Del Nilppeznaf Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I have a heavy hand..especially on D chords and the B and top E strings..( getting lighter thankfully) this leads to heavy fret wear. wondered when getting a fret job done on a neck that has binding..ie: Hummingbird what is the technique a luthier would use to do the job and replace/redo the binding... if at all they do? hope this question makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchabalk Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 i think that typically the binding is sanded down as part of the refret and you no longer have the little nubs covering the fret ends. i've inquired at a couple of luthiers and some have said that they can refret and maintain the binding nubs, others won't. I have an SJ-200 that needed a refret and I had them just refret as normal losing the nubs. It's kind of weird as some guitars i see leave the factory have them and some don't. I don't know what would cause the difference other than the way the fret board was built. If you're just wearing down a fret or 2 you might be able to have those specific frets replaces without touching the binding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughdiamond Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I was suprised to see how quick my frets where wearing on my hummer just by trying different strings when I first got her. Then I got her set up including some fret play work and see almost no or minimal wear since a few years ago. It's all about the balance I feel. Derek Nelson in Marlay Park comes highly recommended if you can get down to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 If your binding has the rounded nubs, a luthier should be able to squeeze a fret in between them without much fuss. This should simplify the installation. There should be no edge dressing necessary. As long as the frets are cut cleanly and no burrs on the radius. 'Crowning' the frets might remove some of the nubbins, but it can be done. If I were the luthier on this type of project, I might consider removing the nubbed binding from the get go, then re-installing after the frets were crowned and polished. If your 'Bird doesn't have the nubs, the fretting is a bit more complex. The tang of each fret has to be notched so as to allow the crown to cantilever out over the binding. Edge dressing becomes a challenge as there is nothing holding the ends in place. The other problem with type of bound fretboard is the fret ends get caught on clothing, etc. from time to time, either bending the fret ends or dislodging the frets all together. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Speaking for myself I don't like that Gibson leaves those nubs on their bound fret boards. If I was having a bound board re fretted I'd do away with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 I was suprised to see how quick my frets where wearing on my hummer just by trying different strings when I first got her. Then I got her set up including some fret play work and see almost no or minimal wear since a few years ago. It's all about the balance I feel. Derek Nelson in Marlay Park comes highly recommended if you can get down to him. Hmmm?.... i don't follow. ( fret play work?) Thanks for replies.. My bird has the nubs..if I'm following this correctly. They have the white binding on the end of the fret.. I thought these are part of the actual fret..with the binging covering them ???? are you saying that the fret can be removed and leave these little nubs in place..then another fret inserted.... My frets seem to be wearing pretty quick...considering shes only 6 months old..but like I say..i have a bit of a heavy hand.. Couple of years definitely need 4 or 5 frets replaced... so basicaly..a good luither will be able to do this and leave the nubs/ binding intact... sorry I'm a little confused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 are you saying that the fret can be removed and leave these little nubs in place..then another fret inserted.... Yes, but it requires very careful fitting of the new fret so that there is no gap between the fret end and the nub (which is part of the binding, not part of the fret), nor is the fret long enough to put outward pressure on the binding, which can cause the binding to crack. It is very common to see cracks in the binding at the end of frets, even when there are no nubs. Leaving the nubs in place also makes it difficult to impossible to plane or sand the fretboard to level it after the frets are removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Ok thanks fellas I learn sumting new all the time...actually feeling the frets at the nuns its obvious... just sumthing i hadn't done before sorry..but I gotta say..i love this forum sometimes heheh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughdiamond Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hmmm?.... i don't follow. ( fret play work?) ..just trying to say that I've observed that since the set up was done, the actual wearing time (lowering indenting) of the frets has decreased even after more playing time when compared prior to the set up. A bit was sanded where appropriate off the top of the frets but a lot to play with is still there - levelled and balanced out with the action, neck relief, break angle, nut and saddle height.. (I think you get the picture). Expensive re-fret job is now a longer time down the line - for me anyways.. If I had left it at was from factory, I probably would've had the re-fret job done by now and not been able to play it easier and enjoy it's tone as much. Sometimes you get them playing lovely from scratch, most times that I've come across there can be improvements made for the better when it comes to large production guitar companies. A good set up can quite possibly save some money for you later on.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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