refretting a Fender stratocaster PART 1 (introduction)

JgHaverty Says:

Jun 18, 2011 - boys got some chops! :)

reehays Says:

Jun 27, 2011 - can you show us the scalloping process?

Thirdgen83 Says:

Aug 27, 2011 - Why would a guitar that's only 7 years-old need a re-fret?...

smbstressfest Says:

Aug 27, 2011 - I thought I explained very clearly that this guitar didn't NEED a refret at all, the owner simply wanted the frets replaced with the Dunlop 6000's that I have in one of my guitars which he played and liked. Also, age has nothing to do with it. When a guitar needs either a fret leveling or a full refret has to do with usage and wear, NOT time.. I know acoustic players that require refrets about once a year, and there are players who NEVER seem to wear out frets.

Thirdgen83 Says:

Aug 27, 2011 - Yeah, I figured that out when I watched Part-2...

seasonedtoker Says:

Dec 6, 2011 - hi jason sorry to bother you again. I'm wondering what would you think of this. I have a mint 2004 american series strat. I'm getting buzzes everywhere from 3rd fret up. D and G strings are the worst. truss or bridge adjustment can't fix it. all of the frets look very square, there's almost no crown at all, just a flat surface. looks like it was overdone with leveling? what do you suggest? I was thinking of leveling frets first, then if it worsens I'd go for a refret. thanks a lot

smbstressfest Says:

Dec 8, 2011 - D and G string buzzes, sounds like a strat LOL. I notice this "chatter" a lot on Fender style guitars even when the fretwork is perfect. I wish I knew what caused it or more importantly, how to easily correct it. How much height is there to your frets? If there's enough height, you might just consider having them recrowned. Sometimes fret chatter seems to increase with surface area. So if you have a really flat crown, the problem can be magnified by this.

seasonedtoker Says:

Dec 9, 2011 - as I don't own a crowning file what's my best choice - a 3-sided jewlers file or sandpaper on a stick and sand it on the sides? do I have to straighten the neck first too?

seasonedtoker Says:

Dec 9, 2011 - forgot to add - height is averaging from 1.04 to 1.09 mm. that's about 1/15''

kdjfnvjvd Says:

Dec 20, 2011 - Jason, I am a huge fan of your work. You are so attention to detail and a true luthier! I was wondering if I may send you a build but was wondering a price range. I bought a tele style body and a fender 50's RI neck and vintage hardware bridge. The body isnt string-thru so it will have to be drilled and the neck may need to be redrilled as well if the holes dont line up. What do you think????

smbstressfest Says:

Dec 21, 2011 - I'll send you a PM and we can talk about it.

5150Nobozos Says:

Dec 23, 2011 - Hey Jason,Thanks for posting these great videos. After watching these I started doing refrets recently after seeing how you did your refrets. You sure do great work. Looks like factory work after you do the refret. I wanted to ask if you use the Dunlop 6000 and where are you buying it from? I bought some Dunlop 6100 from Warmoth but I really wanted to get the 6000, Warmoth said the batch they have isn't really much bigger than the 6100. Thanks

smbstressfest Says:

Dec 23, 2011 - The last batch of Dunlop 6000 I bought came from a music store. Typically, stores can get tubes (20-2' straight pieces) of Dunlop "accu-fret" fretwire in any of the common sizes made. You might also be able to find pre-cut and radiused sets that are sufficient to refret one guitar. Do a google search and I'm sure you'll find a few online options as well.

5150Nobozos Says:

Dec 23, 2011 - Hey Jason,Thanks for the reply, I wanted to ask which crowning file you feel works best? I'm about to try to refret a Squier maple strat neck and I wanted to try to get an idea what problems you run into on maple neck refrets?thanks

smbstressfest Says:

Jan 2, 2012 - I like the diamond recrowning files the best. Toothed files work fast but often leave deep scratches that are tough to remove when you're polishing the frets. Diamond files are expensive but worth the additional cost IMO. Maple necks are sometimes fussy when it comes to fret removal because of the finish that's usually sprayed on the top. Sometimes maple also burns due to the heat from your soldering gun when removing the frets. Keep the iron moving and try to work fast.

AxekickerDotCom Says:

Jan 10, 2012 - Wow an entire refret just because of some buzzing? Why not even out the frets instead?

smbstressfest Says:

Jan 10, 2012 - I think it's either in this video or the very next I address your point. The customer played a guitar of mine with a larger fretwire and liked it. So when faced with the decision as to whether or not he'd like to make this one play better and LOSE fret height or pay a little more, have a better playing guitar and GAIN fret height, he chose the latter.

axekicker78 Says:

Jan 10, 2012 - Cool, thanks for the reply. Quick question. I like VERY LOW action. I find I often have to level and file my frets past the 12th to achieve this. I have a decent fret file and crowner, but I have trouble shaping the frets and they often look flat and very low. Do the frets need to be a certain height? If so, why? Thanks!

smbstressfest Says:

Jan 10, 2012 - I hear you, recrowning frets is quite difficult. Fret height is mostly just personal preference. I for instance like very tall frets but I really don't care if they're narrow. Other players hate the feel of tall frets and prefer the wide ones. No hard and fast rules exist that I'm aware of, but speaking as a repair tech I think once a fret becomes < .025" tall from years or wear and/or redressings it's time to seriously consider a refret. Hope that helps.

AxekickerDotCom Says:

Jan 10, 2012 - So I have a crowning file, but I don't see a major difference. I assume I should only move the file in one direction? I've also polished the frets with a dremmel and polish wheel from Stewmac. I'm watching your vids now determining if I should attempt a re-fret. I have the tools, but I'm nervous about it. Rather than keep filing my frets, I'm wondering if I should just sand the neck(s) to an 18" radius, and then fret. Thoughts?

who8allthepies Says:

Jan 26, 2012 - i think the guy wants 6000 jumbo frets on it. thats why he wants a full refret. a good choice as i have jumbos frets on my strat neck wiht a compound radius of 9 to 12 radius.

JimmyPage968 Says:

Feb 18, 2012 - Hey Jason, what do you think of the LSR roller nut? Any new videos coming up?

smbstressfest Says:

Feb 20, 2012 - I don't care for LSR roller nuts. I think it's a factory's solution to a problem (friction) that doesn't typically plague guitars that are tweaked and setup by knowledgeable tech. Also the lack of tweakability in regards to the action of individual strings and overall radius is limiting from a setup perspective.Alas, no new videos are in the works for the time being. I'm in school full time and working 3 part time jobs... basta

JimmyPage968 Says:

Feb 20, 2012 - Well, me being a lefty, I can't have the option of LSR! I'll just go with GraphTech TUSQ XL, I have one on my Les Paul and it's great! Thanks for your perspective!

farsoh023 Says:

Apr 11, 2012 - Any advice on where to get the super glue remover I've seen in your videos? Stewmac doesn't carry it anymore.