Defretting a T-24

[RenoEvan]

Just wondering if you've moved ahead - I'm watching this project with interest! Will you leave the filler a different color than the fretboard, or stain it to match?

[Pilgrim]

Nice shot on the tiny wood chips! The tape definitely appeared to help with them - I hope they all glued down OK.

I'm not a big fan of wood goop for filler - I prefer wood or styrene plastic. I used styrene on my fretless conversion because I knew it was dense and would not allow the fret-holes to compress when the strings exerted tension on the neck.

What kind of filler material are you planning on using?

[Captain_Arrrg]

I've been sick/busy/lazy.

I've done an initial sanding and I've gotten the neck a strait as I can.

Next filling with fretboard sandings dyed epoxy, then leveling and hardware adjustment (nut filing, my neck pup needs to be lower).

After that ??? I may replace the pups, I may install a piezo bridge (in communication with bestbassgear.com)... I may completely screw it up and toss it off a cliff.

More soon....

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by Captain_Arrrg

Next filling with fretboard sandings dyed epoxy, then leveling and hardware adjustment (nut filing, my neck pup needs to be lower).

THAT sounds like a winner. Should be a subtle color difference, good solid filler material, and sandable to level the fingerboard nicely.

[Captain_Arrrg]

OK! I finaly got some time to work.

Tools for sanding and filing: StewMac 8" sanding block with a 12" radius; 3M Stikit Gold 220 grit sandpaper; StewMac 5pc. Needle File set.



First up, a light initial sanding to take out the rough spots. I put a piece of plastic under the neck to catch the sandings.



Next step is to take a lot of time off... Not really but that's what I did.

Throughout that time, I would work on filing down the nut. I take care to keep the same shape in the bottom of the nut and the same angle down toward the tuning pegs. You just want the strings to sit lower in the nut. How low is up to you, just keep in mind that the lower you get it the more "mwah" you'll get... And the further you have you press down the string, the further off your intonation will be.



Now for the Epoxy. I'm using a 30 minute Epoxy, graduated mixing cups and super glue pipettes all from StewMac. I also used the fretboard sandings here.



I mixed 10ml of resin with 10ml of hardener, and then added the sandings and slowly mixed them together. As it turned out, 20ml of epoxy was about 2 times as much as I needed and as a result, my attempt at dying the epoxy only tinted it. Good enough for me, but all you out there take note!

The epoxy is a little thick for the pipettes, so I trimmed the tips and used multiple so that they could fill ass I worked. Note the the bulb on the far right one is sill depressed, sucking up more epoxy.




I squirted epoxy along all 24 fret lines, using more than necessary partly because I could, and partly because the second sanding will take care of any excess.





Now it sits for the next 24 hours. Then sanding #2, more nut filing and other hardware work!

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Originally Posted by Captain_Arrrg

Now it sits for the next 24 hours. Then sanding #2, more nut filing and other hardware work!

That'll be fun!

You might want to hold off on filing the nut any more until the fingerboard is done and you see how it plays as is.

[Pilgrim]

Looks like a good candidate to go for an all-epoxy fretboard, given the amount of it that's already on there....

[Captain_Arrrg]

Originally Posted by BillyB_from_LZ

That'll be fun!

You might want to hold off on filing the nut any more until the fingerboard is done and you see how it plays as is.

You're on the money there. The way I see it, the fretboard will be slightly lower when finished, but finalizing string hight (hardware adjustment) is the last step.

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Looks like a good candidate to go for an all-epoxy fretboard, given the amount of it that's already on there....

This being the first time I've worked with epoxy, I didn't went to run the risk of smearing it all over the board, only to have it not set right. Failed fretless conversion: this bass might be dundies

Also, I wanted to make sure it got in the lines, so spillover was a necessary evil. Plus I was going to sand again anyway, so too much seamed better than too little.

[Captain_Arrrg]

I started sanding down the Epoxy this morning. Due to the fact that this results in air-born epoxy dust, I recommend a dust mask.



Using my trusty sanding block, I went to work on the epoxy.



This part need to be done in spurts- The heat from sanding causes the epoxy to get a bit tacky. If the dust turns to clumps, move to a different spot or take a break.

Here's how it looks now:

[Captain_Arrrg]

Holy $#!%, I forgot to post the finished pics! Once again, sorry for the blurriness.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by BillyB_from_LZ

Ever try toe nail clippers?

In 1976, I worked at St. Louis Music Supply, in the Yairi room; the head of refurb at the time, Paul Dwyer, had come up with that idea. I've ground the corners off mine, been using it for over 30 years, now--never found ANY tool that works better, for fretpulling!

[Captain_Arrrg]

Originally Posted by JLS

... I've ground the corners off mine, been using it for over 30 years, now--never found ANY tool that works better, for fretpulling!

Any chance of a picture of those clippers?

[RenoEvan]

Turned out looking real nice, Captain. Happy with how she plays as well?

[Captain_Arrrg]

Yeah, I put some DR Sunbeams on it and it sound great.

Someone recommended that I coat the board in teak oil, so I'm going to hit the last few spots with epoxy, then do that. I'll keep this updated.