bassmaninar

I de-fretted my 87 Fender Jazz Bass Special, and it wasn't that difficult. Here's how I did it...I used a small pair of flush cutting end nippers to remove the frets. I don't recommend using a screwdriver, no matter how small. It can dent the fingerboard. I worked from one end of the fret across the middle squeezing the nippers. Be careful not to pull up while squeezing as this may cause excessive chipping around the fret slot. Some chipping is unavoidable, so don't panic, they can be sanded out. Also, don't grab the fret in the middle, work from the end. Since some manfacturers glue the frets in, I suggest starting with the last fret with the nippers. If the fret appears to be glued in, use a soldering iron to melt the glue. Fortunately, mine weren't glued in. Once the frets were removed, I lightly sanded the fingerboard with 200 grit sandpaper to take off the burrs around the fret slots. Then I used an Exacto blade and cleaned the fret slots. Some people use wood filler to fill in the slots, but I wanted to use something more substantial. I used red oak veneer that cabinet makers use to cover the exposed edges of plywood. It came from Lowe's and was in a roll like tape. It was 3/4" wide. I cut the veneer into strips about 1/2" longer than the respective fret slots and cut the width in half so they were about 3/8" wide. The veneer had heat activated glue applied to one side, which I removed with brush cleaner and a safety razor. I applied wood glue (Titebond) to the edge of the strips and set them taking care not to break them. I removed the excess glue with a damp cloth. After the glue had dried, I took an wide Exacto blade that was beveled on one side like a miniature chisel and trimmed the overhanging lengths, following the side of the fretboard. Then I trimmed down the tops of the strips, removing a little wood at a time. Don't get too over anxious while trimming the tops because the wood may want to follow the grain, and the grain may be below the top of the fingerboard. Once all the strips had been trimmed flush, I ligthly sanded the length of the fingerboard with wet/dry sandpaper dampened with lemon oil. The entire procedure took about 6 hours. I plan to defret a recently purchased Yamaha BB300 the same way. One other suggestion, I would recommend nickel plated strings as opposed to stainless steel...those can really eat up a fingerboard. Hope this helped.