Defretting ?

#41
I got a buzz when I defretted mine. It sounded just like a sitar, even with the action at about a half inch. I switched from round to flat wounds, and that fixed it. Now it only buzzes at appropriate times, and sounds very nice. The action is as low as can be (P-bass bridge, E and G string saddles are just sitting on the guitar, the set screws aren't even screwed in enough to lift them). I lowered the nut to fingerboard level.

For any prospecive de-fretters, I found that the easiest way to get the frets out was to heat them with a soldering iron then put a very thin knife under the corner and pry them out. They came out very easily. I left the slots open, and haven't suffered from it. Excellent sustain. My fingerboard is rosewood. I sanded well, of course, first with a coarser paper, then with a very fine one.
 
#42
1st off, thanks everyone, I could have never done it without you.

2nd - YEEEEHAH! I, the most do-it-yourself challenged person I know, have succesfully defretted my Dan Electro Hodad! Well, almost... I'm in the polyurethane stage right now. 3rd coat goes on in an hour and a half.

3rd - I now present the "Joe Nerve! idiot guide to defretting your bass." It's actually just a rehash of all I learned here with a couple so small additions. Also - please keep in mind that I am truly and idiot when it comes to these things and what follows is simply my experience.

1. I read everything here and in the other thread on defretting, 2X, before starting.

2. I got the proper defretting tool, I think it's called a cutting pliers. My brother happened to have one laying around in his store, that's how I got the guts to do it. It looks like a pliers with a flatter, wider nose that can cut stuff.

3. Got a screwdriver, hammer, towel (to lay the bass on), pliers, knife, defretting pliers, iron, and small towel and laid it out before me surgical style.

4. Laid the bass on the towel, said my prayers and began the surgery. String removal came first - that's painless, although I always think the neck is gonna warp or something when I do that. It never has. Next - I experimented. Tried the cutting pliers. Fret would budge, it just started getting nicked at. I threw the small towel over the neck and started heating up the frets. Still didn't budge. Went against warnings here and took the scredriver and hammer to the fret. Bingo! The edge came up a bit, enough to grab the rest with the cutting pliers, and the fret came right out. I think I was real lucky - it seems like Dano didn't even glue the things in - they came right out, no ripping, no rough spots. I was ecstatic.

5. The screwdriver was, (as I was told it would), making indents in the neck. I didn't have a thinner sharper one or that might not have happened at all, but I didn't like it - so I started experimenting. I got a knife as others here did, stuck that under the fret and gave it a couple of whacks with the hammmer. it got right under the fret and then all I had to do was twist the knife and the fret came right out. The whole neck took me about a half an hour.

6. After calming my excitement I headed out to Doody to get the rest of the necessities. I'm cheap so I wanted to spend as little as possible. Bill came out to $23.48, but I definitely could have spent less. I offer this information cuz I was clueless and overwhelmed when I saw all the woodfillers, polyurethanes, etc. With the help of a salesperson I wound up buying Varathane Diamone Wood Finish - he claimed it was the toughest they had (???), Zar wood patch (cuz I liked the container), a one & 1/4" putty knife, and a bunch of sandpaper. I wound up using only the 220. I bought a couple of different brushes, but wound up using the $.59 foam ones. The putty I got was a neutral tone because I want to see the fretlines. Anyhoo....

7. When I got back home I sanded the neck and then took an exacto knife to clean out all the dust from the frets. I dusted off the neck and began putting the putty in. I jammed it down really hard and had fun figuring out was I was doing. Just kept evening it out and scraping off the excess. It looked like a bad mess and I was concerned. I used damp paper towels to get rid of a lot of the stuff that stayed on the neck, and tried to keep it all as neat as possible. In about a half an hour it was dry enough to sand again. I did and kept cleaning it with the paper towels. I sanded it slowly and evenly and kept running my hand up and down the neck to make sure it was all smooth. It felt immaculate.

8. I cleaned it well one more time, even took out my ernie ball guitar polish - and then taped up the sides of the neck and the body to get it ready for poly. Put a nice thin even layer on the neck, let it dry 2 hrs., sanded it lightly, cleaned it, and gave a second coat. That coat is drying as I type.

The neck looks and feels frigging great! I can wait till it's done. I'm going to give it between 5 and ten coats of polyurathane, depending on my patience. I will definitley give an update when it's complete.

I'm extra psyched cuz I love this bass bigtime. It's got tons of bottom, the highs really cut, it's really versatile and unique sounding due to the 3 lipstick pickups and semi hollow body - and it feeds back like a guitar does. I'm gonna have me some fun when it's done.

Thanks again everyone.
 
#43
UPDATE:​
A bunch of things I've learned.​

1. A television remote control makes an excellent sanding block. Just make sure the TV is off or you'll go crazy.

2. The polyurathane coats are essential if you're going to use roundwounds. I know this because I did some extra sanding after I completed the coats and strung it up, and the strings ripped right into where the bare wood was. Didn't make the slightest mark where I had the 8 coats of poly.

