First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

A

Adieu

New member
Interested in learning to refret.

Have some trashy necks to experiment on. Experience with just about every other guitar related job except this one... general DIY experience like cabinet builds, refinishing stuff, installing shocks on vehicles, building hydroponics, etc. Never pay people to do something unless I know I'll fail or the tools cost much more than the labor kinda guy

No fretwork tools though. Limited budget, can but don't wanna splurge.

PS should I get on the stainless bandwagon or just go with evo gold?
 
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Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

Fretting is the biggest suck of money on tools - as you cannot simply adapt other tools to suit the job.
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

This is the most cost effective tool kit that I am aware of. You can of course buy piece by piece and buy better quality or slightly different tools based on your needs/wants, but cost goes up too. They say this set works on stainless too, except for the fret cutters. You'd have to add one of those, but that makes this kit a better value I think.

https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Too...ppers_sizing/Essential_Fretting_Tool_Set.html
 
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Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

I'm in Australia, so all of what I get is probably even more inflated even before you get to the shipping side of things......so I'll just give a list of the tools.

I'd want a fret bender, some form of press (softfall hammers really suck but will do initially), radius sander, crowning file.

regular tools: end cutters, files, straightedge, polishing/buffing papers.

To lift old frets you can use a soldering iron to break any glue join.
Lastly if you want the necks to be playable you'll probably need the nut slotting files too as at minimum you'll need to fill and re-slot the existing nut.

Philadelphia Luthier Tools are good for pricing out this stuff and pretty cheap overall.

edit - you might need a fret slotting saw too as you cannot be sure that the slots will perfectly match the tang size or depth......and you won't get a fret into an undersized slot
 
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Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

Jeff_H said:
This is the most cost effective tool kit that I am aware of. You can of course buy piece by piece and buy better quality or slightly different tools based on your needs/wants, but cost goes up too. They say this set works on stainless too, except for the fret cutters. You'd have to add one of those, but that makes this kit a better value I think.

https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Too...ppers_sizing/Essential_Fretting_Tool_Set.html
Click to expand...

This is ridiculous, that set doesnt contain anything distinctive or special
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

There are actually a couple in there.......but if you got all the distinctive bits you'd probably be up for that sort of $$$ anyhow.
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

Adieu said:
This is ridiculous, that set doesnt contain anything distinctive or special
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Just the basic tools required to do a re-fret. You said you didn't want to splurge, so this is just a pretty basic set that will do the job, that I knew about. Just trying to help.
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

Jeff_H said:
Just the basic tools required to do a re-fret. You said you didn't want to splurge, so this is just a pretty basic set that will do the job, that I knew about. Just trying to help.
Click to expand...

They're all generic offbrands and the SOLE specialty tool in the pack is the file with the fret-shaped groove

That kit has 50 bucks retail, 20 bucks wholesale, 15 bucks at cost written all over it

"Specialized equipment" is a scam, most of it has a gazillion uses across dozens of industries for the exact same item... it's like when you search for a luxury car part by brand model year and name, it pops up for 350 at dealership, by brand and THEIR part number, it's 200 from a website.... part number stamped on the part itself? $65. True story about how I shopped for a MAF for my bimmer.
 
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First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

The local shop near me charges $300 for a full refret.
After looking at tool prices, that basic kit with shipping would run you just under $250. Add to that your labor and frustration etc.
For me, I’d just take it to my guy and pay $300.
But I get that you want to learn and save some money too. Tough call!!
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

I learned to refret and it saved me hella dollars in the long run. It's not too particularly tough either.
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

Adieu said:
They're all generic offbrands and the SOLE specialty tool in the pack is the file with the fret-shaped groove

That kit has 50 bucks retail, 20 bucks wholesale, 15 bucks at cost written all over it

"Specialized equipment" is a scam, most of it has a gazillion uses across dozens of industries for the exact same item... it's like when you search for a luxury car part by brand model year and name, it pops up for 350 at dealership, by brand and THEIR part number, it's 200 from a website.... part number stamped on the part itself? $65. True story about how I shopped for a MAF for my bimmer.
Click to expand...

Different sources will charge different prices for the same item? The hell, you say!
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

I learned to refret and it saved me hella dollars in the long run. It's not too particularly tough either.
Click to expand...

Really.... I'd like to see some of your work.
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

Chistopher said:
I learned to refret and it saved me hella dollars in the long run. It's not too particularly tough either.
Click to expand...
I'd like to see some samples of your work, as I completely disagree about this statement.

/Peter
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

Fretting and obviously refretting is the most difficult and precision heavy task in all of guitar building, let alone maintenance.
Anyone saying it is 'easy' has most probably failed to appreciate a good amount of the task.
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

ICTGoober said:
Really.... I'd like to see some of your work.
Click to expand...

This was my first job, the only one I took pictures of:

PicsArt_08-28-12.34.21.jpg

It was a 90s Hamer Diablo I used when I was experimenting with fret wire sizes. It's amazing how much the different sizes affect the feel and tone of the guitar, especially when I converted to stainless steel.
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

Adieu said:
This is ridiculous, that set doesnt contain anything distinctive or special
Click to expand...

apart from the fret end file (and I am not even sure about that) the rest cant be found in commodity/hardware stores. E.g. the fret puller is *not* the classic cutter you'll find on ebay. It looks similar but this one is flush flat.
 
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Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

It was a 90s Hamer Diablo I used when I was experimenting with fret wire sizes. It's amazing how much the different sizes affect the feel and tone of the guitar, especially when I converted to stainless steel.
Click to expand...

Looks good, but I think your fret bevel on the ends is a little upright. Do your fingers catch on the fret ends when you play?
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

That was a bit of a problem, not one that I noticed at first, but about a week after I took the picture I added a bit more angle to them. They probably aren't as good as if they would be if I took them to a tech, but they are certainly better than some of the low-mid priced import brands I've played.
 
Re: First time DIY refret costs and difficulty?

Chistopher said:
This was my first job, the only one I took pictures of:

View attachment 92275

It was a 90s Hamer Diablo I used when I was experimenting with fret wire sizes. It's amazing how much the different sizes affect the feel and tone of the guitar, especially when I converted to stainless steel.
Click to expand...

I think this looks awesome! Now I'm interested in refretting. I have a '77 LP Custom I'd love to do this to. I have the time and patience to try to keep the nibs, but the ebony has divots and could use a planing.
 
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