ANY WEEKEND WARRIORS DONE A FRET JOB??

[jazzzbo]

Well, i got my ar250. not too shabby for a knock about, i paid about $225 with a hard shell case, now the bummer, alot of the frets are really worn around the middle of the neck, and im sure done by a pro would cost alot more than what i paid or what this axe is worth, so, any suggestions??  has any non-pro been able to pull it off successfully, cheers, jazzzzz

[jeffsailor]

Jazz,

I'm a huge fan of StewMac. They have a great book on fret work for beginners. Keep in mind that they are in business to sell materials, tools, etc. A lot of the information they publish is motivated by marketing as much as anything else. That aside, they are a great resource for at-home luthiers.

Take a look at their wesite at: http://www.stewmac.com.

here's a link to their "free info" on fretting...
http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Fretting.html

[bri66]

If you've never done any fret work, get a beater and change some frets first. There's a knack to seating frets properly without denting the crown. If you don't get them seated properly, you'll have more work to do when it comes to levelling them. The ar250 probably isn't a good place to start - it's got a bound fingerboard and that means trimming the tang off at the fret ends. That can be done with flush-cut pincers and files, but it's a lot easier with fret tang nippers. Take a look at the refret Frank Ford does on a Martin D35 at frets.com - you won't need to go through all the stages he does, but it's pretty good as a general refretting tutorial.
Cheers,
Bri

[talmanut]

Your frets may be in better shape than you think, so don't go prying them up just yet.  Here's my standard levelling and cleanup procedure for a worn fretboard:
1) I use short straight edge bars to rock across three frets.  I have a set of 3 bars that I bought years ago from Stewart MacDonald. Today Stew-Mac sells a combination tool called a Fret Rocker for about $20.  If any part of a fret is higher than its neighbors. the bar will rock like a see-saw.  I do not file the entire fret if I can help it ... only the section that is high.  The less material removed, the better, so take your time (you can afford to, you're doing this for yourself).  When the rocking stops, quit filing.  I use inexpensive miniature files with very fine teeth purchased from American Science and Surplus for this, but even an emery board will work if you're patient.
2) When you've checked all the frets for high spots (relative to the neighboring frets) you can crown and polish them.  Stewart MacDonald sells several types of files for this, but if you're willing to use a little elbow grease and don't mind a sore spot on your thumb for a day or so, you can do a first-rate crowning job with dry abrasive paper, 400, 800 and 1200 grit.  I usually tape off about 1/3 of the fretboard at a time, leaving the frets exposed.  I cut inch-wide strips of each abrasive, making sure the grit is marked plainly on the back with a Sharpie so I don't mix them up.  I fold one end of the 400 grit strip back 3/8 inch and sand ONE SIDE of one fret, trying to take as little off the top as possible.  Then I fold the strip back another quarter inch to expose fresh grit, and sand ONE SIDE of the next fret, and so forth, until I've done all seven taped frets.  Then I flip the guitar around and do the OTHER SIDE of each fret.  I do this with all three grits (wiping the dust away between grits) and finish with a little auto polish on a rag.  Then I go for a coffee and rest my eyes before taping off the next seven frets.

If all this sounds difficult and involved, it ain't!  I have done over a dozen guitars for myself and friends using this method, and it never takes more than two hours, including coffee breaks.  You may not get every deep notch out of every fret, but they will be greatly reduced. 

[jazzzbo]

Thnks fot the tips guys, sounds like a plan,  ps, i like the coffee break part, jazzzzz

[jazzzbo]

THANKS FOR THE INFO, the problem is this, the first 5 or seven frets has very heavy wear almost like grooves from heavy  string bending, so, can these frets be leveled, crowned etc, they look pretty deep to me, ps,  Is the fret repair book by stew mac worth buying?? its about $25 bucks, i realize i can  get  other tools , materials, by shopping around as suggested here,  jazzzz

[normH]

Many frets look worse than they are.  Often a leveling, recrowning, and polish is all they need.  However if you relevel then you also will need to adjust the nut and the action.

Remember there are only so many levels you can do before a refret; there are only so many refrets before you have to replace the fretboard.  Therefore prctice on a junker first!

[scooticus]

I've done many level+dress jobs as well as total refrets. #1-definitely practice on a junker first!! My first refret involved my first 'good guitar', a late 60's SG (deluxe vibrola, batwing pickguard etc.). Sadly, I used super glue and pity the person who tries to pull those frets. The Stew/Mac book is a worthy investment, IMHO. If you're good with your hands, and cautious, you can develop the skills to do most repair work. I draw the line at finish work.

[normH]

>"My first refret involved my first 'good guitar', a late 60's SG (deluxe vibrola, batwing pickguard etc.). Sadly, I used super glue and pity the person who tries to pull those frets."

CA or Super Glue (Cranocatalytic Adhesive) is not bad for frets.  To later remove the frets that were glued with CA. you heat the frets with a 35-40 watt soldering iron that has a fresh and unused tip.  The fret comes out easier than a standard pressed fret though the fumes will burn your eyes.  The CA will also help prevent the slot chipping that often occurs.  If you ever do stainless steel fret you will find that you will most likely have to use CA.

Places where you definitely do not want to use CA are the nut and the body neck joint on a set neck guitar.  At some point you will need to remove these pieces.  CA at those places will needlessly complicate those repairs or adjustments.

>"I draw the line at finish work."

I do finishes, but I charge because it is a pain and very touchy.

[scooticus]

That's good to know. Too bad I don't own the SG anymore.

[talmanut]

Dan Erlwine once suggested a tool for people who do a lot of refrets.  He took a soldering GUN tip (which has two legs joined at the tip) and cut off the tip.  He spread the separated legs to contact the ends of the fret (as I recall, he filed a groove in each leg to match the curve of the tip) and ran the current through the fret.  I guess the idea was to heat the fret uniformly, and simultaneously, from end to end.  He mentioned that heating was not only good for softening glue-ins, but also helped unglued fret slots release the tang (though I don't remember why).

[scooticus]

I believe the heat would expand the fret and tang, pushing the wood away enough to release the tang. Brilliant!

[talmanut]

Yeah, I suppose it would expand a bit.  Possibly conductive heating of the wood around the warm fret might increase its pliancy by softening resins in the fibers, as in steam bending,   Also, a correction to my earlier post ... I meant to say Erlwine filed a groove in the soldering gun tips to match the curve of the CROWN.  This, presumably, would increase contact surface AND keep the tips from slipping off the fret.