Official Luthiers Forum!

I mostly do acoustics.

However, I need to branch out. I have a 59' reissue strat on the bench for a refret. Any special tips for pulling the frets so as to do minimal damage to the finish on the board?

When redoing strats, do you take the neck off generally? I'm used to grinding down fret ends with the neck on the body, but I'm not sure if there will be enough clearance between the body and fret tops. If off the body, how do you hold it still?

Thoughts?

Several techniques when refretting maple necks...
Yes - take the neck off the body.
Clamp it down on your bench if you like.
I used to score the finish before pulling the frets, but you still have to go slow and be careful.
You'll probably have to touch up the finish afterwards.
Good luck!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I don't bother trying to protect the FB. I just refinish it every time I re-fret a maple board. It's actually less work...for me anyway. I remove the neck and use the neck bolts (screws) to attach it to a temporary body so that the neck stands proud of the top.

Thanks....

Me too. I always true up the fretboard with one of those aluminum radius beams from StewMac when I do a refret so I have to refinish them anyways.
Still gotta be careful pulling the frets.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I think this only applies to older Fenders, but interesting none the less.

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=33906&hilit=fender

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.