bassman Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 I have not been able to find to much information on refretting a maple board, so any tips would be appreciated. I will be refretting my friends 68 Strat reissue (japan '98), I have never refretted a guitar before, I have only fretted my basses. My main concern is with minimizing damage to the finished maple fboard, I would also like to avoid having to make a new nut. I dont have nut files, as I always build my basses with zero frets, and I am not gooing to buy them at this point. I plan on shimming the nut a little higher if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 How about not using your friend's good guitar for experimental purposes ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 I have not been able to find to much information on refretting a maple board, so any tips would be appreciated. I will be refretting my friends 68 Strat reissue (japan '98), I have never refretted a guitar before, I have only fretted my basses. My main concern is with minimizing damage to the finished maple fboard, I would also like to avoid having to make a new nut. I dont have nut files, as I always build my basses with zero frets, and I am not gooing to buy them at this point. I plan on shimming the nut a little higher if needed. ← First off, you should really practice on a cheap guitar first before getting yourself in too deep and end up having to pay to get your friends guitar fixed if you mess it up. I'm not saying you can't fix it, but without the proper tools, you'd be better off to pass this job up. Some older Fender fret jobs, was done by sliding the fret from the sides, so if you try to pry them straight out, you'll make a mess out of the fingerboard, with tons of chips. The reissue though has been fretted with a press though, so you should be able to use a soldering gun to heat the fret and fret pullers to pry them up slowly. As far as the nut goes, you will need to make a new one for the new fret job height, more than likely. So, I'd advise you buying some tools to slot nuts if your going to do the job. I think you could do it, but don't do it if your not confident in what your doing or don't have all the proper tools. Matt Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 First off, let me echo the comments above. If you don't have the right tools you probably shouldn't try and tackle the job. I'm not saying it can't be done but your chances are 10x better with the correct equipment. here's a tip for you though, take a razor blade and slide it along the fret to score the clearcoat that is still likely to be attached to the frets.since the necks are cleared after they're fretted. Dan Erliwine covers this in the StewMac Fretting book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted October 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 I am confident in my abilities, and we both (guitar ower and I) have an understanding that I have built some killer basses with excellent "playing" fret jobs(but certainly not the prettiest frets), but that this will be a first- and therefore a learning experience. At worst he will end up with a fret job that plays well, yet obviously looks like a refret, with minor chipping and finish damage. He plays he guitars very well and often, his playing has already inflictedd more wear damage on his fretboard through the finish than I could possibly cause. This is without a doubt his "cheapest" axe, and he has not played it for years. As for his 58' Strat orginal, I dont want to even polish that thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 Let me chime my .02. If you got the tool for fretting your basses, they are the same for the guitar, I would consider gitting the nut files for guitar too. Like your friend, you might get more people that will like the job done and the tools will pay for themself in 2 or 3 jobs. I have done a few level jobs but never a full refret, because I didn't had the tools... that changed and I got close to $300 worth of fretting and nut tools on my way. On to the maple board! I would take the frets out, radius sand the board until itls clean and true. shot a coat or 2 of clear to seal the grain and don't let the glue stick to the boars while glueing. After this is dry clean the fret slots with a Xacto knife,(with a curved blade if possible) after this fret, bevel, level, crown and polish the frets (taking extremely care not to stain the board... once this is done, either paint the neck with or without covering the frets. I did mine covering the crown of the frets only, this way you don't need to worry about cleaning the laquer later. This is the pic of the guitar, I can't find closeups of the neck, and this guitar is dead right now! Good luck with what ever you decide to do, but I still think that you need to aquiere the right tools for the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 At worst he will end up with a fret job that plays well, yet obviously looks like a refret, Can this really go hand in hand? I have no idea really but my understanding is that it cant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 Can this really go hand in hand? I have no idea really but my understanding is that it cant. ← Jup! Nice, even, shiny frets with a chipped fret board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 And a fret job can also *look* perfect, but actually be far from perfect in how the guitar plays. I know, because some of my early fret-jobs were like that. Of course there were the ones that looked like crap *and* played like crap, like my first fret-job on a maple board Fender. Please take me back to 1987 so I can kick a young soapbar's butt , before he does it the wrong way ! (he'll probably kick my butt for calling him soapbar, because he thought all single-coil pickups were for girls) Frets on a *reissue* are probably not "sideways installed". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPL Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 Sorry to stray off topic but I have a '66 Mustang in need of a fret job. Would those be slid in from the side? I'll probably leave that one up to someone who knows what they're doing anyway, I'd hate to butcher that beautifully worn neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hasa Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 Is there any way to tell just by looking if the frets have been "sideways installed", or if they have been put in normally? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 Is there any way to tell just by looking if the frets have been "sideways installed", or if they have been put in normally? ← Not really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 If you havent refretted a maple fretboard before, i would suggest trying on some cheaper guitar first. Maple vs rosewood/ebony are two TOTAL different refret jobs, REGARDLESS of the finish that a maple board often requires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 Is there any way to tell just by looking if the frets have been "sideways installed", or if they have been put in normally? ← I haven't worked on such a situation since I've thought of this, but it's fairly possible that on a "sideways job" you're going to see "barb tracks" on the edge of every single fret, on both sides of the tang, on the edge of the neck (both sides) Also, if you are able to tap just one fret sideways, and get it to move at least 1/8" , you should then be able to tell, from whether or not you see barb trails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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