In this episode, we tackle fretwork. From removing old frets to polishing up the new ones. -T ___ Check out our awesome social media sites: • Facebook: / ipguitars • Instagram: / ipguitars • Twitter: / ip_guitars
*the moment you read who commented and do a double take* Thank you so much for checking out the video and glad it worked out! Makes me happy to hear I could help :) Sidenote: love what you do🤘🏻
Yes, you had a LOT of pullout at the edges of the fret channels. Next time moisten the fret with purified water warmed to about 120F with a 1/8 inch wide hobby paint brush. Give the water about 10 seconds to seep under both sides of the frets. Not too much water else you may warp the wood. This softens the wood at the fret barbs. Place a thin stainless steel slotted fret guard over the fret to protect the fret board... then with a 40 W (adjustable is better) soldering iron with a 1/4 inch flat tip (no solder) heat one edge of the fret, sliding the iron back and forth across the entire fret putting more heat at the edge you are starting from and less heat to the other end. You may get a tiny bit of steam as you heat the fret. The fret at the warmest side should be very uncomfortable to touch but not buring the wood. This will soften any glue holding the fret in and even if no glue was used, heating helps. Use a high quality fret puller (nothing but an actual fret puller) and carefully work up the hotter end of the fret just a fraction of the fret height. Remove the slotted fret guard and slip a stainless steel narrow slot fret guard under where the fret just pulled up. This guard reaches under the fret sides so that further pulling will not break out (chip) the wood around the fret channel where you are pulling. Reheat the fret just ahead of were you have started to pull up the fret.. slide the fret guard forward under toward the next spot to be lifted and use the fret puller there and lift up the fret another fraction of its height.. Add water and heat as needed and keep working the fret guard and puller across the fret about 3 millimeters or so across and a fraction of the height upward at a time. Work slowly especially at the fret ends. With the proper tools, technique, and practice you should master this very delicate skill after a few guitars. Practice on a guitar that has been pretty much scraped because you will make mistakes at first. This requires sight, sound, feel, and smell. Taste is the only sense that is not needed. I made a 1/2 inch wide curved tip (same radius of the frets) for my soldering iron that has a groove in it to keep it on the fret as I slide it across.
And this is a major reason why I need to redo the video, as the method you described is far closer to the one showcased in this video. Also thank you for the in-depth comment, good have up here :) The radius-matched iron is a stroke of genius and makes for the perfect tool for this job. Nice one!
I did give your video a like, your fret polishing and fret board oiling technique was excellent. The Fret Heating Tool is made from: Arch: 1/8 thick steel stock, cut to 1/2 inch wide by 1/4 inch tall, then I cut a 1/16 inch deep grove in it with a hacksaw, then filed, sanded, and polished it to match the arc of the frets. Shaft: 3/16 inch (or whatever fits your soldering iron) steel rod, cut to stick out 1/8 inch out of your soldering iron (before welding). I welded the Shaft to the Arch piece 1/8 OF AN INCH FROM ONE SIDE of the Arch piece - this offsets the heat more to the side you are working from. I recommend an adjustable temperature soldering Iron as you can control the heat. I find setting it to 550 F works, you need to experiment to find your best temperature. You can even make your Shaft a bit longer and bend it to fit your holding angle/technique/comfort. You can get the steel from any True Value/Ace hardware store. A well equipped garage or custom auto exhaust shop should be able to make the weld for you in seconds - buy the shop some donuts or flip the mechanic a fin.
Much appreciated! ~ You have a talent for sharing your knowledge in an easy to understand, comfortable way. I have just ordered the luthier tools needed to re-fret my 5 yr old PRS. Yes, worn down after 5 years! Stainless steel here I come lol
@@IPGuitars Hope so would love to see it!There is only one that I know of on YT!I have a compound radius that will need a level and dress pretty soon.Hard to find info for compound radius fret leveling!
Ah you meant fret levelling for a compound radius. Basically there isn't a difference to the process when compared to a single radius. Levelling the frets shouldn't change the radius, you're not taking off that much material, as long as they are level with each other. But if you are worried and using a levelling beam, you can level square to the centerline instead of along the taper of the neck. The amount of material you're taking off though, you should be fine with doing things as you normally would :)
@@IPGuitars Ok great to know! What little I could find out about compound radius necks is when you are leveling you should follow the string path,slightly angling the beam on the outsides of the fretboard to mimmick the angle of the strings.
Essentially there you have it :) I just have morning brain and got my words fumbled up a bit. But this is actual a really interesting topic to talk about, I'll try to bring it up on next week's stream, so that I can clip it into a video :)
Best refretting video ! No tricks hidden and all the tools (which maybe expensive and hard to find from local Depo) shown. Hands down ! Everyone can do it ! Btw: Please show link or description for those 2 plyers used for pulling and cutting frets ?
