Gibson Les Paul Custom: Refret

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

Note: The Les Paul photo-documented here belongs to Trace Davis, the president of Voodoo Amplification. Aside from being a really friendly group of guys, Voodoo Amps also happens to be a leader in their field: electric guitar amplifier design, manufacturing and modification.


1. 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.	2. 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.


3. Removing the Frets is done with a pair of flush cutting end nippers and a soldering iron. Heating the fret up before removal is key to avoiding chipping of the ebony and loosening any glue used to secure the frets.	4. Protective Shields allow me to work safely without risk of damag- ing this vintage Les Paul's finish. We fabricated these shields from sheet steel. They are lined with ruberized cork to protect the finish and contoured to match the arching of this Les Paul Custom.


5. Cutting Away the Excess Binding with the end nippers will allow me to true the fretboard un- hindered. It is possible to refret a Les Paul and maintain the original look of the binding coming up at the fret ends. However, this is Trace's main guitar so he has opted for function over form.	6. Resurfacing the Fretboard will straighten out any bowing or twist- ing. At this stage I will also increase or decrease the relief in the neck when necessary. Trace's guitar need- ed the flexibility of a little more relief so I tightened up the truss rod a bit and spot sanded before I proceeded to sand the fretboard with one of our shop's flat sanding bars.


7. Truing the Radius of the Fret Board. I like to use short sections of radiused sanding cauls to ensure an even radius. These wooden sanding blocks are never flat so I use a short one because it won't actually change the straightness of the fret board, only the radius.	8. Checking My Work with a Straight-Edge ensures that I've correctly resurfaced the fretboard of this Gibson. Note the large neck cradle. We fabricated this in order to provide support to the entire neck during fretwork. A fresh piece of paper taped to the cradle prevents metal and wood particles from pen- etrating into the cork lined neck rest at the top of the cradle.


9. Beveling the Fret Slots will prevent the fretboard from chip- ping during fret installation. This will also prevent chipping should this guitar ever undergo another refret.	10. Cleaning out the Fret Slots with a dremel tool. I set the cutter a few thousandths of an inch deeper than the tang of the fret wire. This ensures that the frets have enough room to properly seat.


11. Clearing the Dust from the Fret Slots is quick, albeit loud, with a shop vac. I've attached rubber tubing to the shop vac to concentrate the force of the vaccum cleaner into a smaller area. Also, the rubber tubing won't scuff the fretboard because it is much softer than the standard plastic hose this unit came with.	12. Installing the New Frets is effectively achieved with a mallet over a sandbag.


13. Trimming the Fret Ends Flush with the edge of the fret- board.	14. 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. 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. Leveling the Frets with 600 grit sandpaper only takes a minute since I've done so much preparation in straightening and resurfacing the fingerboard.	18. Rounding the Fret Ends with our Stew Mac diamond fret crowning File. I'll follow this up with a quick hand sanding of 600 grit sandpaper wrapped around my fingers.


19. 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.	20. Cleaning and Sealing the Fretboard. I cleaned the fretboard with naptha, now I'm sealing the ebony with mineral oil.


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, pickup height and intonation.	22. A New Bone Nut will provide Trace's Les Paul with a clear, well articulated tone. Bone also increases the sustain of a guitar. Though these changes in tonal characteristics are somewhat subtle, they mean a lot to a professional with exceptionally well trained ears such as Trace Davis. Notice how the string protrusion from the nut gradually increases toward the 6th string. This helps fascilitate accurate tuning and stable string bending.


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.