My first Re-Fret job.. Tiss the season; oh Joy!!

[giogolf]

So over the last 4 years, I have been reinvigorated by the guitar.. Playing, learning and diving deeper into the repairs of instruments owned by me and friends and referrals.. This forum (honorable mention to Freeman Keller) and other online sources have made it possible for me to tackle jobs that I wouldn't have done myself 20 years ago (building a nut, leveling frets, repairing a neck with a maxed out truss, etc...) But I haven't tackled a full re-fret, let alone dare do it on an a acoustic.

one of my very first guitars was given to me 30 years ago by my Aunt, its a Maderia A-1 (000 Style) made in Japan in the very early 70s. Some of you may know this guitar; its very cheap, and most are dogs, but this one is special to me for many reasons.. It actually sounds pretty good, and is my go to guitar that just floats around the house and gets played a lot.

Well, its a bear to play, action is very high and frets are super tiny.. A recipe for pain.. But, when I can nail a lick or a song on this guitar, its like cheating when I play it on my Electric.

Okay okay, so I figure its time to breath new life into this thing.. New bone nut, bone saddle and Stainless Medium Jumbo frets (I never want to re-fret it again )

I didn't take step by step photos, but will post a few here and there ( Im not a YouTube influence'er, I dont have the patience for documenting my life in photo and video

Here is what Ive done so far:

1. Assessment, recorded all the measurement for future reference. Take note of any notable damage.
2. Remove the frets with Soldering iron and Solder. They heated up, once there was a hint of steam I used my nifty nippers to lift the frets, slide under my protective shield and gently pull the rest out.. Surprisingly I have not tear out.
3. Measure the level of the fret board, tweaked the truss rod just a bit to get me close to level, then with some 120 leveled the board making sure I gave even strokes up and down to not mess up the radius. Finished up with some 220 and then a quick hit with some steel wool. Blew out the board, vacuumed and a bit of mineral spirit clean up.
3b. I dont have a fret saw, so I used a pick and a nut file to clean the slots out making sure I did not make the slot and larger than it needed to be.
4. I decided to use medium CA instead of Fish or Hide glue ( I really wanted to try the stuff, but didn't feel like ordering it as it will go to waste before I used most of it. I also decided to tap in the frets with a hard plastic hammer until I got the 12th wear I would press them in..
5. The fret board measured at 16" radius, so I had my frets pre-radiused to 14" to give a little more bite on the fret ends.
6. Starting at the 1st, and working my way down doing the following procedure : Glue in the slot, Press the fret in by hand, tap the left side in, then the right side, then go back to the left and tap across, back and forth until I heard a consistent sound and the fret was evenly flush to the board.. I then wiped the residue with Acetone and clamped the fret for 2 min..

12 frets down.. No Ill rig a C-Clamp to press in the rest.

Did I mention that I did not buy anything special to do this.. No fancy fret saws, or fret press and whatever that $1000 plate thingy that looks like a horses saddle that you mount on the body and brace the neck with.. This aint no Martin, fancy guitar.. I just used common sense not to man handle it to much and vibrate or bang it to hell..

 

[giogolf]

Hit the post button to soon.. One more picture..

Today, Ill tackle the 13th and up with a rigged clamp-press thingy..

BTW, lots of shadows in the picture.. those frets are flush and not lifted I verified with a .0016" feeler guide..

 

[Boreas]

Hit the post button to soon.. One more picture..

Today, Ill tackle the 13th and up with a rigged clamp-press thingy..

BTW, lots of shadows in the picture.. those frets are flush and not lifted I verified with a .0016" feeler guide..

Great job tackling an acoustic! Sounds like you picked a good project. Will you be incorporating some fall-away on the frets?

I like the idea of using a RidgeRest for a pad!! I like my StewMac pad, but it is small and collects grit easily. With the RidgeRest, I would expect most debris would fall in the crevices.

Keep us posted!

 

[giogolf]

Great job tackling an acoustic! Sounds like you picked a good project. Will you be incorporating some fall-away on the frets?

I like the idea of using a RidgeRest for a pad!! I like my StewMac pad, but it is small and collects grit easily. With the RidgeRest, I would expect most debris would fall in the crevices.

Keep us posted!

The RidgeRest was a happy accident in how I ended up using it, it definitely that helps me not scratch my friends instruments Yes, little filings or small pieces of wire that I miss with the shop vac, usually fall deep enough into the ridges that they will not touch the instruments I work on..

