REfretting question

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on July 22, 2011 at 11:37pm

Hi Bomb,

I hate to see a query go unanswered. I think most of us would say a "A fret crowning tool what?" (myself included). Perhaps a guitar repair luthier website like Frank Ford's (Gryphon Stringed Instruments, Palo Alto, CA) www.frets.com web site would be better informed as to what you are asking. That said, you might be able to sand down your frets to resurface them by using a long, narrow sanding block. Find a good piece of wood (nice and level, squarely cut) and glue on (rubber cement) some fine grain sand paper (400 grit) and give it a try. If you are just looking to re-shine your frets, try fine steel wool, but be careful not to scratch the fretboard. In the U.S. they sell blue painter's tape which you can use to mask off the wood parts of the fretboard you want to protect. If that is not available, you can use masking tape, just be aware that masking tape can dry really hard if left on for too long, or exposed to the sun. So you can use it, but remove it shortly after sanding. Hopefully, what I have said answers you question.

-Rand.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on July 23, 2011 at 1:49am

Bomb,
I realize you are in Eastern Europe, and so are probably asking because 1) you want to use an old guitar fretboard with ancient worn frets, and 2) you don't have access to professional luthier's tools.

From the searching I've done today, most professional luthiers use a combination of specifically- made-for - the- task fret recrowning tools (Stewart-MacDonald and Luthier's Mercantile in the U.S. sell pro quality fret recrowning tools). These are expensive, and are likely out of your price range, or you wouldn't be asking how to do the job without them. I have also seen mention made of needle files and flat-ground-edge triangular files, which the pros also use, but in every case,they recommend giving the job to a pro if this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. According to the pros, fret recrowning can be accomplished with a simple small file, but apparently requires lots of practice and technique to get right, or risk doing the job over, especially without some variant of Dan Erlewine's neck jig.

Here is a link to a PDF that explains one way of doing fret recrowning:

http://www.biscegliaguitars.com/files/Refret%20&%20Recrown%20In...

Stew-Mac also has a nice tutorial on their website.

You will note that in both cases, they recommend the use of a proper fret recrowning tool.

Or you could bravely attempt it with a simple small triangular file. But I wouldn't if you only have one fretted neck available to practice on.

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Permalink Reply by MBliss on July 23, 2011 at 5:30pm

Well, fret crowning and shaping was done for many years before there were dedicated tools such as crowning files and neck jigs. These devices were developed mostly by the need and desire to do it faster and certainly require less experience to develop a successful technique, and are likely to give more accurate final results.

There are certainly alternative methods, but to give any advise or consider ideas, it would help, as Oilyfool mentioned, to know what exactly you are trying to accomplish. You mentioned "re-fretting" in the topic line, then mentioned "re-crowning" in the discussion, with no mention of the condition, or symptom you are hoping to "fix". 

As a general rule, re-crowning is done to correct the "flattening" of the fret tops after material is removed while "truing" the frets. Even with the modern tools, this is a job that could easily make matters worse in inexperienced hands.

In addition to the links provided above, there is some fret installation and finishing information here.

Hope that helps, have fun!

Mark

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on July 24, 2011 at 12:54am

Thanks for pitching in, guys.

-Rand.

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