Larrivee Refret

Related Topcis: Set Up | Nut | Saddle | Larrivee Bridge Plate Repair


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. These frets have already undergone a level and crown so they're already kind of short. Throw in some pitting from normal wear and tear and some subtle settling in of the neck and a refret is the only way to get this guitar back into top playing condition.	2. The Erlewine Neck Jig will play a central role in the process of refret- ting this fine guitar. We use this tool to aid with just about every fret level- ing and fret replacement job that comes through our shop. In Stew Mac's (the distributor's) own words, this jig allows for simulation of "normal string tension when the strings are removed from the instrument". This translates into faster fretwork with tighter tolerances.


3. Measuring the Compression of the Neck. With the guitar tuned to pitch, I adjusted the truss-rod so the instrument's neck would be as close to straight as possible given the moderate amount of distortion resulting from 15 or so years of exposure to string tension. With the guitar's body strapped into the jig I set the dial indicators to zero.	4. Removing the Frets. With the guitar still in the jig, I've removed the strings so I can pull the frets. Heating the fret up with a soldering iron prevents the ebony fretboard from chipping as the flush cutting end-nippers extract the fret. Next, I'll delicately remove the nut.


5. Simulating String Tension. Now that the frets are removed I'll level the fretboard. Before doing so I've adjusted the peghead to simulate string tension. The little jack at the end of the peghead pushes up on the neck while the strap wrapped around the neck just beyond the end of the fretboard pulls down on the neck. I'll adjust back and forth between the jack and the strap until the dial indicators both read zero, at which point, the neck will exhibit the same com- pression it did before I removed the strings.	6. Leveling the Fretboard with 80 grit self-adhesive sandpaper affixed to a long, flat aluminum sanding bar will reveal the trouble spots in the fretboard. This sanding bar is a bit longer than the fretboard which makes it perfect for showing me exactly where ebony must be sanded away. It's also great for final leveling of the finger- board and frets. I'm sanding in short strokes to ensure that at all times the sanding bar is extending beyond both ends of the fretboard.


7. A High Spot in the neck is indicated by the sanding marks at the end of the fretboard. The slight upward bow in the neck at this point is most likely due to the lack of reinforcement be- tween the first fret and the nut. The truss rod probably ends somewhere under or just after the first fret. This makes sense because the whole point of installing a truss rod so the truss rod nut is recessed into the neck block of the guitar (as Larrivee guitars are well known for) is to negate the necessity of extending the truss rod cavity under the nut which tends to weaken the headstock.	8. A Hump at the End of the Neck. Since this "hump" is more severe than the one at the nut I'll even this one out first. The high spot at the nut is pretty subtle so it should come out during the final leveling of the fretboard.


9. Spot Leveling the Fretboard with a short, flat aluminum sanding bar. After this high spot appears to be leveled out, I'll do a final leveling/ resurfacing of the entire fretboard with the long sanding bar with 120 grit self-adhesive sandpaper.	10. Beveling the Fret Slots will prevent the fretboard from chip- ping during fret installation. This will also prevent chipping during fret extraction, should this guitar ever undergo another refret. I'm only filing a slight bevel at the very top of the fret slot.


11. Pre-Bending Fretwire makes fret installation easier. I'm bending this fretwire on Stew-Mac's "fretbender" to a radius that's just a bit tighter than that of the first fret. The Fret- Bender also plays a central role in the shop's fret-tang grinding jig. Before I install the new frets I'll loosen the truss rod nut all the way.	12. Installing Frets with a rubber- faced mallet. Some folks press frets in but I get great results with a small mallet. Laying the neck of the guitar over a large bag of sand helps absorb the energy of the mallet blows (keeping them from dissipating throughout the guitar) and thus localizes the force of the soft mallet blows to the fret at hand. It's sort of like the difference between punching a large balloon and hitting a punching bag.


13. Installing the Frets in the Fretboard Tongue. Since this portion of the fretboard extends over the body of the guitar, it's impossible to reinforce this area of the instrument with a 50 pound bag of sand. Instead, I've taken to clamping a block of steel to the underside of the top just below the fretboard tongue.	14. Trimming the Fret Ends with large, flush-ground end-nippers.


15. Beveling the Fret Ends with a modified mill file. Next, I'll sand all of the fret ends (one side of the neck at a time) with the long sanding bar with 320 grit self-adhesive sandpaper	16. Leveling the Frets. Once again I'm using the Erlewine neck jig which meant restringing the guitar and repeating steps 2 and 3.


17. Dressing the Fret Ends. Beveling the fret ends leaves the corners of the fret ends kind of sharp. This crowning file rounds over the sides of the fret ends.	18. A Rounded Fret End. It's tough to see in this photo, but the fret end on the right is rounded over whereas the fret end on the left hasn't yet been dressed.


19. Recrowning the Frets only takes a minute. Since I so painstakingly prepared the fretboard and installed the new frets a minimal amount of fret material was lost during the process of leveling the frets.	20. Polishing the Frets and Fretboard. I started this pro- cess with 600 grit sandpaper, followed up by #00 and, now, #0000 steel wool. Next I'll use micro mesh pads. These little sanding pads start at 2400 grit and go all the way up to 12000 grit.


21. Cleaning and Sealing the Fretboard. I cleaned the fretboard with naptha, now I'm sealing the ebony with mineral oil.	22. A Set Up consisting of a truss rod adjustment, new bone saddle and nut adjustment completed this refret.


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.