Following Freemans instructions, I really focused on getting the fretboard nice and level first, so a full fret level will be minimal if any at all.. I dropped a level on the 1-12 that I completed already and its dead flat in the center so far.. I had to remove a hair of rosewood from the highend of the fretboard as I think over the years it started to lift a bit, but was never noticeable with the action set to 6/64ths..

Hopefully with the extra meet and level playing field I can get a buzz free 4/64ths action when all is said and done, we will see..

And yes, I will fallaway the fret 14 and on, and possibly a bit on the High and Low E up and down the board if needed..

Something to note, for those who are tackling this job with SS frets.. They are hard as rock Filing the ends is long process ( I already experiments on one of them)

TO bad heat is the enemy, otherwise a Dremel would be nice to knock back 95% of them.. Oh well, I am just enjoying the journey

 

[Freeman Keller]

You rock! I've pretty much give up on pressing the upper frets, instead I've got a little hunk of steel that I hold inside against the top and gently hammer them in. I'm not as worried about having them as seated as the lower frets, I can file if I have to. Actually lots of guitars I don't bother to replace the frets above the body joint, they are rarely worn and most people don't play up there. A little fall away is fine, the hump at the joint is always problematic.

Good job.

 

[giogolf]

You rock! I've pretty much give up on pressing the upper frets, instead I've got a little hunk of steel that I hold inside against the top and gently hammer them in. I'm not as worried about having them as seated as the lower frets, I can file if I have to. Actually lots of guitars I don't bother to replace the frets above the body joint, they are rarely worn and most people don't play up there. A little fall away is fine, the hump at the joint is always problematic.

Good job.

Thank you Sir!

I considered leaving the 14 and on alone, but I notice the 15th was proud and wouldn't sit right.. So I figure, let me dive in the deep end and do the whole thing as a full learning experience..

I ended up radiusing a block of maple-ply and with a flat piece under the fret board through the sound hole I was able to start the 13 and on without a hitch so far.. fingers crossed..

I have mixed feelings with tapping the frets in on the 1-12.. Its easy, but I keep second guessing myself as I tap them in, plus the glassy CA wicking out looks like a shadow and appears that as I tap once side the other pops a bit.. I think I prefer pressing them in.. And my next job, Ill experiment by pressing them all in with my jig..

That all being said, the ones I tapped in are all flush... so it maybe all in my head I do kinda like the idea of leaving the press in place for a minute to let the CA really grab on as well..

 

[Freeman Keller]

I press whenever I can, new fretboards and Fenders, with necks on guitars I usually have to hammer. Stainless seems to want to pop up worse than nickel, I do over radius slightly (by eye, I don't measure). I use CA on everything now but hide and AR are fine too.

When you clip the ends keep some downward pressure on your nippers so you don't pull them up, same when you file the ends - slightly downward strokes.

But you are doing great and I'm proud of you for taking this on

 

[giogolf]

I press whenever I can, new fretboards and Fenders, with necks on guitars I usually have to hammer. Stainless seems to want to pop up worse than nickel, I do over radius slightly (by eye, I don't measure). I use CA on everything now but hide and AR are fine too.

When you clip the ends keep some downward pressure on your nippers so you don't pull them up, same when you file the ends - slightly downward strokes.

But you are doing great and I'm proud of you for taking this on

Tracking.. pushing down lightly while nipping and also only filing downward to not lift the frets..

I made sure the frets were over radiused a bit to creating a pinching effect so they stay seated

 

[Boreas]

Regarding a Dremel for knocking back the fret ends - have you considered using a heat sink? Perhaps a damp sponge? Perhaps a capo with the rubber removed to get metal-metal contact? Pretty unorthodox, but it works with soldering - keeping parts cool.

 

[giogolf]

Regarding a Dremel for knocking back the fret ends - have you considered using a heat sink? Perhaps a damp sponge? Perhaps a capo with the rubber removed to get metal-metal contact? Pretty unorthodox, but it works with soldering - keeping parts cool.

Im sure I could rig something up.. but thus far there haven’t been any hiccups, so Ill continue doing it all by hand.. It mindful therapy in the shop

 

[Boreas]

Im sure I could rig something up.. but thus far there haven’t been any hiccups, so Ill continue doing it all by hand.. It mindful therapy in the shop

Is the file staying sharp?

 

[giogolf]

Is the file staying sharp?

Yes, the file is very sharp and good quality from an old machinist set that was given to me.. The issue is the nippers I am using doesn’t cut the frets as close as purpose built flush nippers would..

I am probably dealing 1.2mm of SS that needs to be filed..

