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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

1930s Gibson L-7 Fretboard Radius 9.5" vs 12"

I'm refretting an all-original Gibson L-7 from 1934, and it has a 9.5" or so fretboard radius. However, the bridge, also original, has a 12" radius. I need to flatten the board, as it has a hump at the tenth, but I'm wondering if I go with the 9.5" radius, or try and get it to 12". I'm a little worried about sanding through the Nick Lucas style inlays, so I'd like some input here. If I kept the 9.5" radius, I'd likely have to radius the…

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Ian Davlin
It's probably going to make sense to keep the 9.5 radius. You'd definitely have to pull the inlays to modify the radius that much in the middle of the board and that would really suck with those inla…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Maton EBG808C TE fret choise

Hi everybody, I have a Maton EBG808C TE Tommy Emmanuel Cutaway Ebony Fingerboard in my shop for a setup but the instrument is also in need for a partial refret. The customer agreed to do that. Now, is there someone here that did this before that can help me to choose the right fret type for this job? On an average I have 0.080" width and 0.040" height for the original frets Thank you :-)

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When doing a partial refret (which I try to avoid at all costs) I match the same size fret wire that is existing in the instrument. A little taller fret is ok but the width is the most important.
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Fender Neck Touchup

Ok. Did a refret on a MIM Fender Strat maple neck. Some of the finish came off (was careful AF but....) It is not lacquer but I assume a poly finish. New lacquer did not meld. Can/should I use a tinted CA fix? Any tips, color recipes? Any help would be appreciated. VERY appreciated. Thanks -Mike

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I'd really appreciate that. Should I DM you for a time to do that?
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Locating a wrap around bridge

I have a BC Rich Mockingbird (Bronze) that I am practicing my tech skills on. I refretted it and that came out pretty good. I pulled off the old rusty wrap around bridge and am replacing it with a Wilkinson preset. I'm in the process of trying to locate the studs/bushings and I thought I had a good idea on setting the scale length but then I was watching this super elegant repair, where Dan comments to add 9/64ths(?) or so to the scal…

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Private member
Right. The BC Rich Bronze had a wrap around bridge with individual saddles for each string. The studs were tilting towards the nut so I pulled them and used a dowell to plug the holes. I've put tog…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Refretting a Stella Harmony from 1964

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?

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Ian Davlin
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…
Private member DiscussionShare Your Repair Content

Jaws 2 with a neck jig

This video is just a quick example of how simple the Jaws 2 is for setting frets. We did not include shots of using glue to keep the fret down. This guitar was donated for teaching purposes…We will be pulling all the frets and performing a full refret in a later video

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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Fret slot bits

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.
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

70s PBass refret

I have a 70s PBass with a maple “A” neck that could use a refret. It still seems to have the original frets. I tried a level and crown on the already low frets, but I think it needs refret. The frets in the money area are pretty low, .030-.025 and I’m concerned about removing them sideways, as I’ve never had a chance to do that. I understand from the fretorama with Joel Wilkins that when they are this low it increases the difficulty of…

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I've noticed they don't always come out easiest in the same direction either. I can't imagine why, but it seems some were driven in from the treble side and some from the bass side. So if you're havin…
Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

Yamaha FG-331 Taiwan

Yamaha FG-331 with a tan oval label visible through the sound hole. I estimate that it was built around 1980 Taiwan. I cut around the neck to body joint with an Xacto knife and.018” refret saw down around the heel cap. The steam holes were drilled 12-13mm from the edges of the fretboard but I could have drilled 9-10mm from the edge to get closer to the glue line. The glue was green and really strong. It wasn’t easy!

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Very nice Scott, you should add a pic of the label and possibly serial number so we can start building a timeline of FG's that can actually be reset. Sometimes there's a stamp on the FB brace or block…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

76’ D-35 neck reset

Hey looths, Thoughts on process on this here guitar. I have a D-35 that has… 1) a drastic bow in the neck 2) quite a shallow neck angle So diagnosis is, without an adjustable rod, I will need to compression fret this neck to get it back straight, and then proceed with a neck reset. I’m wondering how fellow looths would approach this. Pull the neck and do the refret, then adjust the angle. Or do the reftret, and get the neck relief where we…

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Thanks @member and @member for the tips. I’m ordering CF rods now and will definitely install them. I’ve done 20-30 neck resets at this point and there’s still two points that give me gru…
Iñaki Font GuitarTechCaracas DiscussionGeneral

Refret Glues

Hey guys! Im getting back fo refrets after a 5-6 year hiatus.. Im buying the supplies and wanted to know what are you using to glue frets? I used to work without (just pressed) or with Ca on some jobs but ive seen fish glue is kind of the new standard for many looths... What do you use? Pros/cons? Searching I found out the only ones selling fish glue are LMI (soon to bee gone), stewmac and Lee Valley.. The lee valley bottles are cheape…

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Any animal glue shrinks; it shrinks like crazy and if I understand correctly that’s one thing makes it so strong as a wood glue. But it’s terrible at gap filling which is pretty important when frettin…
Ian Davlin DiscussionJob Postings

Tempe Arizona: Acoustic Vibes Music ($21-26/ Hr)

Acoustic Vibes Music is looking for a lead tech that would primarily be working on Martin and Taylor warranty issues. We are a Martin and Taylor Warranty Service center. So everything from Setups, to making new nuts/Saddles, minor finish repair, refrets, binding repairs, cleating cracks in tops, Pickup installation, strap button installation, pickguard removal and installation, bridge removals and reglue, level crown/polish, and oc…

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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Trussrod and refret

Hallo, I have an old archtop (plywood) that needed a refret. There is no trussrod. I talked to the owner, he knows that my work will maybe/eventually more expensive than the value of the guitar. But it was only after leveling the fretboard that I realized that the fret slots are completely off. I talked to the customer again, and we agreed, that I should put a new fretboard on the guitar. I have one, that I took of an old guitar, and reuse…

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just for giggels: from fret to fret in mm: 33,8 32,8 28,9 29,9 28,6 24,3 24,8 23,8 22,0 19,6 19,6 19,6 (!!) 16,4 16,4 14,5 14,3 13,9 13
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Refretting a Harmony Archtop

Hi Gang, I have a 1966 Harmony Archtop in need of a refret and fingerboard leveling. I have not done a refret on a cantilevered neck before. Are there any tips or tricks for supporting the fb extension while fretting?

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Thanks Ian