Thanks! Have a new version coming out soon as well. Should be a little clearer still. Back then I bought these off CG, they don't sell the ones I used but these are similar: www.crimsonguitars.com/products/fret-puller www.crimsonguitars.com/collections/fretting/products/fret-end-flush-cutters
Great video man! Very helpful and informative! May I ask what sandpaper grit did you use for sanding the fretboard after you removed the frets? Thanks! Greetings from Greece!
Glad you found the video useful! I cannot remember, but I would imagine that I might've even started with 120 due to needing to sand the inlays down as well. So I went 120-180-240-320-400, but in most cases you should be just fine with 240-320-(no more is necessary, but some like to move higher), if there is nothing major to really sand down on the fretboard and all you need to do is clean it up and remove any possible burrs from when you pulled the frets.
Back when the video was filmed it was more than likely Crimson Guitars' "Fretboard restorative" nowadays I've really liked the Dunlop fretboard conditioner, but haven't settled on any one brand yet
Nice work… For some of the very final polishing, particularly with the linseed oil, I would probably use microfibre cloths rather than paper towel as paper towel can have fibres that can scratch as well. Micro fibre won’t leave paper tuffs behind. Just some thoughts. BTW, there are two kinds of linseed oil. One is better than the other because it doesn’t gum up… just not sure which.
Paper towel in a way works as very very fine sandpaper, but definitely get your point. I prefer the ease of paper towel. A great tool as well would be lint-free cloth and microfiber cloths are great, but can also put in micro scratches and easily pickup any debris that could be transferred to the fretboard on accident. But absolutely great suggestions :) Boiled linseed oil is great and will give a great, water-resistant result.
Great tutorial! it would be of great help if you could also show how to proceed with refretting an LP style guitar with glued neck instead of bolt on neck.
Good format, these are going to be great, thanks! You will have plenty of opportunities in future builds for better video shots. The home brew idea is needed, many people mistakenly think that limited tools and space prevent them from doing what they want. Most people ,once realizing they aren't as limited as they thought, will get creative. That's really the key, creativity, it's more of a learned skill than I thought it was in the beginning. Just try.
Robert Sparkman Thank you for your kind comment Robert. Already filmed some new footage with a guitar I just finished. Exactly. I started off doing things on my bedroom floor with little to no tools and no experience. I learned things via videos on RU-vid that gave a solid understanding on how you really can work on this stuff anywhere :) now with more knowledge (and yes, tools), I can better show people just how easy it is to do this at home if you so wish :) and still get good results. I just can’t wait to start uploading finishing tutorials :D they were fun! -T
Excactly. Whenever I did something people always said you can't do that, it isn't right. But my theory is that if it works it works, as simple as that.
Good! Absolutely right and something that has actually been talked about a lot more recently amongst luthiers specifically. You do you and find what works for you :) Nothing new was ever achieved by repeating the same thing someone else had already done over and over.
Thanks buddy, this was very useful. And that trick with creating a fallaway from the 12th fret to the higher ones - it might be just the thing I need, nobody mentions that in fact, in other tutorials. I have this issue with my Telecaster, where I get choking frets after approximately the 12th fret, while I'm bending, on first two strings. I bought the straightedge, did some fret levelling, but the issue is still there if I want the action to be anything lower than let's say 1.5mm-2mm, on the E and B string. Maybe I should redo it, but only form the 12th fret this time.
I can't remember what I had on the levelling beam here, but depending on how much work needs to be done you could even just clean up the fretboard with just a light pass of 320 and moving up to whatever grit you want to go for (the higher the grit the smaller the scratches it makes, just make sure to move up the grits e.g. 320-400-600-800). In this case specifically due to how bad the inlays and scratches were, I would not be surprised if I went 120-180-240-320-400 on mine. As for using a levelling beam for fret levelling, 180-240 and then 320-400-600 by hand is fairly standard. And the sanding will scratch the inlays and fretboard just the same, so that is also why you want to move through grits. If you actually have make a clean job of pulling out frets, you could just give a light pass with 400 (or more) grit by hand.
hey man, many thanks for the informative video. I do have a few questions though: - May I know why you used a flat sanding beam instead of the radiused block when you leveled the frets? -Is it necessary to level the frets after seating them in? I've seen some videos where they don't level the frets anymore as long as they are seated properly and there is no rocking when checking them with a fret rocker -When do you stop sanding the frets during the leveling process? Do you stop when all the sharpie is gone from the frets?
