Refretting Part 1, Extraction - Aux
/The aux send: In the studio these are used to feed external effects, in the live world, they create a separate mix for performers. In my aux series of posts I talk about things that, while not directly related to the recording or reinforcement process, are part of what separates the good from the successful.
Ho Ho Ho
As tends to be the case, life turns into a mess around this time of year. Between consulting work, end of year concerts and graduations I was swamped! At the end of it all, I decided I deserved a reward so I grabbed my trusty old Schecter, took her down to my workshop and gave her the long needed refret I've been planning since September. Happy Holidays to me!
Still a favorite of mine...
For history, this is my first "real" guitar, an all black Schecter C-1 FR. Naturally, I loved everything about her, initially. Since purchasing I've swapped out the electronics and all hardware except the caps on the volume knobs. I'll get around to those when I swap hardware on one of my bass guitars and save on shipping. Don't get me wrong, the guitar was excellent from the factory and I will sing praises to this brand for life, but my musical tastes changed and my playing was refined and eventually, I wanted something different.
I've taken good care of this instrument, but between thousands of hours of use and a brief stint living near the ocean the frets on this girl are just too flat for my tastes. Besides that I never liked how short the frets were and the new bridge changed the action from string to string, making for a rather awkward feel. After carefully weighing my options, I decided a complete refret was in the cards.
Glossing over the whole process to an unacceptably vague level has churned out over 2000 words so in the interest of not publishing a book I will break this up over the course of the next several weeks. I won't detail each cut but I think anyone who's ever had to pay for one of these would love to know what they really bought, so I will try to include a little bit of the theory to help supplement the step-by-step procedure. One last thing before I continue this story...
Warning!
Let me be clear: The first time I tried a refret I used a pawn shop special that couldn't have been worth more than $60 when new, it's a good thing too because I absolutely destroyed that guitar. Tools for this job topped $500. My second attempt involved a good 60 hours of labor (I think, lost the will to count) and was unplayable. Took another attempt before I could even play all the frets. Don't try this on an instrument you (or anyone else!) is attached to, and don't expect to break even on pricing until you've gotten at least two of these out of the way. Luthiers are shockingly economical when all the numbers start adding up.
If you break your guitar trying this don't come crying to me saying I gave bad advice. No step in this article will have the phrase "now break your neck in half." That said, if I feel I can fix the instrument I'll gladly give a quote for repairs.
Prep for Surgery
First up, paperwork. Skip to the next paragraph if you want. I hate paperwork as much as anyone, I'm an artist for goodness sake! Unfortunately, I have to keep my ducks in a row in the real world and honestly, I wouldn't trust anyone with an instrument who doesn't keep careful tabs on what's going on. I learned paperwork in the world of military aircraft maintenance, where changing a light bulb involves multiple phone calls and a 5 point redundant lock-out procedure. While I don't feel the need to use big red "frets removed, do not play guitar" tags in my shop, I do make sure I document the make, model, and serial number of whatever I'm working on, the specific job, job number, due date, and particulars of the job at hand. What those particulars entail varies with the specific job but for a refret I include the following:
- Fretwire dimensions
- Intended clearance between nut & fret
- Required nut height for said clearance
- Desired fingerboard shape
- A checklist for all the steps involved; sometimes the game is on.
The fretwire dimensions and neck shape are probably the most important factors in a fretting job. Ideally, luthiers will use frets that are roughly the same dimensions as the original frets were brand new. This restores the original action and feel of the guitar with minimal additional work. But since I'm the crazy person who likes tall frets I ordered special frets that are a good bit taller and thinner than the old ones. As such, I used some basic arithmetic to determine the ideal nut height on my guitar for this new set of frets. Fingerboard shape and nut height will be touched on more in my next post, so for now I will simply say make sure you know where you are and where you plan to go, not an especially difficult task but a smart tech will know these things before tools get involved.
Scalpel...
Just lost 5 pounds. Notice that while there are signs of use on the fingerboard there aren't dry spots in the wood. Also look at the frets. Normally, these would stay in the guitar and with an hour or two of TLC look brand new.
The first step in a refret, for bolt-on neck guitars at least, is removing the strings and neck. I do this because there's less to bump into and potentially ding up over the course of removing, installing, leveling and dressing the new frets. Most guitars have 4 screws holding the neck to the body but the number may be larger if you are operating on a bass or an unusual guitar. If it's smaller you've spent too much money on this project.
Obviously, putting on new frets means getting rid of old frets. Pulling these things can either go really well or make you wish you never started. Luck has something to do with the outcome but you can tip the odds in your favor with a few simple steps. If the fingerboard looks worn, dry or cracked it may not be wise to start pulling until treating the board with some oil. Use a soft lint free cloth, rub the oil in, let it sit, buff it off. A good bit of dirt will come off in the process as well so that's an added bonus. One last move to make before reaching for tools is adjust the truss rod (assuming you have one) to remove any relief in the neck. Modern T-shaped frets have small barbs on the tang which helps keep the frets from falling out of their slots, and having the neck either straight or back-bowed loosens the neck's grip on the fret. Honestly, most of the time I don't have to mess with this because an unstrung neck is pretty well near straight, but I check.
Y'know, pliers... Old fret for scale.
On cheaper factory produced guitars, frets are often glued into the neck as a cost-saving measure, this isn't a completely unheard of practice among guitar techs either. Once dry, glue tends to be harder than the wood around so just yanking on frets is asking to get your fingerboard splintered. Luckily, there is a way to deal with this issue. This sanity saving trick involves using a soldering iron to heat the frets. The guy that taught me this said it melts the glue and helps bring oils to the surface, lubricating the fret and making an easier extraction. Not sure if that's really the case but whatever it does makes things much smoother for me. Make sure you keep the iron well tinned and be sure not to touch the frets with your fingers or put them on things that burn easily once extracted. Fret pulling tools are basically very narrow pliers with the cutting edge perpendicular to, instead of in line with, the handle. Patience and a practiced hand are the best way to avoid chipping the fingerboard.
Next week, I will be covering the reshaping process that made this particular job even more in depth than the standard refret. In the mean time though, time for celebrating with the family, kampai!