Just finished my first refret tonight!!!

[RobRR]

WOW! It went GREAT! I really surprised myself! I mean, its not 100% perfect, but its DAMN better than alot of factory jobs Ive seen, and for my first time, I cant ask for anything more.

I actually really dont have all that much invested in this... I bought a few things, and made the rest... such as:

I bought:
-Fret press cauls
-Fret tang nipper
-Fret wire (duh!)

I made:
-Fret radus jig
-Fret end bevel file block
-Fret puller
-Fret end nipper

Ill have some pics of everything up either tonight or tomorrow... Ive got alot of cleaning up to do, as not only did I do the entire fretjob tonight, but I also made all the tools as well.

Now that I have all the tools made, and one full job done, I can probably knock one out from start to finish in 3-4hrs.

Before I jumped head first into this, I did alot of reading and product research. Shit is EXPENSIVE... I saved myself well OVER $200 by making alot of the tools myself, and they are just as good as you would buy from a lutheir supply house. If you are considering fretwork, DONT BE AFRAID! Just do some research, BUY the right tools that you NEED, make the ones you feel comfortable with. Ill do a full write up tomorrow with pics of the fret job, the tools, and how I made them. Time to order more fret wire!

[LastInLine]

WOW! It went GREAT! I really surprised myself! I mean, its not 100% perfect, but its DAMN better than alot of factory jobs Ive seen, and for my first time, I cant ask for anything more.

I actually really dont have all that much invested in this... I bought a few things, and made the rest... such as:

I bought:
-Fret press cauls
-Fret tang nipper
-Fret wire (duh!)

I made:
-Fret radus jig
-Fret end bevel file block
-Fret puller
-Fret end nipper

Ill have some pics of everything up either tonight or tomorrow... Ive got alot of cleaning up to do, as not only did I do the entire fretjob tonight, but I also made all the tools as well.

Now that I have all the tools made, and one full job done, I can probably knock one out from start to finish in 3-4hrs.

Before I jumped head first into this, I did alot of reading and product research. Shit is EXPENSIVE... I saved myself well OVER $200 by making alot of the tools myself, and they are just as good as you would buy from a lutheir supply house. If you are considering fretwork, DONT BE AFRAID! Just do some research, BUY the right tools that you NEED, make the ones you feel comfortable with. Ill do a full write up tomorrow with pics of the fret job, the tools, and how I made them. Time to order more fret wire!

Looking forward to the write-up/pic's. I'm thinking of getting into fretwork myself, but I'd like to start off with something more basic like a leveling, crowning and polish.

[Cygnus X1]

Outstanding, RobRR!

I don't regret working up the nerve years ago to start tackling repair jobs myself. It's incredibly satisfying to be able to go ahead and do it, rather than "fret" about it. As the jobs get more complex, the challenges greater, then even more rewards await.

Congratulations!

[Racerx2k]

The one thing I have zero experience in guitar work is fret jobs and fretboards, so I'll be quite interested in your follow-ups. Kudos to ya!

[straycat]

You'll keep getting better at it Rob keep it up.

[Jackson-Charvel]

Awesome, can't wait to see the procedure and tools and of course the finished product as the result of your labour. I've been wanting to start fret jobs but the lack of experience keeps holding me back from trying. This might give me the reassurance it's do-able.

[Learn Guitars]

You probably just spent the most valuable time you could on your guitar. The experience will go far.

[Trem]

This is an area i've always been leary about, i'm really interested to see what you've done.
I doubt i'll ever try to tackle it myself, but i've always veered towards bolt ons because i figure if the frets get dinged, or i wear them down then it's pretty much it for that guitar if i can't swap the neck.
Might restore my faith it's ok to refret a neck, just seems in my mind it would never be 100% and that it can be done without damaging the board.
How the hell you yank them out without screwing up the fingerboard?

[Cygnus X1]

This is an area i've always been leary about, i'm really interested to see what you've done.
I doubt i'll ever try to tackle it myself, but i've always veered towards bolt ons because i figure if the frets get dinged, or i wear them down then it's pretty much it for that guitar if i can't swap the neck.
Might restore my faith it's ok to refret a neck, just seems in my mind it would never be 100% and that it can be done without damaging the board.
How the hell you yank them out without screwing up the fingerboard?

No need to fear. IMO, a properly refretted/reraiused neck can be better than factory spec. I do it frequently enough to encounter anomolies in even factory fingerboards. I don't often (ok I've only done two) do bound necks with nibs installed. Just take a cheap beater, get the tools and a good book or two (or videos), and have at it.
RobRR's case would have been a bit above my first choice for a project, but the guitar needed it, and he went ahead. Cool.

[Jack The Riffer]

Looking forward to the pics and write up Rob. I myself am starting to delve into this type of work on guitars. I'm especially looking forward to how you made the tools.

[RobRR]

Sorry no pics or write up as of yet, been busy.

Though I leveled the frets and strung it up. I need to cut a new nut, as the factory nut slots are too low. That, and Ive gotta work on the leveling job, as Ive got a few high frets around the upper registers. That and I think I went a little heavy with the crowning file... alls in a days work of learning!

Ive got a few more necks I want to do, and one or two more tools Id like to have. I figure, once Im done fretting all mine, Ill have it pretty much down.

[sully]

rob, if you have some water thin super glue and some accelerator, you can scrape the top of the nut to get some dust. mix that in the slots with some glue, hit it with the accelerator, and refine the slot. that way you don't have to start from scratch on a new nut.

[Super_shredder]

congrats man

i need to try and learn some fret work stuff

[nhspike]

Most excellent Rob... can't wait to see pics, and here how she plays!

[Norton]

By the way, could you explain how did you "make" some of the tools?