Search:

Gibson Les Paul Custom: Refret

Related Topics: | Truss Rod | Set Up | Gibson Les Paul Custom: New Bone Nut |


1. Gibson has made lots of instruments over the years. In my opinion, the Les Paul line is one of their more note- worthy achievements.	2. The Les Paul Custom. This one is a lefty manufactured in 1980.


3. Low Frets detract from the feel of a guitar, they also require more energy from the fretting hand during play than a fresh set of frets do. These frets have clearly been leveled and recrowned (probably years ago). The low/worn frets combined with a distorted neck have rendered this guitar just about unplayable.	4. Adjusting the Truss Rod is the very crucial first step in the refretting process. Because this neck is distorted I also have to factor in all of the twists and humps as well as the neck angle, and the structural integrity of the neck. Throw in the compression of the new frets I'll be installing and you begin to see why it's so important to come up with a game plan for resurfacing a distorted fretboard before you so much as remove the strings. Because I'll be adjusting the truss rod during various stages of the refret I've marked my initial adjustment with a marker. This way I'll be able to easily return the truss rod to this position.


5. Removing the Nut is necessary because I'll be resurfacing the fret- board as well as fabricating a new bone nut for this guitar to compensate for the increase in fret height. I'll score the lacquer around the nut first to avoid chipping the finish during extraction.	6. Sawing the Faceplate with a very finely kerfed saw will allow me to remove the nut without putting any stress on the guitar itself. Les Paul string nuts are actually "inlaid" into the headstock making removal without sawing the faceplate risky. I'll make the new bone nut .013" wider than the original to fill the gap.


7. The String Nut was easily extracted without any damage to the guitar. The original nut appears to be made from micarta, one of many popular synthetic materials used by the factories over the years. A new bone nut will be both more durable and improve the tone and sustain of the guitar.	8. Removing the Frets is done with a pair of flush ground end nippers and a soldering gun. Heating the frets up before removal is key to avoiding chipping of the ebony. I should also mention that before fret removal I tightened up the truss rod. This forces the neck into a back bow, thus reducing the amount of compression the fretboard exerts on the frets, which, in turn, further reduces the chances of the fretboard chipping.


9. Resurfacing the Fretboard will get rid of the distortion in the neck/ fretboard. The Erlewine neck jig is a real time saver here as it simulates string tension. I actually set the guitar up in the neck jig after I removed the nut but before I removed the frets. After removing the nut I temporarily placed it back in the nut seat (without glue) and strung up the guitar. This allowed me to set up the neck jig for this guitar. The process of extracting the nut could ever so slightly shift the guitar in the jig, thus making it impossible to accurately simulate string tension. After removing the frets, I readjusted the truss rod back to my marker line.	10. Beveling the Fret Slots reduces the chances of chipping both during fret installation as well as any potential fret extraction that may be performed on this instrument in the future. After resurfacing the fretboard I removed the guitar from the neck jig and completely loosened the truss rod nut.


11. Cleaning out the Fret Slots with a dremel tool helps ensure a good fit for the new frets. This step is only necessary when there is glue or other gunk in the fret slots from a previous fret job or when some of the fret slots need to be deepened to counteract the removal of distortion from the fretboard during resurfacing.	12. Fret Tang Removal must be done to the ends of each fret in order to allow the fret crown to extend over the binding. The fret- tang nippers sold by stew mac are a good first step but much of the time the nippers leave a small plateau along the bottom of the crown that inhibits proper seating of the new frets. That's where this shop-made fret-tang flush cutting jig picks up the slack.


13. Installing the Frets with a light mallet. I let the weight of the tool do the work as the neck rests on a sandbag. I save my swing for the ball park. After all of the frets are seated, I'll glue them in to both ensure even tone and sustain from fret to fret as well as prevent any of these new frets from working loose should the guitar dry out and the ebony shrink.	14. Beveling the Fret Ends starts with a modified mill file. I'll use a flat sanding bar with fine grit self adhesive sandpaper to give the bevel its final profile.


15. Dressing the Fret Ends will soften the edges of the fret ends making them comfortable to the fretting hand. Although any number of different tools work well for this I prefer the shape and light file marks that this 300 grit crowning file produces. Next, I'll adjust the truss rod so the neck is straight.	16. Leveling the Frets. I've put the guitar back into the neck jig for the sake of accuracy and time. 400 grit self-adhesive sandpaper on a flat sanding bar is all that's nece- ssary. Note that the sanding bar is longer than the fretboard thus ensuring that the frets are all sand- ed evenly.


17. Radius Sanding Blocks can be more of a hinderance than a help. I find they are unnecessary most of the time, but when a neck is pretty distorted before the refret They can help re-establish the radius. These block aren't flat (from end to end) and if they are inadvertantly skewed lateraly during use they will screw up the radius. I've found they work much better if only a narrow (1 1/4" wide or so) strip of fine grit selfadhesive sandpaper is attached to the middle of a shortened block. When I resurface a fretboard I tend to use one of the shop's radius guages as a scraper to mark high spots in the fretboard which I then lightly sand down with a short and narrow flat sanding bar.	18. Recrowning the Frets is only necessary during a refret if the neck was pretty distorted to begin with. Although the fretboard resurfacing went really well I stopped a few thousandths of an inch short of perfectly straight (sanding through inlays is no fun) so I'll have to spot file a few of the frets to tighten up the guitar's feel and intonation.


19. Recrowning the Frets. These are two of the offending frets that need recrowning. The one on the left required just a couple of light passes with the fine grit crowning file. I'll do the same to the fret on the right.	20. Polishing the Frets starts with 1,000 grit sandpaper, then progresses through a series of finer grit abrasives ending at 12,000 grit. I'll then buff the frets with a compound charged buffing wheel followed by a dry wheel.


21. Setting Up this 1970's Gibson Les Paul is necessary since I've both installed new frets and fabricated a new bone nut. During a set up, I adjust instruments in the following order: truss rod, nut slots, action at the bridge/saddles, tailpiece, truss rod, action at the bridge, tailpiece then intonation and pickup height. Those aren't typos, each adjustment effects the other adjustments essentially necess- itating a rough then final set-up.	22. Properly Dressed Fret Ends are smooth to the touch.


23. New Frets make a world of difference to the fretting hand. New frets require less energy to play on and drastically improve the feel of a neck.