which?: re-fretting or re-dressing?? (pics)

[shedshrine]

Question one: Can I get away with re-dressing these two necks, or does one or the other require re-fretting at this point.

Question two: I would leave re-fretting up to a pro, but how hard is it to re-dress a neck if you have the right tools?

Question three: ..what are the right tools? Best place to purchase online?

Question four: how much should one expect to pay for these services if done professionally?

Yeah, you probably don't need the headstock pics, but hey, the macro setting is fun to play with on this thing!!

[rolandk]

Have they been dressed before? If not, thats probably all they need. I had my strat done a year or two ago and I believe it was $160-ish for a refret and setup. There must be some reputable shops in SF, have them take a look and write up an estimate.

If you haven't been there already, check out http://www.stewmac.com/

[shedshrine]

rolandk said:Have they been dressed before? If not, thats probably all they need. I had my strat done a year or two ago and I believe it was $160-ish for a refret and setup. There must be some reputable shops in SF, have them take a look and write up an estimate.

If you haven't been there already, check out http://www.stewmac.com/

Thanks for the stewmac link. Man, what great stuff. This tool kit would pay for itself on one guitar, provided I don't totally screw up.
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies.html

Would love to know if anybody with no experience has taken a shot at this.

The Fender has already had at least one refret because the binding is all torn away. That one will be a good neck to practice on.

I had mentioned my situation at a local establishment here in Sonoma (two counties north of San Fran ) and they said 150 to 200 for fret dressing and around 300 for refretting. I guess I'd better send them off to Oregon for your rate rolandk. lol.
Thanks for the info!

[leftofthedial]

I tried dressing my strat frets once and really frigged it up.

[shedshrine]

Sorry for your loss leftofthedial. Were you able to get it fixed or did they have to replace the frets?
What exactly happened? Did you buy one of these kits, or just use some tools you had around?

I see on the stewmac site that for an additional fifty bucks they'll send you a dvd that shows you how to use the tools you buy in their $150 kit ....

Oh, and hey, nice lobsterhead there rolandk Hole in the Bucket rocks. Didn't see it in your listed influences, but I heard a Frank Black /Lyle Workman thing going on in the vid there!

[craigb156]

In Seattle got a banjo fret job- dressed, re-glued- really nice work, about $150.

In SF, I'd check out Peacock Music. Gary Brawer's shop does good work as well. Don't know prices at either, but Peacock did a lovely job on my brother's old Martin.

Cheaper will probably be Subway in Oakland....www.fatdawg.com which is the craziest guitar store I have ever seen. No idea how good their repair staff is currently, I last did business with them about ten years ago.

Everyone I know who has done this themselves regretted it if done on an instrument they intended to play. Fatdog would probably have some fucked up necks he'd GIVE you if you told him you wanted something to practice on. Seriously cool man.

Craig

[shedshrine]

In Seattle got a banjo fret job- dressed, re-glued- really nice work, about $150.

In SF, I'd check out Peacock Music. Gary Brawer's shop does good work as well. Don't know prices at either, but Peacock did a lovely job on my brother's old Martin.

Cheaper will probably be Subway in Oakland....www.fatdawg.com which is the craziest guitar store I have ever seen. No idea how good their repair staff is currently, I last did business with them about ten years ago.

Everyone I know who has done this themselves regretted it if done on an instrument they intended to play. Fatdog would probably have some fucked up necks he'd GIVE you if you told him you wanted something to practice on. Seriously cool man.

Craig

Great leads Craig. Thank you sir.

[JeremyTappero]

I gotta say. This is what i do for a living, I work retail at a vintage shop and set-ups/fret work/general repairs are 2/3 of my day.

A good dress should do the trick. 150-200ish should be about right.

I would tell you not to try it yourself (on these 2 guitars) now matter how slow you take it, chances are it will kinda suck the first time you do it. =)

That said, its not a bad of a job with the right tools and some elbow grease.
Get a kit and dress a few beaters.

