Removing frets without damaging fretboard

**HoGo** · Sep-14-2018, 2:21am

Originally Posted by Ivan Kelsall

It would be nice if the various manufacturers,especially the companies such as Eastman / Michael Kelly /Kentucky etc., actually stated the way in which their instrument frets are fitted ie.''pressed in or glued''. It's possible that many folk know that info.,but for the uninformed - could somebody with the knowlege please share it ?. I contacted Bruce Weber shortly after i bought my "Fern" for some general info.,& Bruce told me that the Weber mandolins (when he was building them), had pressed in frets. I assume that The Two Old Hippies 'Webers' are the same - are they ?.

At least if somebody knows how their mandolin frets have been fitted,then the guy doing the re-fret is in with a chance,
Ivan

That won't help you much, Heating frets is the way for releasing them no matter if they are glued or not. Some boards are inherently problematic and the only way is to proceed slowly and not lose the bits... From my experience boards with grain not parallel to surface will typically chip badly on one side of slot and the chips will have tendency to separate completely and fall away. Also boards with perfectly radial cut (quartersawn) will be prone to chipping like the one in OP. In those cases drop of water, heating and very slow pulling (I'd call it wiggling-out) helps tremendously.

**Drew Streip** · Sep-14-2018, 7:55am

I've done two refrets -- one on a rosewood mandolin board, and one on a synthetic "Richlite" guitar board. Heat and patience are the way to go! By the time I installed new frets, both boards looked brand new.

It's worth mentioning that both needed some serious planing and sanding, but not so much that I had to deepen the slots.

I know eventually I'll find a stubborn board -- I just hope at that point I'm not too stubborn to work even more carefully.

**Rob Roy** · Sep-15-2018, 7:12am

Originally Posted by HoGo

You are forgetting that instrument undergoes multiple refrets over years and if each lutier thiks like you stated after fourth-fifth refret there would be chipped edge all along the fret slot making even seating of frets hard. These damages are cumulative.
I don't want the next guy to curse on my work so I try to glue back ALL tiny chips immediately as they appear and fill any missing after init. I run a tiny bead of thin CA along both sides of slot (not inside, but on top of board) so even the fuzzy edges of the "zipper" created by the studs after extraction of fret will solidify and when the board is sanded and edges of slots slightly chamfered the board looks just like new.

Chamfering the corners of the slots is good advice when you're considering future refrets. Logic tells me that chamfer will reduce (somewhat) chip-out when the fret is pulled. I just use a small 3-corner file, seems to make the installation a little easier too. Of course, if you put in 0.080" EVO wire, it may never need another refret (or at least not for a LONG time)

**Oliver R** · Sep-20-2018, 1:10pm

I was watching a you tube video yesterday regarding fret removal.
He was usin a soldering iron to heat the fret but was also melting solder onto the fret..is that the norm?

**HoGo** · Sep-20-2018, 1:57pm

Originally Posted by Oliver R

I was watching a you tube video yesterday regarding fret removal.
He was usin a soldering iron to heat the fret but was also melting solder onto the fret..is that the norm?

No, unless he wants them to become part of electronic circuit.

**pops1** · Sep-20-2018, 5:12pm

The solder will transfer heat faster than without, so it will heat the fret quicker with less heat on the wood fretboard. Since you are throwing the fret away anyway I don't see a problem.