Refretting a guitar

[JamesRaven23]

Hey evryone,

I have an RG520 guitar and the top three frets on my 3rd string buzz .. the frets have some wear so I assume that's the problem. I was wondering if most guitar players would refret their own guitars or if most take it to a shop to be refretted... How much does it usually cost to have a few frets replaced?.. and what it cost to have the whole neck refretted? I was also wondering if it's possible to fill a dimple in a fret using super glue, sauter, perhaps JB Weld glue?

Thank you,

James

[Brian]

From what I've heard out in the field the average guitar player will either sell it, take it to a shop and have somebody fix it or buy a replacement neck for it.

The going rate around here (central Florida is between $12-15 a fret) but I have heard prices anywhere from $200-400 to refret a neck, Thats why I'd rather do it myself and spend the money on something else

Never thought about the JB weld thing, you could try as long as you can crown and level it, might be a quick fix for you personally.............

[Southpa]

There are some sources of info in the reference section about fret wear as well as other places on the net. Perhaps all you might need is a fret dressing. You could do it yourself, but that depends on how handy you figure you are. I have some reservations about JB Weld for this application. Its a great material, I've even repaired my neighbor's leaky gas tank with the stuff. But I don't think it would stand up to the abrasive lbs/sq. in. applied by guitar strings over time. Same goes for superglue and "solder".

Its a learning experience and that basically starts by lots of reading. Here is a good place to begin: http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/pagelist.html

[JamesRaven23]

Well, spending 200 bucks to have it refretted really isnt on option for me (my entire guitar was half that)... I just started playing a couple of months ago. I'm not very good yet and I dont have much expendable cash either, so I dont want to invest too much money in it right now. The second string has more wear than the third and it doesnt buzz at all.. so I think I'm going to try adjusting the bridge height a bit and maybe try using different gauge strings. I'm kinda nervous about refretting it myself because I'm not much of a craftsman .. I'd probably end up gauging the fretboard while removing one of the frets. Thanks for the links on fret dressing, I'll look into it. Hopefully it's something I can do without screwing up.

Thanks,

James

[PiousPoet]

You may not need to refret your neck. That started happening to me and I didn't need to refret. The thing is, if the divots aren't too deep, you can have them sand down the frets and recrown them. i had that done for about $75. It's different froma refret as instead of removing and replacing the frets, they are just sanded and recrowned.

[sinner16]

Yeah.. I can see that... But also... crowning will take some of the height away from the existing fret. That may make the fret(s) to low for the specific playing style.... That may be a problem... or maybe not.... I've never re fretted... nor crowned.. Yet.... I am about to blow the $100.00 or so bucks on the crowning file set from Universal Jems though.... so take my comments witha grain of salt...lol. Crownin can do the trick for ya... Re fretting is a lot of $$$$ or time and practice if you are going to do it yourself. Do you plan on doing other guitars or just one ? I cant see spending the time + $$$$ + materials+ practice..... for just one re-frett !!!!!?! My point is ... I once paid a (big chain store) $135.00 just to set up a Les Paul .. which really only needed strings and to be intonitated..... From that day foward... I didn't care how long it took me... or the $$$ I spent..... I would try and do my own work ( whatever theat may be) to my own stuff!!!!!! Oh by the way... anyone got any practice necks ?????? Something that I could just practice using a press to put frets in ?????

[PiousPoet]

Yes you will have to take into account how much fret will be ground away, but usually, it isn't bad unless you have very deep divots such as from heavy capo use.

[soapbarstrat]

I assume " top 3" are the ones near the nut. It's very common for just a few frets to be replaced, and then all leveled.

If done right, it will make the guitar play better than before, and make you a better player, faster. This is exactly the kind of thing that sets the pros apart from the guy who finds his guitar so hard to play, he only takes it out of the closet when he gets an extreme urge to play it. Although many just give it up.