If I had to do this job for someone else Id buy a better pair of nippers for sure

 

[giogolf]

Ok.. So phase 2..

Frets 12-20 are all pressed in and curing nicely.
Most of the board has been cleaned of residual CA glue
Most of the frets have been nipped on the ones that cured for 24 hours
Started filing the fret ends.. As mentioned above, with SS these are taking a bit longer.. probably double the time of Nickel frets.

Here are 3 more pictures..
First is all the frets installed
Second is what is left with my not so close cutting nippers
Third is after 5 minutes of filing one fret

 

[giogolf]

Phase 3 and its break time...
All frets nipped
All angled and edged at a 45ish.. no share edges on the side by the dot markers or shoulder, whichever the correct term is
Checked for level and very surprised that 1-13 where bang on ( well not that surprised as I followed Freemans instructions to get the Fretboard close to perfect first)
Fret 15 for whatever reason had a high spot on the high E. After close inspection the Fret slot wasn't deep enough.. Its okay though, I cant play beyond the 15th really and a little fall-a-way leveling on the Low E and High Side made it look tip top.
I oiled the board with the Mineral Oil ( I usually don't do this) but I wiped it with Acetone a few times to get the glue off before it dried so I figure give it a little oil, but it will be the last time most likely..

Some more pictures... ( Tomorrow will be Nut work and Saddle) Oh, and I need a decent file to dress the ends of the frets.. I may actually buy this or get the grinder out and knock the corners of my triangle file.. We will see..

 

[Freeman Keller]

.....Fret 15 for whatever reason had a high spot on the high E. After close inspection the Fret slot wasn't deep enough.....

This can happen for a variety of reasons - sanding dust or something in the slot, too much sanding on the board, and believe it or not, different fret wire has different depths of tangs, even from the same manufacturer. I make a little tool out of a piece of the wire that I'm going to use - make a cut and bend it into a L shape and file the barbs off. Run it back and forth in each slot - if it goes all the way down to the crown then your fret will too

The board in that picture happens to be bound - I'll run the little tool up against the binding to make sure it is completely clean

 

[giogolf]

This can happen for a variety of reasons - sanding dust or something in the slot, too much sanding on the board, and believe it or not, different fret wire has different depths of tangs, even from the same manufacturer. I make a little tool out of a piece of the wire that I'm going to use - make a cut and bend it into a L shape and file the barbs off. Run it back and forth in each slot - if it goes all the way down to the crown then your fret will too

View attachment 1064133

The board in that picture happens to be bound - I'll run the little tool up against the binding to make sure it is completely clean

This is brilliant as always.. I assume these are things you pickup as the years of experience pile on.. same with woodworking and making jigs for certain tasks...

 

[Freeman Keller]

This is brilliant as always.. I assume these are things you pickup as the years of experience pile on.. same with woodworking and making jigs for certain tasks...

I don't remember where I picked that up but I do it for every fret I install. Another little trick is that an Xacto knife blade is right at 0.020 thick which is perfect for cleaning out slots. And StewMac sells a little fretting file with a very short cutting section, it will get right in next to binding

Get every bit of that sanding dust out before trying to install the new ones

 

[Wildeman]

Nice, I haven't done a refret yet but I'm doing a fretboard for my '32 Dobro, it's original basically disintegrated. It should be a fairly easy fret job being that it's flat but I'm always looking for tips.
I'm thinking to fret it before I glue it to the neck, I also may add some carbon fiber rods so I can play standard guitar or raised nut Dobro, those raised nuts will ruin a neck.

 

[Freeman Keller]

Nice, I haven't done a refret yet but I'm doing a fretboard for my '32 Dobro, it's original basically disintegrated. It should be a fairly easy fret job being that it's flat but I'm always looking for tips.
I'm thinking to fret it before I glue it to the neck, I also may add some carbon fiber rods so I can play standard guitar or raised nut Dobro, those raised nuts will ruin a neck.

Wilde, my 1932 type 27 Dobro does have a bound board which makes refretting quite a bit harder, and yes the f/b is flat but I would still put a very slight radius in the wire to help hold the ends down

 

[Wildeman]

Wilde, my 1932 type 27 Dobro does have a bound board which makes refretting quite a bit harder, and yes the f/b is flat but I would still put a very slight radius in the wire to help hold the ends down

Thanks, no binding anywhere on mine to contend with. I bought a pre sloted 25" maple board from stew Mac that I'm going to dye with India ink like the original. Should I dye it and install the dots before frets? Seems like I should.
Mine is in pieces but it is this exact model.