Thanks for checking out the video! - While I could've used the radius block for fret levelling, a less wide levelling beam gives me a little more control. Atleast I feel so, personal preference I guess - Technically if you've seated everything correctly, then the levelling only acts as a check. If the frets are already well-seated and level, you'll notice this with the first swipe, recheck with a fret rocker - You stop levelling the frets once a pass of your levelling tool takes an even amount on all frets. This is why you mark the frets with a marker :) marker gets "scratched" on each fret=you've sanded enough. Where the levelling leaves the marker untouched, there is a low spot. You don't need yo sand ALL the marker off, but as long as each top of the fret shows that some marker has been removed
I use CA glue on the ends of fret slots if there is no binding. And if I were to use glue when fretting a neck, I'd use something like Titebond as it is easy to clean up with a wet towel :) CA glue on the fretboard would be a nightmare. But in general, if you seat your frets well enough, you don't really need the glue. The glue can of course help, but down the line possible refretting will be a nightmare if not done carefully. It boils down to preference and the fretboard wood used in my opinion :)
Thanks for this. I have a question in regards to glue - I’ve seen some use it after the fret is installed down the sides and they scrape away the excess - you don’t do it here, do you not need to? Thanks in advance
You don't "technically" need to. It is something that I have started doing however, but instead applying CA glue in the slots, hammering in the frets, spraying accelerant and then cleaning up the residue. Mostly it is for that added extra support to slots that have been opened after pulling out frets.
400 grit will cut very quickly, for polishing I recommend 1500 or 2000 grit. The fall away is a phenomenal consideration. I'm considering doing stainless frets on a guitar but I've never refretted just fret jobs.
I usually go through with 400 just to remove scratches left over from the files, if this leaves considerably scratches then I'll move up some grits, however I mostly get by really well with the abrasive rubbers from here, which go up in 5 steps, and then the full polish. The fall-away was mindblowing when I was first introduced to it and there is no way that I can go back to not putting it in anymore.
@@IPGuitars fall away is cool. often times I'll get my guitars set up with really really low action, but they will fret out/buzz just very slightly on the higher frets...and the fall away pretty much solves that without having to sacrifice your mega low action elsewhere.
Radiusing the fretwire is a must. This makes sure that the frets won't pop out. A good rule of thumb is to have a slightly tighter radius on the fretwire than you do on the fretboard. Fortunately you can buy pre-radiused wire :)
Excellent. I will look to see if you have done a higher res video. The view of seeing the bottom of the new frets would be nice, and your reasoning for why you keep all of the old frets in order. I assume that it’s not about the length or the height. Were you going from standard height frets to jumbo size frets? Is there any difference in the process when going from standard to jumbo? Anyway, your detail and communication skills, made your video very enjoyable to watch. I think it was 22 minutes long, but it felt like 5. In other words it was very interesting.
I am looking to completely redo this video this year as I want it to be even more clear. But I am glad that you found it useful. I think the most recent, high quality, and close-up video on fretting is the one I did for GGBO22. The process remains the same moving from one fretsize to another :)
For widening the fret slots? I have no idea where I even got mine, but I've managed in the past with even cheap ones pretty well. For fret crowning? For triangular files I've used Crimson's
I cant wait to have this done on my Guitar. Had it 19 years, and the poor thing cant intonate for nothing any more. and of course, the flattest part of every fret down the board is the G string.
If the neck is lacquered then there is no change to the process. However, if the fretboard is lacquered, then you just need to be extra careful when removing the frets. Depending on the amount of work you want to do, you could lightly sand and relacquer after fretting. At the very least you would just need a little tidying up before putting in new frets.
Great question, and yes. Before pulling the frets, I will make sure to relieve the truss rod some. Then I will bring the neck to flat before any sanding/clean-up, hopefully at this point you won't have the truss rod overly tightened up anyway, so hammering in the new frets won't put in any stress. Then from there on treat it as a normal fretjob.
One of my fret line i guess that's what is called is almost coming off. I can afford a refret or have the tools to do it myself. It's it possible to somehow level the same old fretline . Like can i remove that one and put it back in?😭
I'm assuming that you mean that there is a single fret that is falling off? You could just try to either reseat that fret or replace it. So you could protect the fretboard on both sides of the fret with masking tape and try to get some glue into the slot, then hold it down. If using CA (superglue) then you could use accelerator while pressing down. If you're going to refret that particular fret, then you'll need to pull it out, replace with new fretwire, or use the same one you carefully pulled, put in some glue in the slot now that it has expanded and hammer the fret back into place. It is going to be finnicky, but if you just go through steps carefully you should be fine :) remember that unless you have a clamping caul the same radius as your fretboard, you'll have a hard time clamping the fret down if you need to wait for glue to dry.
Actually, the key is to also sand a little bit of the fretboard edge as well. To what extent, is up to your preference, but bevelling the fret ends also puts a bevel on the fretboard edge. Same goes for getting the fret ends flush, filing or sanding them down to the fretboard edge. Of course, in both these cases you want to be careful not to take away too much (or put in a knick), especially if the fretboard has binding.
