Author Topic: re-fret advice (Read 11430 times)

headtheball · « **Reply #15 on:** September 17, 2007, 02:37:30 AM »

Does he share a name with a Cartoon Character, perchance?

dave_mc · « **Reply #16 on:** September 17, 2007, 11:47:20 AM »

nope, the new guy (i.e. the good guy, not the cowboy) shares a name with said cartoon character. I know it's a good job it only clicked with me after I'd been to him, or I wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face... :oops: :lol:

headtheball · « **Reply #17 on:** September 17, 2007, 08:10:01 PM »

Aye, dropping my tele with him in the near future. He does fantastic work.

Have you ever seen any of the thinline Tele's he's made himself?

blue · « **Reply #18 on:** September 17, 2007, 11:30:53 PM »

he showed me a solid tele he's in the process of building. not finished, but already very nice and nicely playable, although it doesn't have any electrics yet. he's planning on trying a set of p90's in it.

blue · « **Reply #19 on:** September 19, 2007, 04:20:57 PM »

ooookay, update! and i am not a happy camper!

repairman 2 phoned me today, and i could tell by the tone of his voice it wasn't good news. he'd almost finished removing the frets that the first guy had installed, and couldn't quite believe what he'd found. the first guy, who had complained to me that an earlier re-fret had involved glue, had super-glued the frets in. he'd also used super-glue and some kind of rubbery putty to fill the damage he'd done to the fret-board.

he wants me to come down and see the state it's in before he continues. the amount he'd have to skim to be able to re-fret it would mean he'd have to redo the inlays and, while he'd much prefer to keep the original wood, he feels that it may be necessary to go for a complete new fret-board.

basically, the 1st moron i entrusted my guitar with has completely destroyed it! i'm trying to find a bright side here, but i'm struggling!

in case anyone misinterprets. i'm not describing the new repairman as an idiot. the first guy has done major damage and i'm hoping with all my vital organs that this man can make it right. so much for my bargain old Les Paul :(

WezV · « **Reply #20 on:** September 19, 2007, 04:35:05 PM »

first things first, superglue is quite common in repairs and fret work and not in itself a bad thing- thats exactly what the first repair man will tell you and it is true

Here are a few links to show you that its usable - this is from frank ford, the complete opposite of hack in every way:

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Frets/FretTrouble/CAFret/cafret.html
http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Frets/FBoardDivot/fboardivot.html

I just wanted to clear this up because i would often recommend superglue (CA glue) and i dont want to be accused of being a hack! Thats without mentioning the other luthiery uses for superglue - its great stuff!

the rubbery putty is a definate no-no, no arguments there. the first guy sounds like a definate hack job and i am not trying to defend him, but superglue is practically my best friend so i will defend the use of that - when used properly!!

The problem i imagine your new tech is having is that too much superglue in fret slots is very hard to remove from a bound neck and if it is used to fill divots/splinters it should be mixed with wood dust

38thBeatle · « **Reply #21 on:** September 19, 2007, 04:52:56 PM »

Is there any point in inviting the original guy to view the current state of the guitar and the comments of the new guy-though I doubt whether he'd be interested judging by your earlier comments. I suppose going to trading standards is not an option either.very frustrating and I hope all turns out well in the end.

blue · « **Reply #22 on:** September 19, 2007, 05:06:47 PM »

Wez, thanks for the info, i think i do remember you mentioning superglue before. it just struck me as ironic when he himself had complained about the previous use of superglue!

and 38thbeatle, i'm going to try to get something through to him, but from my experience so far i don't think he'll listen! i thought of sending him a bill, and a full explanation of what has happened, in the hope that at least he might feel bad! but maybe i shouldn't waste another second on him, except to try to make sure no one i know ever goes to him again

WezV · « **Reply #23 on:** September 19, 2007, 05:11:31 PM »

yeah, i know its not very helpfull advice for you and i am sorry i cant be more helpfull.

