frets are shot.....need help

[nsherman2006]

I was at a flea market last year and i purchased a cheap harmony les paul copy for 50 bucks because it had a dimarzio in it, and something that could quite possibly be a gibson hum., but probably isn't. It also had grover tuners, and i thought for 50 bucks it would be a summer project. Well now it's almost a year and i decided that i want to get it back in playable condition. However, the frets are really shot. It might just need recrowning, maybe a whole refret. If anyone on this board wants some practice, feel free to email me.....nealgolf88@hotmail.com. If not, does anyone have any suggestions. It's not worth putting any money into, but its a waste to have it sitting there. I dont need any of the parts, and i found out that theyre not in the best shape, but with a refinish and a new fret job, it might be decent. So does anybody have any ideas? I really don't want to get everything needed to level the frets, but maybe someone knows where i can get this kind of thing done dirt cheap? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Neal

[Primal]

You considering selling it? If so, for how much?

[nsherman2006]

Im not sure if i want to sell it just yet......i want to see about how much time, effort, and money would have to be invested in order to make this a decent machine. I will consider selling though, as i did just buy a new guitar. Ill post it on the selling thread if i ever decide to. But it's gonna be a while before i figure it out. Thanks anyway. Neal

[nsherman2006]

Maybe i should explain the problem a little more thoroughly....i got this guitar, and the first 5 frets would not stop buzzing. No matter what i did, id always have major buzz, and the sound would get cut on the bottom string completely if i played any lower than the 3rd fret. I then tried to file down the frets with an ordinary file and compounded my problem. It either needs a really good level or a refret, so does anyone have any ideas on how to get this done cheap? Thanks

[Guitarfrenzy]

What you should have done is try to get the frets as level as you can by using a good straightedge and adjusting the truss rod to get it as flat as possible. If you don't do that first, then you will end having to level it more, thus making some frets extremely low. You never, never, never want to file down the frets more than you absolutely need to. If some of your frets are way too low now. Your best bet now is to pull the frets with a fret puller heating them up with a good soldier iron as you go. Then find out what radius freboard you have to begin with with some radius guages. Level the fretboard with a a good fret leveler, I personally love the 16" fret leveler that Stew Mac sells with 3m Gold Mylar Stikit sandpaper. Then come back over it with the right radius sanding block to reastablish your fretboard radius. This should leave you with a really good level fretboard to work with. You might have to deepen the slots out some more and at the least you'll have to clean out the fretslots of all glue, wood dust etc. Then you can either press or hammer in the frets. Then you should level the frets again if it needs it. The only bad thing about fretwork is that it can get expensive buying all the specialized tools you'll need.

[Morben Guitars]

I'd give this a try, I've used it in the past with pretty good results. It's also pretty cheep when compared to a full shop of fret tools..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...5&category=7266

[nsherman2006]

Thanks for yor help. This project is gonna start in the summer, so ill buy a kit later. Now back to planning my rg550 refinish.......Mwahahahahaha