Re: Refretting a neck

Patrick Keenan wrote:
"Mark Bedingfield" <atari030@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:4szKj.7030$n8.2405@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cyberserf wrote:
On Apr 7, 10:31 am, boardjunkie <boardjun...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Apr 7, 7:01 am, Mark Davis <n...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

In article
<71cbd37a-d086-4560-ae5e-cf749a532...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
boardjunkie <boardjun...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There's a right way and a wrong way to do refrets. Do your homework
first. For example, you should heat them with a soldering iron before
attempting to pull them out.
I heat mine up with a clothes iron. Works great.
--
Mark Davis
San Angelo, TX
I use a weller WP35 iron with a large chisel tip. Its not so hot that
it can damage maple boards (unless you overheat the fret) but still
hot enough to break the glue bond and swell the wood around the fret
tang.

You'll not be swelling any wood with an heating iron...though you may
shrink the walls away from the fret tang slightly if you manage to
heat it so much that the moisture leaves the walls. The only reason to
heat them is if you suspect that they have been glued down...and since
it is a regular fix for loose frets, it is typically a safe no
brainer...if properly done, it won't usually cause any harm to warm up
the frets to about 140F or so (enough to see the cyano puff up...don't
breathe this stuff in...it will kill you). I say usually because there
are exceptions...for instance, if you have a Vintage Fender Strat with
the frets fed in from the sides (rather than tapped in from the top),
pulling them from the top (even with ground down end nippers), will
chew the neck to ratshit whether you heat the frets or not. The moral
of the story is, assess the instrument carefully before starting the
repair...there is no black and white.

My advice to the OP...if you remove the frets, try to protect the
fingerboard as best as you can, go slow (yes it is time consuming) and
if you remove a chip, replace it immediately...do not simply put it
aside in a pile to be done all at once at a later date...it never
turns out that way...replace it right away so that when you clean the
board these chips won't get in the way...and yes a radius block with
some abrasive sheets glued to it is very desirable...indeed, think of
this as a chance to practice your compound radiusing skills by getting
a couple of different blocks for the top and bottom of the board ;-)

-CS

I haven't received the neck yet, but some frets have been pulled and the fretboard scorched to some degree by over enthusiastic use of a soldering iron. I am assuming there are chips too. Its going to be a hell of a lot of work but I'm willing to take my time and try.

I have built mismatched guitars from parts and had to reposition bridges etc, learnt to intonate correctly and set action, cut nuts, adjust trems to suit and done a hell of a lot I thought would be difficult. So far its all been common sense and patience. Its all very satisfying too.

Anyway thanks everyone for all the advice, I think I get the idea. Now just gotta wait for this neck to turn up. Means I have enough parts for another guitar too;-) Much easier than sneaking it past the wife, build it without being noticed.

Cheers

Mark


Like having a new motorcycle gradually sprout in the living room?

I've heard that can happen;-) My Wife hasn't asked why I'm stripping a guitar body at all, or why a pile of guitar parts has appeared next to my amp (tho that isn't unusual;-)

There's a panel beaters around the corner I'm going to nip around on the weekend and see if he wouldn't mind spraying a couple of bodies too. Seeing as my pathetic attempts were...... pathetic. The plot thickens.....

Mark
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Refretting a neck
    ... I heat mine up with a clothes iron. ... the frets to about 140F or so (enough to see the cyano puff up...don't ... I haven't received the neck yet, but some frets have been pulled and the fretboard scorched to some degree by over enthusiastic use of a soldering iron. ... Means I have enough parts for another guitar too;-) Much easier than sneaking it past the wife, ...
    (alt.guitar)
  • Re: Refretting a neck
    ... "Mark Bedingfield" wrote in ... I heat mine up with a clothes iron. ... the frets to about 140F or so (enough to see the cyano puff up...don't ... I haven't received the neck yet, but some frets have been pulled and the fretboard scorched to some degree by over enthusiastic use of a soldering iron. ...
    (alt.guitar)
  • Re: Refretting a neck
    ... I heat mine up with a clothes iron. ... the frets to about 140F or so (enough to see the cyano puff up...don't ... I haven't received the neck yet, but some frets have been pulled and the fretboard scorched to some degree by over enthusiastic use of a soldering iron. ... I am assuming there are chips too. ...
    (alt.guitar)
  • Re: How to separate fretboard from neck?
    ... heat lamp. ... I've often wondered whether an ordinary clothes iron would do the job. ... You don't have to remove the frets to make a lap steel, ...
    (rec.music.makers.builders)
  • Re: Removing glued-in frets?
    ... "Tony Done" wrote: ... A soldering iron will usually soften the glue enough to remove the frets ... > My Beltona brass tricone has a warped fretboard over the ...
    (rec.music.makers.builders)