Gibson F5 G: Refret with Stainless Steel Fretwire


1. This Gibson F5 G has a lot of miles for a two year old instrument.	2. Stainless Steel Frets are a good option for this mandolin given how quickly the original frets wore out.


3. Low Frets. Because these frets have been dressed a few times there is very little crown left. Low frets like these make an instrument more difficult to play than need be because more energy is required by the fretting hand. Also, intonation suffers as does (argueably) tone.	4. Removing the Nut is necessary so I may have uninhibited access to the fretboard for resurfacing. I cut through the lacquer around the nut in order to prevent damaging the finish. I'm using our shop's large, flush-cutting endnippers to gently ease the Gibson factory stock pearl nut from it's seat.


5. Removing the Frets. I heat up each fret with a soldering iron before I remove them with our shop's small flush-cutting endnippers. The heat from the soldering iron softens any glue that may have been used to help hold the frets in place. The soldering iron also helps prevent chipping of the ebony fretboard.	6. Resurfacing the Fretboard. A few passes with 400 grit sandpaper wrapped around our short dead-flat sanding bar both straightens the fretboard and reveals fresh ebony. The factory sanded two planes into the neck. This "planned fatigue" (or drop off) compensates for the variation in stability as the neck gets thicker toward the neck/body joint.


7. Scooping the Fretboard Extension at the request of the owner will provide more room for picking. After cutting away and shaping the extension with a chisel and finger plane, I glued some cell- uloid perfling into the fret slots for aesthetics.	8. Beveling the Fret Slots will prevent chipping during the process of installing the new frets. Beveled fret slots also reduce the likely-hood of chipping should this mandolin ever undergo another refret.


9. Cleaning out the Fret Slots with a small saw gets rid of any glue or other gunk that may have found it's way into the fret slots.	10. Cleaning out the Fret Slots Cont. Our shop vac has a rubber tube attached to it for safe dust collection inside and around musical instruments.


11. Installing the Stainless Steel Frets. At the request of the customer, these new frets are actually a bit wider than the factory stock frets. This will make the mandolin a bit easier to play as the crown is more accentuated.	12. Trimming the Fret Ends Flush with the edge of the fret- board.


13. Gluing in the Frets with cyano- acrylate (aka: superglue) ensures that the frets will stay properly seated should the neck ever dry out from exposure to extreme fluctuations in humidity.	14. Cleaning up the Excess Glue. I'm wipping away the excess glue with a paper towel lightly dampened with acetone.


15. Beveling the Fret Ends with a Mill File.	16. Final Beveling of the Fret Ends with Sandpaper.


17. Filling the Gap at the Bottom of the Fret Slot. I'm applying a small drop of medium viscosity cyano acrylate. This thicker super glue is easier to control (I don't want glue running down the back of the lacquered neck) and will fill this small gap with a single appli- cation.	18. Leveling the Frets with 600 grit sandpaper only takes a minute since I've done so much preparation in straightening and resurfacing the fingerboard.


19. Rounding the Fret Ends with our Stew Mac diamond fret crowning File.	20. Sanding the Frets with 600 grit sandpaper wrapped around a metal rod gets rid of the file marks on the fret ends and prepares the frets for polishing.


21. Polishing the Frets and Fretboard. I started this pro- cess with #0000 steel wool. Now I'm using micro mesh pads. These little sanding pads start at 2400 grit and go all the way up to 12000 grit.	22. Cleaning and Sealing the Fretboard. I cleaned the fretboard with naptha, now I'm sealing the ebony with mineral oil.


23. These Fret Ends are Dressed up with Nowhere to go, yet. All of that meticulous filing, sanding and polishing has really paid off. These fret ends exhibit a uniform hansome and lusterous sheen.	24. A New Nut will provide this Gibson F5 G with a clear, well artic- ulated tone.


25. The Scooped Fretboard Extension eliminates interference with the flat pick allowing cleaner, faster play.	26. New Frets make a world of difference to the fretting hand. The added height of new frets require less energy to play on and drastically im- prove the feel of a neck.


27. All Done. With a new nut, a scooped fretboard, new frets and a good set up, this instrument is ready to go.