my first full refret:
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...n/Pine%20Tele/
It took about 80 hours of my time.

Gorgeous guitar...I bet you were all smiles after it was finished. Send it over to my place so I can inspect how well the refret was done! ;-)

[Paul G.]

1. Put guitar in case.

2. Take it to professional.

3. Go home.

4. Go back to shop.

5. Test out guitar.

6. Count out the money.

7. Go home.

[Ronkirn]

OK... since this is going on and on on on.... buy one of those strange necks available on ebay, for a few bux... then refret the bugger.... If ya mess it up... Yank the frets out and do it again.... repeat till you feel confident....

or.....

1. Put guitar in case.

2. Take it to professional.

3. Go home.

4. Go back to shop.

5. Test out guitar.

6. Count out the money.

7. Go home.

Ron Kirn

[harlycarly]

There are several folks here that could probably do the job for you. Certainly Rob DiStefano. is one. DennisB is another. Pretty sure Dennis did an older Howard Roberts model Gibson for somebody here.

I'm glad you changed your mind. I would have hated to read the follow-up post.

[Southpaw433]

point is- getting it right the first time out - doing a fret job - is near impossible -and if you add up the tools you need - a pro doing it for you is a bargan.

[blacklinefish]

Just unbolt the neck and... wait, it's a Gibson. Getting a refret was one of the best things I did for my '79 Custom. I had a hump around the 7-10th frets, and a spatula (sudden flattening) around the 14th-16th frets where it meets the body. Oh, and it was twisted ever so slightly (even though it is not a one-piece neck). The luthier looked at it and said, "yup, looks like a Gibson." He guessed that the neck was probably in this condition when it left the factory.

He removed the frets, scraped down the nibs (I like bound necks, but not bound frets), planed down the entire fretboard (straightening out the three problems above), and reinstalled the frets with wonderful medium-large frets (rather than fretless wonders that were on there before). To top it off, he carved the best bone nut and polished it to a shiny luster. He had to remove several of the inlays above the 12th fret so that planing the fretboard wouldn't thin them too much. This meant he had to recut (deepen) some of those inlay slots!

Now the frets go to the edge of the neck (above the binding perfectly) and the action is very low. Everyone who has played it thinks it is one of the best (and best sounding) guitars they have had in their hands. Well, you know, except for Telecasters. The cost was $300. Since I have a light touch, I will probably not need new frets for another 30 years.

I've considered learning a little of this myself, but will start on a beater guitar (acoustic, actually). However, I want to start things out by learning how to make a nut. Maybe I'll start with acoustic saddles first.

--gh