iskim86 Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 and it's too late for an exchange because I already filed the fret ends down (horrible fret job so i touched it up a bit) so since i can't return it anymore I should just use it to practice fretting.... (unless I send it in and they don't notice that I filed the fret ends down) and the frets are too small for me anyway I don't want to spend a whole load of money on something I rarely do. what are the bare minimum equipment I need? I obviously need fret wire. I have access to a mallet, but no press (i'll just hammer them in maybe). i got my abrasives I just don't have a way to bend these frets or crown or level them. what else should I use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeviJames Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 hey iskim86, i dont have experience with refretting fretboards, but i have some experience making them. The only tools i have for fretting is a hammer, a small block of wood ( a small rubber mallet would be much better to use) and a piece of mdf cut to the radius of the fretboard. Now, I dont know what you would do to go about taking out the frets without ripping the wood bad, but to get new ones in shouldnt be too hard to do with the tools i listed above. I generally order 6 ft of fretwire from stew-mac, and then i bring it to my bending jig, which is simply a piece of mdf with a Convex curve of the fretboard radius on it, and a slot running down the center just a bit wider then the tang of the fret. I bend the frets by hand until it fits in the jig, with a very similar curve to it ( its not hard to do and doesnt take too much time, just be careful not to bend it sideways). After i have my fretwire bent, i start on the first fret, and line the fret up so i can cut the fretwire with only a small amount of extra fret on either side of the board. then i place my wooden block on top of the fret and carefully tap it in until it is snug down to the fretboard, and continue with all the frets. then i file down the sides of the frets level, and then bevel the edges by hand. Hopefully that process helps you, if not im sure someone else has ideas. That process made an almost perfect fretboard for my guitar, there was only 1 slightly high fret on the whole fretboard. Anyway, hope that helps. LeviJames Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iskim86 Posted June 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 hey iskim86, i dont have experience with refretting fretboards, but i have some experience making them. The only tools i have for fretting is a hammer, a small block of wood ( a small rubber mallet would be much better to use) and a piece of mdf cut to the radius of the fretboard. Now, I dont know what you would do to go about taking out the frets without ripping the wood bad, but to get new ones in shouldnt be too hard to do with the tools i listed above. I generally order 6 ft of fretwire from stew-mac, and then i bring it to my bending jig, which is simply a piece of mdf with a Convex curve of the fretboard radius on it, and a slot running down the center just a bit wider then the tang of the fret. I bend the frets by hand until it fits in the jig, with a very similar curve to it ( its not hard to do and doesnt take too much time, just be careful not to bend it sideways). After i have my fretwire bent, i start on the first fret, and line the fret up so i can cut the fretwire with only a small amount of extra fret on either side of the board. then i place my wooden block on top of the fret and carefully tap it in until it is snug down to the fretboard, and continue with all the frets. then i file down the sides of the frets level, and then bevel the edges by hand. Hopefully that process helps you, if not im sure someone else has ideas. That process made an almost perfect fretboard for my guitar, there was only 1 slightly high fret on the whole fretboard. Anyway, hope that helps. LeviJames thanks for the reply. your procedure sounds a lot like the method shown in the fretting tutorial at the project guitar site. how do i make the MDF template perfectly curved though? also, stewmac sells the frets in 2 feets lengths. would it be enough for a 24 fret neck? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaam Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 The usual safe amount is 3x2feet like levijames said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Is it a maple (finished) board? If so you have much more work. If not you do like this: - place some masking tape alongside the edges of the fret (more about that later) - heat the fret with a soldering iron - pull the fret using a very sharp nipper that you wiggle under the fret. Do not use brut force! - carefully peel of the tape starting from the fret board edge. Examine the sticky side. If there are any chipping, stop, put a drop of CA on the chip and press the tape/chip back. When dry continue - lightly sand the board with a radiuses block to preferred grit - measure the depth of the fret slots so that they are deep enough for the new frets - if not deepen them with a saw with a blade of appropriate thickness - then proceed like an “ordinary” fret install Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iskim86 Posted June 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 that sounds like a real pain in the ass! since I don't want to radiu my frets, would this be a good choice? http://cgi.ebay.com/Genuine-Fender-Jumbo-G...VQQcmdZViewItem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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