Refretting A Guitar With A Zero Fret

[mikevirok]

Hey all; I've been MIA for quite some time. Things at the repair shop over the past year have been craZy (any VERY busy too). But alas I am back during the holidays to pick your brains a bit!

A buddy of mine bought an old Mosrite 335-ish guitar. The frets are really worn down and since he is a semi-professional touring musician, we concluded that a refret would be in order. Now I've done quite a few refrets in my time as a luthier, but not yet one on a "zero-fret" guitar. In general, I'm thinking that using a slightly larger fret wire for this fret may be in order, but when I think about a normally constructed guitar, as long as the guitar is set-up properly, wouldn't the same height/size fret used on a zero fret work just as well with less need to address lowering the nut (in this case zero-fret) action?

Anyone with experience in a zero-fret job, let me know your approach. Greatly appreciated as always fellas.

[WezV]

well in theory there is absolutely no need to use a different sized wire and they should all be level. i consider that the proper way to do it

but for a touring musician i would consider using something ever so slightly bigger... the zero fret has constant wear from tuning that the other frets dont get so having a bit of extra meat will extend the time between the zero fret needing a bit of extra work or replacing completely. It will also protect against any buzz inducing humidity changes that could occur by having the low action a zero fret can give

[Mickguard]

I think it depends on what kind of action he likes at the nut -- if he likes the action a bit higher, then use a taller fret, which will allow you to adjust the action more precisely.

Using a taller fret might be a good idea anyway, because the zero fret will wear out before the other frets, since the strings will always be pressing there. You might even think of using stainless steel for that one.