Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi, I am new to this forum. I have successfully built my first archtop following the Benedetto "bible" to the tee. My Home Depot guitar was constructed with plain maple sides and construction grade fir (2x10). Its the cheaper pile of firewood theory. I used Bloodwood for the fretboard and the other fittings rather than Rosewood or Ebony because I simply had it available from a different project. It sounds great.....until I unstrung it and started dressing the frets. I have managed to bork my first fret leveling. There simply isn't enough material to recrown. These are medium frets. I don't have the dimensional specs for the fretwire. Is there a clean way to remove the frets without any fretboard chipout from the fret tangs? I tried this on a previously crafted ebony fretboard, when I finished removing the frets, the fretboard looked like swiss cheese. There were more deep chipouts than I could contend with. I have resolved myself to doing a full refret. I will try to post a few pics as soon as I can pry them from my PDA.

Thanks.

BTW, you are all such an inspiration to new builders. I have learned much from this forum and from MIMF.
       

Use some end nipper pliers and grind the end flat so it will get under the frets. Some say heating the frets with a soldering iron will also help. Heat them up before you try to pull them. Hope this helps. John How

another good source for this kind of information is Frets.comJohn How38371.9126041667

_________________
Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Chip:
There is an article ion the "Jigs & Tools" section at the top of the page that will take you through the freting method that I use. Here's a link:

http://www.luthiersforum.com/pages/jig_tools_tech/fretting_b y_tim_mcknight.htm

John is also correct in suggesting heat to remove the frets. File a small groove in a soldering gun tip that matches the profile of your fret crown. Rub the heated tip back and forth over the fret for 30 seconds and then pull the fret. You will experience some chip out ocassionally. This is easiy repaired by filling the chip with sanding dust [of matching wood] and CA. Then follow my method to level the fret board. If the board is level then you will have very little fret dressing to do afterwards.

_________________
tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I can't help with this one but it did raise another question. Would taping the area around each fret reduce the amount of chipout?   

_________________
Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Ok, I got the pics off of my PDA. What does the heat do when removing the frets? Doesn't heat cause matter to expand and not contract? The frets were just hammered in, not glued. Also I looked over Tim's fret how-to. Wonderful document. I will follow it when I refret.


Made from Home Depot construction stock.



In Tim's example, the fretboard extension is glued to the top where support can be placed beneath while hammering. How do I support this while hammering?



View from the nut.


View from the neck extention.

"In Tim's example, the fretboard extension is glued to the top where support can be placed beneath while hammering. How do I support this while hammering? "

Good question? Wellllll, you need to find a tool that has enough mass yet will slide under the FB extension and allow you to hold upward pressure in that area while gently, and ever so gently, tapping frets in, in that area of the FB. I have an autobody tool that is called a "spoon", that would work quite nicely. Go to a local body shop and asked the people there if they have a body "spoon" that you could borrow or rent for a couple of hours. Take your guitar and try it on for size. Heck, you might even get a comissioned order from them

_________________
tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

Nope, tape did not help tear out. There was no difference from the fret I pulled without tape and the one that was taped. I will try the heat next.

Chip