Orbital Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Hi I'm trying to do my first refret and have some problems (I think). I bought fretwire that was radiused to 12", I thought that was a good idea since I have never done a refretting job before, however when I have banged in the frets with the hammer the frets do not seem to go in 100% in the middle. I use a 12" brass insert and then a hammer to make it easier. They go in very good it's just a tiny little bit in the middle that doesn't seem to go down entirely. I also read that you suppose to bend the fretwire a little bit more, my question is then, how much more? Or should I hit harder with the hammer? One fret did go down properly but the other three I have tried to seat didn't. The frets seem to be bent accurately to 12" when I use my eye to compare it to the brass insert I use. It's set neck guitar so using a hammer is probably the most comfortable way to do it unfortunately. Or can it be something else that causing this problem? Bad hammering technique? Does anyone have any tips and tricks for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbital Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Problem solved, I changed hammer and they went in easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I have to ask.. Was it bigger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbital Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I have to ask.. Was it bigger? Haha no, actually none of the hammers I had are designed to do fretwork with. I bought a hammer that was "shock free" it's pretty big but then I found a rusty old hammer, just a regular one and it worked better, probably because it's harder(?) Or because it's smaller(?) The hammer I bought is made of urethane with steel balls in it that makes it stable when you hit, thats why I thought it would be good, but apparently it wasn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripthorn Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I have to ask.. Was it bigger? Haha no, actually none of the hammers I had are designed to do fretwork with. I bought a hammer that was "shock free" it's pretty big but then I found a rusty old hammer, just a regular one and it worked better, probably because it's harder(?) Or because it's smaller(?) The hammer I bought is made of urethane with steel balls in it that makes it stable when you hit, thats why I thought it would be good, but apparently it wasn't. The problem with the deadblow hammers is that they typically have a soft face and that soft face absorbs a lot of the impact force (not to mention the larger face means that each square inch gets less force, thus less pressure on your insert). You will notice that StewMac's deadblow fret hammer has a brass face to be able to transfer the force more effectively while minimizing bounceback. I use a brass insert in a hardwood block and I whack the hardwood block with a regular old claw hammer. As a side note, if the fret wire is not bent to quite the right radius, the ends are typically the problem, not the middle (as the middle can be bashed down easily). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Yeah I use the plastic tip on the hammer.The rubber just bounces.I also wack firmly and push through so it doesn't bounce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbital Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 All frets seem to have seated properly, it turned out pretty good for me so far. However one more thing I noticed is that the fretboard slots are sawed very deep, there plenty of room left. I bought a slotted fretboard from lmii.com. I wonder how it will look if I just put some super glue in there, which I intended to do anyway because of the radical weather here in Sweden It's a rosewood fretboard, how do I make this look nice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Most people cut the slots deeper than needed. I wouldn't worry too much about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbital Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Most people cut the slots deeper than needed. I wouldn't worry too much about that. So it will look good after gluing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Most people cut the slots deeper than needed. I wouldn't worry too much about that. So it will look good after gluing? Sure, as long as you completely fill the gap and sand it flush. That's a very common way of dealing with those slots. Many will take sanding dust and pack it into the slots and then leach CA glue into it. That will typically end up a little darker than the surrounding wood but less visible than open slots. As long as you sand them flush and finish like the rest of the edge of the board, they will not be noticeable. That is, they will not be invisible, but they won't look wrong or out of place. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbital Posted February 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Most people cut the slots deeper than needed. I wouldn't worry too much about that. So it will look good after gluing? Sure, as long as you completely fill the gap and sand it flush. That's a very common way of dealing with those slots. Many will take sanding dust and pack it into the slots and then leach CA glue into it. That will typically end up a little darker than the surrounding wood but less visible than open slots. As long as you sand them flush and finish like the rest of the edge of the board, they will not be noticeable. That is, they will not be invisible, but they won't look wrong or out of place. SR Okay thanks, thats what I thought. Hopefully I will post some pictures of this project if it turns out good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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