Some Refretting Questions

[Donut Man]

I've decided to redo the fretting on my V build, even though they were all level after I did a fret job, I wasen't 100% happy with it and wanted to get it right. It's an Ebony board with 2mm white binding on both sides. I took the binding off one side and defretted it. I think my original problem was caused by:

a ) me hitting the frets ends too hard

b ) fretwire not pre-bent enough

c ) there was glue in the slots and a lot of tang had to be removed on a lot of the frets.

So, I've thought of a few solutions:

a ) Redo the other side with more 2mm white plastic binding, and try again, and hope It works properly this time.

b ) Remove the current binding, and replace it with some (curly) maple binding, clean out the slots, extending them through the binding and fret the guitar through the binding.

c ) Same as above but with black or ebony wood binding.

I'm not too bothered about the appearance, it's my first full build and I care far more about playability than about looks. Which is why I'm considering extending the tang through the binding. I know it semi-defeats the point of binding if the tangs come through the binding, but It looks like its been done before (the guy who wrote the neck tutorial seems to have done it) And it can't look worse than just a board without binding, especially if I use wooden binding.

Suggestions/advice anybody?

Edited May 27, 2008 by Donut Man

[Woodenspoke]

I've decided to redo the fretting on my V build, even though they were all level after I did a fret job, I wasen't 100% happy with it and wanted to get it right. It's an Ebony board with 2mm white binding on both sides. I took the binding off one side and defretted it. I think my original problem was caused by:

a ) me hitting the frets ends too hard

b ) fretwire not pre-bent enough

c ) there was glue in the slots and a lot of tang had to be removed on a lot of the frets.

So, I've thought of a few solutions:

a ) Redo the other side with more 2mm white plastic binding, and try again, and hope It works properly this time.

b ) Remove the current binding, and replace it with some (curly) maple binding, clean out the slots, extending them through the binding and fret the guitar through the binding.

c ) Same as above but with black or ebony wood binding.

I'm not too bothered about the appearance, it's my first full build and I care far more about playability than about looks. Which is why I'm considering extending the tang through the binding. I know it semi-defeats the point of binding if the tangs come through the binding, but It looks like its been done before (the guy who wrote the neck tutorial seems to have done it) And it can't look worse than just a board without binding, especially if I use wooden binding.

Suggestions/advice anybody?

Your V Build. You didn't clean the slots before fretting? But you did remove the tang which holds the the fret down. maybe you refer to a tang nipper over the binding.

I am not sure what the question is, yes you can change the binding but the slot has to be clean before you fret regardless. Some people like the fret wire ends bent slightly downward with a bound fretboard. many references, do a search. This is in addition to the proper radius needed to seat the fret.

[Donut Man]

I cleaned the slots, but obviously not enough. So I undercut the tang a little more on the sides, so it went over the bits with glue. But the frets still were not that great, so I defretted it. And to prevent further failure, I'm considering replacing the plastic binding with wood binding, cutting slots in it, and just refretting it through the binding, without undercutting the tang. As that was causing me problems previously. And I can also take the opportunity to clean the slots properly too.

And the alternative is to try it again with plastic binding, but pre-bend the fretwire more and clean out the slots properly, hoping that was what caused the failure the last time.

Edited May 28, 2008 by Donut Man

[SwedishLuthier]

Replacing the plastic binding with a wooden bindings will not change anything other than converting your bound fretboard to an unbound even for looks (if using an ebony binding).

You need to expand a bit on what went wrong and maybe add pictures. Did the fret ends stick up from the board? A tiny hit by the hammer right at the end usually fix that. Did the frets not seat enough? This http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Te.../bevelslot.html might be your solution. Well ther are a huge amount of information on this page: http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Te...rettrouble.html

But if you need better advice, provide better information.

[RestorationAD]

There are several tools to clean out the fret slots. Some from stewmac... you can make your own out of an old gents saw. I have a nice set of picks that work great for this. Cutting the fret slots all the way through defeats the purpose of binding the fretboard imho. Learning to do it right takes some practice. I use a grinder to cut the tangs back. Some guys use dremels, or specific tools for it.

You could also look into a fret press. I was able to build mine pretty cheap.

Anyway it is your guitar and you have to live with it so Good Luck! and remember to have fun!

[Donut Man]

Basically the ends wouldn't stay seated, even with a dab of superglue+clamping. I beveled the slots, and the rest of the fret was seated properly, its just that the ends were sticking up. Also I think when I undercut the tang of the fret, I may have filed off some of the actual fret too, making things worse.

I agree that cutting through the fret slots would defeat the point of the binding, but there is a 2mm binding channel by the fretboard, and it need to be filled by something right? I'm not actually too bothered about having binding that looks right since this is my first build, I'd rather have frets that were seated properly.

I'm thinking of pressing the frets when I put new frets in this time, probably with that stewmac caul and a cheap drill press or arbor press.

[SwedishLuthier]

It might have been that you over bent the frets. Then the end (that will not resist bending as good as the rest of the frets) are the first thing that take the beating from hammering in the frets. Or is is simple spring back, very common with hammered in frets. Pressing will of cause prevent that. I switched from hammering in frets to pressing them in some 10 years ago and I will never go back.