So the leveling beam at 12:13 is not radiused, it is dead flat? The thing I am trying to understand is how using a flat sanding beam doesn't remove the radius of the frets. Thanks!
Yeah the levelling beam I used has been ground flat. You won't remove the radius as when you sand you keep moving the beam from one side of the fretboard to the other, following the radius as you do. In order to remove a radius you would essentially have to keep sanding the middle of the entire fretboard to bring it down to the level of the sides :) meaning, you wouldn't really do this unless you actually tried. This is why you also mark the tops of the frets with a marker, so that once the marker disappears from each fret, you stop. Ideally the goal is that you've seated your frets well enough to only require a few passes with a levelling beam.
Do I have to make the fret iron concave? Or does it take the shape of the keyboard when we nail it with glue? There is no practical tool for this at home.
Yes, you should bend the fretwire before installation. Especially if you just have straight pieces. You can also get pre-bent fretwire if you have no way of bending it yourself. Bending the wire keeps it from popping up on the ends. And it's good practice to actually bend a little more than what your actual radius is. For example: for a 16" radius fretboard it might be worth bending the wire more toward 15", so ever so slightly tighter. However, hammering the frets into place and hoping for them to take the right shape is not worth the effort. Especially with a refret when you already have slightly larger fret slots left from pulling the frets out.
I cannot remember, but I would imagine that I might've even started with 120 due to needing to sand the inlays down as well. So I went 120-180-240-320-400, but in most cases you should be just fine with 240-320-(no more is necessary, but some like to move higher), if there is nothing major to really sand down on the fretboard and all you need to do is clean it up and remove any possible burrs from when you pulled the frets.
@@IPGuitars Thanks for your reply. I will be doing it on a new guitar, it's a cheap project I want to learn on and the fretboard is pretty nice. I will probably go with 320 or maybe 400 just to clean it up a little bit
Honestly, if you have to refret a maple fretboard, you most likely might flake the finish when pulling out the frets. If it is a lacquered fretboard that is. If you can remove the frets without doing this though, then I would just recommend cleaning it, then seeing if there are scratches or dings you need to deal with. But if the lacquer does flake up or partly get removed, I would sand it, refret it, and lacquer again. Yes, maple boards can be a hassle sometimes :/
It could be either, a good way to check it you're unsure is just by trying to find the specs of the guitar you have :) At the very latest, you'll see it once you remove the frets. If it's oil, then you're in luck because you can easily just apply new oil after cleaning the fretboard up. Butyeah, nonetheless, just take your time and I'm sure it'll be just fine.
I mentioned that I forgot to film this at 11:11 :) and then proceeded to explain that you should always do this. However, I have had plans to redo this video and in that I will surely include every step and in better detail.
Technically no, you don't have to. Just that levelling the frets might be easier without the nut. And if you need to adjust the nut to match the new tops of the frets it might be easier. But you definitely can do all this with the nut in place :) removing it is not a must
I have to admit I haven't ever heard of such a radius being used. But honestly you could technically make a gauge for yourself or have one 3D printed to suit your needs. It's a very particular thing and not sure if it is a radius that anyone makes a gauge for as standard.
@@IPGuitars Various models from Ibanez use a 400mm radius which is 15.75in. Electric, Electro-Acoustic, and Acoustic from them. I have found most of the radii used by Ibanez to be non-standard like this.
@@generalawareness101 The more I know! Thanks for sharing this, that's actually pretty interesting and had not looked into it before. After some quick Googling I found a gauge for 400mm (Fasttech sells one with 14", 16", 400mm, 430mm gauges), because it makes sense that somebody has to make them if the radii are actually used more commonly.
@@IPGuitars I will have to look into them. Finding radius blocks, and sanding blocks for this radius is a PITA so I hope they have it. Ibanez uses metric radius for their guitars so are always off the larger the radius is.
I can imagine. However with the gauge and just a flat levelling beam you can get your radius to remain what it should be. Just by taking the time and keeping the beam moving from side to side :)
Very nicely done. Enough information to get me started on the job without a lot of extraneous stuff. It was really nice to write down a list of the tools I'll need as you went through the process.
I'm glad you found this helpful! I've been meaning to update this video and make it even clearer, both from the visual and information point of views :)
My dumb ass will buy all the tools then completely fuck this up and wind up taking it to someone who knows what they’re doing. I’ll stick to wiring electronics 😂😂😂
All things considered, this is still pretty minimal tools :D but I do get your point. Maybe I should address this with a video of actually MINIMAL tools. You can get by with even less, hell I used to use just the levelling file for 300 different jobs it shouldn't be used for...
![How To Refret A Guitar [EASY and MINIMAL TOOLS TUTORIAL]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