I am not sure what i would do in your situation. A new fretboard involves new binding which involves finish touchups down the neck and that before we get to the inlay and refret - - - not cheap at all!

blue · « **Reply #24 on:** September 19, 2007, 05:18:54 PM »

yeah, maybe i should've just bought a new guitar!

ah, i'll just have to look at it as a learning experience. maybe it'll end up being the most fabulous Les Paul ever! i could look at this as an opportunity to do something unique! maybe no inlays, or custom inlays, or no binding, or i could go the whole hog and get the guitar re-finished, or howsabout Brazilian rosewood, or ebony, or compressed mars bar wrappers!

i think, this weekend, i will party my little heart out to take my mind off this.

to put it in perspective, check out my tribute to Pepsi Tate in the Dressing Room. it's only a guitar after all.

headtheball · « **Reply #25 on:** September 19, 2007, 08:21:47 PM »

Nasty, blue.

I know tech no. 2 isn't the type to give you a line of nonsense to extract money from you, though. If he says it's going to be bother, it almost certainly will.

PS. You couldn't drop me a PM with Tech No. 1's name, just for future reference...You never know when desperation for a repair might kick in, and it might be best to know where not to go...

dave_mc · « **Reply #26 on:** September 20, 2007, 12:15:47 PM »

Quote from: headtheball

Aye, dropping my tele with him in the near future. He does fantastic work.

Have you ever seen any of the thinline Tele's he's made himself?

yep, seen a couple and played one. that was back when i had an irrational dislike of anything narrow than 1 11/16" at the nut, so I probably didn't really get to give it a fair whirl, but it seemed pretty nice apart from that.

and that sucks, blue. I don't know what to say that can make you feel any better, it's horrible to entrust something to someone and have them mess it up.

Quote from: headtheball

Nasty, blue.

I know tech no. 2 isn't the type to give you a line of nonsense to extract money from you, though. If he says it's going to be bother, it almost certainly will.

PS. You couldn't drop me a PM with Tech No. 1's name, just for future reference...You never know when desperation for a repair might kick in, and it might be best to know where not to go...

yep, i agree. i went to him thinking i needed a refret, and he told me he could probably get away with a crown, which cost less.

Quote from: blue

but maybe i shouldn't waste another second on him, except to try to make sure no one i know ever goes to him again

yep, that's what i'd do. hit him where it hurts. you're not liable to get any satisfaction out of him anyway, just a load of bother and increased blood pressure...

jpfamps · « **Reply #27 on:** September 20, 2007, 07:38:08 PM »

Sorry to hear about the hack job to the guitar.

We share our amp repair workshop with a luthier, and judging from the reaction of many of ours and his customers to quoted prices, there is obvioulsy a sizeable market out there for cheap but not that great repairs. Sadly I've seen the consequences of many of these. It seem like the first guy you took the guitar to catered for this market.

There are loads of guys out there that can do set ups and "straightforward" refrets. A skilled repairer really earns their money when they tackle a difficult job like yours.

Regarding what to do. A 1974 Les Paul is a vintage guitar, and as such will be rising in valve. If your guitar has the original finish and hardware I would try to preserve the orginallity of the guitar. A new fingerboard would seriously devalue it. On the other hand if it has been refinished then I would be less concerned about a new finger board, although some wacky custom inlays would make it hard to sell.

I know everyone says they would never sell there main guitar, but something better always seems to come along......

I might be tempted to give the first "repairer" a visit though.

Best of luck.

Kilby · « **Reply #28 on:** September 20, 2007, 08:57:06 PM »

I thought that I should also chip in that there are superglues which use a 'rubber' like material as filler (for those jobs that the gelled CA adhesives are too brittle to handle).

I mention these as they are used in the aviation (and defence) industry, and I once met an alleged luthier (his real job was in the aviation sector) and his work was absolute cr@p (on a level with that 13 string bass person).

He managed to work on the old Lowden factory (for about a day and a half).

I only mention this in passing.

FELINEGUITARS · « **Reply #29 on:** September 20, 2007, 11:15:46 PM »

Get your new tech to clean out the slots - either with a special shortened saw, or as I have often had to do - with a dental burr in a dremel router.
Then choose carefully a fret that will fit the slot snugly
Refretting is an art in some ways
Pix of the tools below

I always use superglue on a fret job - have seen too many guitars with frets that seemed tight but had buzzes or dead spots on some frets caused by a fret that was loose enough to vibrate and soak up the strings energy.

Fixed it by letting a little glue seep under the fret to secure it