Refretting hints please!

[MDV]

So, I gots my fret bender: cut an arc of wood and cut a groove in that. Works a treat.

I got my bound practice board and got my tang cut off with a dremmel cutting disk. No bother.

I got my frets in and sitting nice and level.

I can dress frets no bother, not worried about that.

Whats the best way to get the overhang off and put a nice even angle to the ends of the frets? Last time I did that, with a sharpening stone, I took chunks out of the stone and the edge of the board!

How do you do it? (People that do refrets)

[Ratrod]

[MDV]

Oh, I'll just crack open my copy....

wait

I dont have one!

Its ok, then, I'll figure something out. Always do ;)

[Ratrod]

Seriously. Get this book. It has descriptions and loads of pictures that show you how and what to do.

Better than I could explain it and i don't have pics or videos either.

[MDV]

Well, I probably will, but in the mean time, I'm doing a (practice) refret right now! I'll come up with something.

[MrBump]

StewMac sell a modified set of wire cutters that are supposed to get really close to the board.  They look pretty good.

I think that the answer to any of these questions is:

Stewmac!!!

[MDV]

Well, tried a fretfile on a couple of frets, it took the ends off nicely, and ate out of the binding as well. Wouldnt be as bad  as that if I had all the frets in (two so far as a test run of the bender and dremmel tang cutting), but still wouldnt be happy to use that on my guitars or anyone elses.

Tomorrow gonna try sharpening stone with different tapes around the board.

Luthier dudes: is it expected to eat a little tiny bit into the edge of the board in a refret or do you manage to get the edges flush without touching the board at all?

I'm gonna call bob too. That should help! The legra fretwork is badass.

[WezV]

i do most of my fretwork other than re-crowning with flat fine files, sometimes in a holder like stew-macs fret bevel file.    i mainly use fret files for re-crowning

shaping ends takes some practice, i would recommend starting doing it with afew  mini triangular file with the edges ground flush as this gives loads of control and you will be able to see exactly what you are doing.  takes a while but i think its a great way to learn.

the tools are not complex, but you will have to find what works for you

[Ratrod]

Luthier dudes: is it expected to eat a little tiny bit into the edge of the board in a refret or do you manage to get the edges flush without touching the board at all?

It's something to be avoided. It's OK if the board's edge gets some marks from the final sanding as long as you can polish the scratches out again. Up untill that point I have the edges taped.

[MDV]

Yeah, I realise its to be avoided, but the question is to what degree?

I mean, I can see how one could file down to the board, through the tape and take off a fraction of a mil of the edge of the board (say 0.1mm) and say thats just part and parcel of it....or do those with some skill at this manage to leave the board completely untouched?

[WezV]

you have to be able to leave it untouched as much as possible by the time you get to refretting lacquered maple necks - or you will have touch up work to do as well

definately a lot of skill involved in that

now i like fretboard roundovers, and i must confess one of the reasons i started doing them was to help tidy up these little mistakes... they just felt so good i kept on doing them even now i dont really need to

[MDV]

One of the test guitars has a laquered neck.

Two actually, but it hardly counts since the other one is the first one I did a refret on, and this (eating into the neck) was the only problem with that refret! (Oh, and cr@ppy ends on the frets, but I reckon I got that down OK now).

Test guitars. All chosen because of their inherent worthlessness and some difficulty posed in the refret.
- Westfield LP copy. Bound board. Dremel cutting disks render this a non-problem, as it turns out.
- Hondo something or other gimp guitar, first I ever got, only refret I've done so far. Just need to change the cr@p old job! Has laquered neck so may do the touch up to that, may just take all the laquer off. Probably touch it up, to turn my hand to that, then take the frets out and all the laquer off, then refret.

Really should get back to it.
- Some shite bass. A "Kay". Has a laquered neck.

Then, assuming I have it to a decent standard, the test guitars are going to a school (except the hondo) and I'm putting jumbo frets on my Epi LP :).

[MDV]

Two refrets done this evening.

Ones pretty hideous; need to leave more overhang.

The other isnt too bad, all problems with it arise from the same thing. Its the bound one, which I have no extra problem with at all: its another 30 seconds per fret, dunno what the fuss is about. I cut the fret too close to the edge of the board, only left a couple of mil wiggle. Well, all not totally idiotic problems anyway. New plan; leave a few mil, cut off excess rather than file, then file remainder.

Learning by doing = good :D

[ToneMonkey]

How about using Brians jig:

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/fretting.htm

[MDV]

Well, may as well post up for comment:

Refrets 2 and 3.