Can you Refret a guitar yourself?

Performing a complete refret job is about as big as a job can be in guitar lutherie – but don’t let that scare you away. If it’s done poorly, you can usually salvage the job by pulling the frets again and giving it another try. This is required reading for anyone wanting to build their own guitar.

How long does it take to Refret a guitar?

around 6-10 hrs
A full refret will take around 6-10 hrs of total labor, but luthiers usually work with tens of instruments at a time which means your guitar can take up to a week.

Can you change the frets on a guitar?

There are many reasons why you will need to remove or replace your guitar frets. The divots can be leveled out and your frets will play like new again; however, you can only level and dress your frets so many times until there isn’t enough material left on the frets.

How do you fix a fretless guitar?

Flatten and smoothen the rough edges of the fret barbs, so when you run your fingers along the fretboard grooves you don’t feel any indentations or lifted areas. You can use sandpaper to smoothen and even the fretless board. Use very smooth gradients paper to obtain a smooth and soft to the touch fret neck.

How do I choose the right fretboard for my guitar?

Make sure the frets fit well in the grooves and look for raised frets or uneven ones. Holding the neck parallel to the ground at the eye level, check that the neck, fretboard and the frets are arranged on even height and level nicely on the fretboard surface. File the edges of the frets for smoothness and evenness.

Is it better to re-fret or replace some frets?

But often a partial re-fret is almost as much work as a total re-fret. That is because whenever you replace some frets, all the frets will need to be leveled to the least common denominator so that you don’t have some higher than the others. So instead of leveling brand new frets, it’s usually better just to do a total refret.

Can You refret a guitar by yourself?

At first, refretting a guitar by yourself can be overwhelming and might seem impossible. But with the right tools, following the right steps, with a little patience and concentration, an average guitar player can do it in his/her own home. I made this easy to use, step by step tutorial for the average guitar player.