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I'm working on my first refret. I've been following Frank Ford's method on Frets.com and all seems to be going pretty well. I think the fingerboard is ready for the new frets to be installed, but I'm not sure about a couple of things.

First off, I used CA to glue down the little chips of ebony that came loose with the old fret. Unfortunately I couldn't get all the glue out before it dried and now a few of the fret slots have areas where they are filled with glue. Frank mentions CA vaporizing from heat. Can I use my soldering iron to heat the glue and then scrape it clean? Or do I need to recut the slots with a fret saw? If sawing is best, is there a particular saw you can recommend?

Secondly, both Stew-Mac and LMII offer fretwire with a slightly wider tang that they describe as popular for refretting. The fret slots on my guitar don't seem to have opened up much, so I'm not sure if I need a larger tang or not. Any advice here?

As I said, this is my first effort at refretting. Your guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

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George :-)

I there is no binding, i would just use a normal fretsaw (i have an ancient stewmac saw that i resharpen every few years, and a newer japanese saw from LMI, i would use the duller one for cleaning out glue) to carefully clean the glue out of the slots without deepening them too much. If it is bound, a little hook like the stewmac one http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for:_Fretting/1/Refret_Saw_and_Fret_Slot_Cleaning_Tool_Set/Pictures.html#details is handy, and easy to make yourself from feeler guages or any piece of steel the right width. I wouldn't mess with a soldering iron on the glue, it scrapes and saws out pretty easily.

Advice about tang width is tricky to give, it takes some experience to know what to do, and when. If the slots have not been overly widened, and you are not trying to induce a backbow, i would probably recommend a standard tang width. I like the stewnmac medium high and medium higher for just about everything, glued in with thin CA.

Basically, a refret is not that different from fretting a new guitar, you just need to be careful of the finish and any issues around funky slots or spongy necks.

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

Yep. I agree with pretty much everything Jordan proposed.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

The only thing that I would add to Jordan's response is that one of the secrets to a good fret job is the same thing stressed for a good auto paint job - preparation.

Its very easy to look down on a fingerboard and miss any ridging along the fret slots. Use your fingers to feel it and hold it up to eye level to make sure you've got it smooth.

Take your time. Fretwire is cheap. Don't be reluctant to pull one out and trash it to do it right.

Good luck.

Jay

Thanks for the replies. I like learning new things and have been wanting to give this a try for a while. I have a junker guitar to practice on, so I'll squirt a little CA in those frets and try removing the dried glue on that one first. It's been a fun project so far.
Thanks again,

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George :-)

Hey Jordan,
On an unbound neck what's your procedure with the fret ends/tangs to avoid dinging up the finish too much?
Thanks
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

One thing I would add is to use feeler gauges to measure the width of the fret slots. While you're at it, use the nifty fret slot depth gauge from StewMac to measure their depth.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Not much beyond being reasonably careful. When cleaning out the slot it is a good idea to always be entering from the side, never exiting with a saw or pick, if that makes sense. I use a semi dull old mill file to clean up the ends and tangs, it just sort of stops cutting once the metal is removed and there is a smooth surface to ride on. You have to watch out that you don't drag metal filings along the finish, and "let the file do the cutting" as you get close to the end. Sometimes there is a little bit of rubbing out to do or even filling chippy parts with CA, but for some reason it seems to go fast and be relatively easy to hide (unlike touchups anywhere else on a guitar). Lots of old guitars have finish that is already worn or chipped away around the fret ends, so you don't have to do anything, bonus. I also finally made a fret beveler, like thew stew mac one, it took about 45 seconds to make and it is really handy, i don't know why it took me so long to do it. It seems a little bit less likely that i will ram into the sides or scratch the top while beveling the fret ends with the file holder (not that anyone should ever be so careless, ever).

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

Thanks Jordan
TJK

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.