im thinking about defretting my bass (not my spector, but a $15 jazz(??)copy). does anyone have tips? also, where can i buy small quantaties of tung oil?
<html> <body> <h2 FONT size=12> Lets begin...</h2> <p> There are two methods for defretting: HEAT and HAMMERING. the advantages of heating the frets is that you will not have to sand like a bulldozer, and the fretboard will be in good shape after it.</p> <h3>Heat</h3> <p>Steps: First, heat the frets with a soldering gun, until you feel that you can slide it to the side. This will melt the glue and will likely allow to remove the fret. You can now proceed to the common steps section</p> <h3>Hammering</h3> <p>Steps: Just use a small screwdriver to hit the fret at the side, in an "UP" direction, like trying to make it out of the slot, as soon as you can grab it with a ply and pull it out. This will chip the fretboard badly.</p> <p>Sanding: Use a 400Grit wood sand paper to sand all the chipping and imperfections of the board. Once you have it leveled, proceed to the common steps section.</p> <h2>Common Steps</h2> <p>Now you can use Epoxy Glue mixed with rosewood dust to fill the fret slots, or use small pieces of maple wood that will resemble a fret, you can then sand and level it. use any wood filler product, just dont forget to fill the frets before finishing.</p> <p>For the finishing there are two kind of options.: Polymer finish, for an edgy modern sound. or Tung-Linseed oil for a more woddy URB sound. I used polymer when deffretting, but that was just my personal choice. I didnt want to see the wood hurt by the roundwound strings.</p> <h3>GOOD LUCK!!!</h3> </body>
WHOA DUDE! $15 bucks or not, don't hammer! My local luthier showed me the easy way. Go buy a small pair of "end nippers" at your local hardware store, you'll find them hanging with the needlenose pliers. You need to touch the ends to a bench grinder for a second or two, just enough to flatten the nose. Grip the fret, beginning at the end, and these pliers will pull the fret straight up, without splintering. If the frets were installed with super glue or something like that, a touch with your soldering iron for a second or two will help.
Mike Lull has a nice step-by-step description of the defretting process, complete with pictures, at his website.
can you get the tung oil at a hardware store like Scottys(those are everywhere in central florida)??? is the polymere stuff available from Scottys as well???
I defretted my old Westfield with a pair of nail-pulling pliars. I felt kind of like a dentist and kind of like a builder but there we go Worked pretty well, a few chips here and there, most would be covered by new frets except one. I think I might fill that whole fretline up and do it again when I get the new frets. Epoxy mixed with rosewood dust you say? Just fill the gap, use some card to spread it into the chip, then sand smooth and use my rotary tool to cut a new hole?