Also, make sure those frets in the tele are indeed non-original before you go pulling them out, if they are orig (no matter how whooped) you will lose value on your guitar if you pull them.

[shedshrine]

I gotta say. This is what i do for a living, I work retail at a vintage shop and set-ups/fret work/general repairs are 2/3 of my day.

A good dress should do the trick. 150-200ish should be about right.

I would tell you not to try it yourself (on these 2 guitars) now matter how slow you take it, chances are it will kinda suck the first time you do it. =)

That said, its not a bad of a job with the right tools and some elbow grease.
Get a kit and dress a few beaters.

Also, make sure those frets in the tele are indeed non-original before you go pulling them out, if they are orig (no matter how whooped) you will lose value on your guitar if you pull them.

Hey, thanks for the heads up Jeremy. No worries there though, the original seth Lover widerange humbuckers were yanked by a previous owner, judging by the colors I can see through it's many dings and chips, it's been repainted twice, and from the torn up binding only around the fretwire ends, it's pretty clear this thing has had at least one refret. Not to mention it's a cbs fender. Still valuable?

I'll take you up on the practicing refretting on a beater though. That would be fun...

[JeremyTappero]

You'd be suprised what dealers are asking for late 70s Tele deluxes. I've seen people asking over 3k... I think it's a bit insane, but still worth considering.

Also for what its worth... those tele frets look kinda right to me, there was never any type of binding on those necks. Even refin'd and missing pickups, its not worth nothin

[shedshrine]

You'd be suprised what dealers are asking for late 70s Tele deluxes. I've seen people asking over 3k... I think it's a bit insane, but still worth considering.

Also for what its worth... those tele frets look kinda right to me, there was never any type of binding on those necks. Even refin'd and missing pickups, its not worth nothin

My bad. Yeah, it doesn't have neck binding. I meant the gloss finish has been peeled or torn away a good 1/8" around all the fret tines (if that's the right word) on the sides of the neck which led me to believe that the frets were probably not original. Can't really see it in the pic I posted.


The only thing stock on mine then is the two peices of wood. Hell, even the nut has been swapped out for a brass one. (that wasn't stock for these was it? )so I'm not going to worry too much about the resale value at this point. It was my first real guitar, and I'd really like to continue to play it, collectability be damned.

Hmm, I don't suppose there's any of that collectibility craziness for the '80s shred machines? At least the Charvel model6 is completely stock.

[muttonhead]

Check out smartflix.com You can rent the Dan Erlewine video on fret basics for $9.99. It's a good lesson. About 15 years ago I came across a 54 Strat that had been played a bunch. I wanted to play it as well so I "practiced" refretting 3 guitars before I refretted it. Each one can be a challange.

[shedshrine]

That's an excellent tip! thanks.

[UXB]

I think it's also worth mentioning that:
1. refretting a finished 70's maple neck can be incredibly difficult, with/without doing a refinish. The finish can be so thick around the frets that extracting the old frets or putting in new ones can make the finish crack, or make frets seat improperly.

2. make sure you get good frets. I have not been happy with dunlop frets for years. I think their frets are quite irregular and change by the batch. The angle where the fret meets the tang has been funky on some as well, leaving a small gap between fret and fingerboard, even when the fret is completely seated. I really like the Japanese frets found in Collings Guitars, and have had instruments refretted with that wire.

Hope this helps.

Best,
H

[mingus2112]

as someone said above. . .i wouldn't recommend doing your first refret on a guitar that mattered. my first few fret dresses came out kind of crappy. once you get good at it, though, you can blow through them and do a damn good job.

re dan erlewine: that video is FANTASTIC! i've got it and it's killer. his first video goes through the job with non-luthier type tools. He uses things like rat tail files, lawnmower blade sharpeners and carpenters levels. He even shows you how to make a notched straight edge (crucial for straightening your neck before a fret job) out of a drafting T square! His advanced videos go into more of the real luthier's tools etc. i would definitely recommend!

As for this time, though, spend the $100 to get it done right somewhere. Buy the videos and learn. Next time work on your own instrument.

-James