First Ever Fretwork

[stewblack]

Spent a couple of weeks immersed in how to videos, and today I am actually having a go. Brave or foolhardy? Time will tell.

[stewblack]

Only rubbed the body with sandpaper once and got permanent marker on the fretboard twice so far. Tell you what, my respect for those who do this stuff to other people's instruments has gone through the roof.

 

[Islander]

Ben Crowe's tutorials on www.crimsonguitars.com are really good for this sort of stuff

 

[stewblack]

OK, things I've learned.

1: Allow enough time. Do not do this while clock watching.

2: Do this somewhere you can leave it in case something happens and you can't finish the job.

3: Don't get cocky. As you approach the final frets trying to shave that little line down to the thickness of a gnat's pube will likely end with you taking the top off the fret rendering all your hard work for nothing.

4: If you assemble the right tools, follow instructions you understand clearly it actually isn't all that daunting.

Edited January 26, 2019 by stewblack

[stewblack]

1 minute ago, Islander said:

Ben Crowe's tutorials on www.crimsonguitars.com are really good for this sort of stuff

 

Yep, also the guy off guns and guitars.

[geoham]

I do my own setups - I learned when I could barely afford picks never mind paying someone to set up my bass! Now I could afford it, but still do it myself. I’ve also done loads of other work myself - changing pickups, bridges, neck shimming etc.

However, I’ve always been terrified to touch my frets. My 17 year old Jazz Bass definitely needs a bit of fret work now, the first 7 or so frets are pretty worn where the strings contact.

You may have inspired me to give it a go...

[stewblack]

On 28/01/2019 at 21:12, geoham said:

I do my own setups - I learned when I could barely afford picks never mind paying someone to set up my bass! Now I could afford it, but still do it myself. I’ve also done loads of other work myself - changing pickups, bridges, neck shimming etc.

However, I’ve always been terrified to touch my frets. My 17 year old Jazz Bass definitely needs a bit of fret work now, the first 7 or so frets are pretty worn where the strings contact.

You may have inspired me to give it a go...

It is surprisingly simple. Trust me I'm a ham fisted klutz and I managed it!