Finally took the plunge...

[RobRR]

...and went ahead and ordered some fretting supplies last week! I ordered more "professional" grade tools instead of the "just getting started" basics. In my past experience working on cars and electronics, Ive realized that if you start with a better tool, youll come out with a better product. Im really psyched to get this stuff though! Gonna work on my practice neck for a few days just to get the hang of it, then on to the first project.

The first project is to take a Charvel Model 2 neck, de-fret it, add creme binding all around, then full refret.

Though I bought most of the good tools, I decided to save some money and "make" a few myself. First is fret pullers and cutters, which are merely flat ground end cutters. Then, instead of a $50 24" leveling tube, Im using a fully machined 24" carpentry level accurate to .00005". Lastly, Im making a fret end beveling filing tool. This is REALLY simple to make and should save alot of time.

More info and pics to come!

[kelly user]

you have your first customer if you get good at it. some of these refret jobs are hitting $200. good luck and maybe a detailed walk through.

[RobRR]

$200?!?! Wow! So basically, if I do 2 refrets for myself, Ive more than paid for the tools? Not a bad deal if you ask me!



I hope I get good at it... but I know this is something that takes time to get a feel for it. Good thing I have a junk Performer practice neck to mess around with. Ive got some good tools, and have been doing alot of reading, so I think Im finally ready to tackle it.

Honestly, Id LOVE to work on guitars for a living. So Im diving into this head first to see how it is. The way I look at it, its a small investment to just have the knowledge to do it. That alone makes it worth it!

[straycat]

I get $150.00 for a re-fret usually. Single frets $10.00 a piece.
If its a L.P. with the nibs there coming off I let the customer know this first thing.Re-fret on a guitar with binding slightly higher.

[bibz]

I took the plunge end of last year and got some fret tools aswell, and man I'm glad I did. I've only done three level/recrowns at the moment and I'm already after more tools

So rewarding doing your own work.

[zeegler]

I did the same thing. I just got my fret sanding beam, and fret file from FretGuru. I had a couple of guitars that needed a level/crown really badly, including a Washburn V that I had to straighten the neck on. It had a pretty bad backbow, so I had to heat the neck to soften the glue (with some super heavy gauge strings on it) to bring it back to a slight forward bow. The neck was straigt, but it would fret out from the 17th fret and up. After a couple of hours work, it now has super low action, with no buzzing, or fretting out.