Frets wear down like tread on tires. As you love & play any instrument with frets you inevitably will have fret wear which can affect the playablity and enjoyment of the instrument.
1955 GIBSON ES-175
This ES-175 had its frets leveled flat and near flush with the wood before it was brought to me. Safe to say it’s been long overdue for a refret to get it up and playing again.
VINTAGE ARIA ES-335 COPY
70’s Aria. Made in Japan. This one got stainless steel frets and a new unbleached bone nut. Check out the neato neck joint. You don’t see them made like that often!
2000 GIBSON SG REFRET
The owner was bothered by strings sliding off the fretboard and excessive fret buzz after the 12th fret. Refretting the instrument gave opportunity to eliminate a rising tongue of the fretboard which was causing the buzzing and to level over the fret end “nibs” allowing for more fret and less sliding off of the board.
FRETWORK JIG
I made a simple jig for fretwork. The purpose of the jig is to simulate string tension with the strings off to eliminate guesswork. This Made In Japan “Fernando” Tele copy which had a minor back bow with string tension off was a perfect specimen to give the jig it’s first test run and it definitely helped!
1966 FENDER MUSTANG REFRET
This ‘66 Mustang still had it’s original frets that were worn out and long overdue for replacement. Fender installed their frets sideways until around 1984. What goes in sideways must go out sideways. I melt solder onto the fret to help ease removal.
