Hi There,
I've seen a number of jigs, Some seem like they might work with specific size frets but we all know that even same sized frets have some variances depending batch and where on the line it came off the spool.
No matter how i do it I seem to scrape the bottom of the fret trying to make it perfectly flush.
I've considered using small rotary round burr or cylinder and only touching the tang so if it does go to deep its…
Here we go! The UnTangler was created exactly to deal with this issue. If you look in the loothprints library there is a LITE version you can download and print yourself, or have somebody print for yo…
Well, I am pulling my hair out here...
just did a compression fret job on a 2017 D18 Authentic 1939. Neck had severe excess relief, so I pulled the frets, planed the board flat, and got to work....done this a handfull of times, so I wasnt expecting anything out of the ordinary......
I got a handful of frets in, checked my relief by stringing up the guitar, and decided I need to keep pushing, so I got a full set of frets in and som…
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Hi Jonathan, I can feel the frustration in your original question posted. We've all had guitars that were uncooperative on our benches and it can be exasperating.Unless I mis-read your original pos…
Hey lads I'm in a bit of an indecisive spot with a 70's yamaha acoustic refret. Pulled the original frets and the tang is .018" with no barbs just divots pressed into the lower edge. The slot is measuring .018". Struggled to find any suitable sized fretwire in stock in the UK that match what the customer wants that'll fit in the slot. Sintoms looked ideal but couldn't find any, so went with something with 0.20 tang and they're not pressi…
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Yes, a dremel is not ideal. Ideally you want an air tool with tighter tolerances. Do you have any pawn shops or junk around your shop? Practice on something, you will get a feel for it.
James Roadman - Roadman GuitarsVideoRepair and RestorationLite
Hello everyone, I use a Stewmac japanese fretsaw (which produces .023" wide fretslots, matching the width of the tang of stewmac wire) to recut my slots on refrets. The saw does a good job making the slots deeper, but struggles to make them wider and binds like crazy throughout the process. I think that is due to it not having enough (or any) set, so in theory it only cut downwards and does a poor job removing material from the slot wall…
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My fretboards are done with a table saw & correct SM blade, if i need to touch them up after radius i go between the jap saw & regular one sm sells. yellow wax to stop them from sticking when cutting…
Dave Slimmer OldSchoolGuitarLoothprintRepair and RestorationLite
61 year old Stella Harmony with brass frets. Fret board is poplar. It needs refretting and I want to try doing it myself given the cost of the guitar was $70 bucks, hiring a pro will cost way more. Any recommendations on Fret wire? I can't find Fret wire that is an exact match. Current frets are 1 mm wide, a hair over 1 mm high and the tang looks to be 2.5 mm deep. Has anyone regretted one of these guitars?
Not this particular model, but I have had a crack at some older pearwood boards before. Here is a list of things to look out for. Fingerboard is brittle. Extra care for removal of frets. Fingerboard i…
Hey everyone, I’m working on a 70’s d-35 and while refreting it have run into an issue of extremely narrow fret slots. They are a tight fit with a 16 thou feeler gauge. I think that even thinning out fret wire with the barber won’t be enough as the pre barb tang thickness is around 20 thou. What bits do you guys like to use to clean/size fret slots? Thanks!
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I use these bits on my CNC to cut fret slots. No idea about cleaning out slots but they work great, are cheap and last a long time.
Hey guys, Sorry, this may be a dumb question. I'm cutting some new frets for this D-28 with a bound fretboard. Does anyone know of a good way to prevent the fret ends from twisting when cutting the tangs? They're stainless steel frets, not sure if that would matter. I'm using a fret tang nipper from StewMac. It seems like no matter how little material I try to bite off at a time, the tang nipper twists the fret, which leads to the ends s…
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I use the LMI fret tang filer. I've used one for several years and when LMI announced closing I ordered another so I'm retired before I wear out two! :) I find filing the tangs is better than cutting…
Danny West West GuitarworksUseful_linksRepair and Restoration