3. You should string it up before putting the coats of poly on. Mine had some nasty "sitar" buzzes on the 2nd and 3rd frets that made me think all was lost. Even with considerable relief on the neck and pretty high action they were still there. I used the tv remote and a more coarse sandpaper and went to work just below the frets that were buzzing. I was careful to keep it even with the rest of the neck. Did a very little at a time till the buzzes were gone. Much to my dismay the sanding was succesful.

4. Clean the wood really well before putting the coats on. I thought I had cleaned it with guitar cleaner before starting, and did so with the parts I resanded. I now have 2 different grains of wood in the neck as I originally polyurathaned over the dust from the wood filler that got deep into the grain. Oh well. Doesn't affect the performance none. I think I might even like the difference, shows my humanity. I'm a prefectionist and need things like this. :)

5. A fan in front of the neck cuts the polyurathane drying time in half. One hour between coats with the fan, 2 without. Last coat I let dry for about 6 hrs.

6. First few coats I lightly sanded. The rest I just put on reall thinly, evenly, and carefully.

7. ALMOST FORGOT. AND MOST IMPORTANT IMO! I had no problem with glue. There was none. Didn't need to heat the frets. I told this to my friendly neighborhood guitar and amp fixing guy and he said, "There's not supposed to be any glue. Unless it's been re-fretted." Hmmm.... while that doesn't seem to be people's experience here, this guys done a lot of fret jobs. It was my experience, and his. Don't get the iron out so quickly, they may not be glued in.

That's all for now - still have to restring after the new coats are done.
 
#44
Kudos on the yank there Joe! Knew you could :bassist:

Just a word of caution on the poly. One part polyurethane can and does feel very "dry" a few hours after application. It's designed to do this. However, this stuff isn't truly "cured" until you can't smell it at all. This could take several days of warm curing to attain. Until then, there is much more of a chance of the surface getting damaged. Just keep putting your nose right on it and huffing it big. Any smell at all and you'll just have to wait a little longer.
 
#45
Thanks Hambone. Too late on the waiting though. I let the last coat dry for about 6 hours and thankfully it was fine. I was putting really thin coats and using the fan. I also decided to slap on nylon strings and I'm really happy with them. The bass sounds and plays excellently. The action is just a hair higher than I'd like it to be, but I set my basses up ridiculously low. I think that may be why I've never been truly happy with the setup on any fretless. I'm beginning to believe you simply can't go as low as you can with frets.


Just want to add a word of inspiration for anyone thinking about doing this. I chickened out about 3 times before actually committing to it. If you do it, put the fear aside, read everything you can about this, go really slowly, know that it's going to take a little yanking to get the frets out, and know that if I can do it succesfully - just about anybody can.

My new fretless kicks ass! :bassist:
 
#48
I know if you heat the frets with a soldering iron it releases the oils in the wood and aids in removal. Do not punch frets out sideways this will destroy a fretboard real fast. A white veneer 3mm works well as fret markers and can be glued with woodworkers glue. Excess veneer can be shaved off with a sharp wood chisel (be carefull not to scar fretboard). Then sand fretboard with a preradiused sanding block that matches the radius you have. once you have sanded down to 400 grit you can steel wool to 0000. this will produce a nice shine. I wouldn't advise any polyurethane unless it had it to begin with. Usually a coat of lemon oil will do. You will have to reslot the nut deeper so you get muwaa sound on open notes which can be tricky. A set of nut files and a feeler gauge is the best way to get a good job. I usually take the nut slots down to fifteen thousands above the fretboard to start out and then carefully work them down lower checking the sound until it satisfies me. Should wind up around 10 thousands above the fretboard when finished maybe a little closer on treble side and a little further on the bass side.
You will need to reset the truss rod and string height and intonation.
 
#49
I just defretted an old forgotton bass I had, I had never played fretless before and I must say that I am in love. I played for hours last night, it like I just started playing again.

But, I have a setup question. I want to lower the action more and I need to file the nut. What did you guys use for this?
 
#50
I did a successful defret on my first real bass (Does anyone remember Vantage ?)

The problem was it went too well... I could not see the fret location. This was problematic becuase being able to look at the fret lines is like training wheels to a newbie fretless player.

Ironically, the fretless I have now (a Mexican Fender Jazz) has fret marker inlays but I don't need to look at my fretboard anymore.
 
#51
I defretted my bass about 3 years ago. I wish I had known about this site back then. Here's what I did...

I ripped out the frets with a screw driver. The adhesive was already loose, so I didn't really have a problem getting them out. I reccomend using heat or something to get the frets out easier, because it could get pretty chipped up otherwise.

Anyways, after I got all the frets out, I sanded off all the old finish. I happened to have some purplehart laying around so I cut some shims. After that, I used 2 shims per fret and sealed them in with Gorilla Glue. Once it dried, I cut away the extra Purplehart and sanded it down until the neck was smooth.

To coat the neck, I used a spray-on clear coat finish similar to spray paint. When spray, be sure to hold the can away from the neck (at least 8 inches) and coat it evenly so it doesn't bubble up. Sand between coats. You can put on as many coats as you want. I stopped at 3 just because I wanted to play it, but I would recommend at least 5 coats. You should also switch to flat-wound strings to save the neck. Round-wounds will tear it up.

Anyways, 3 years later, I'm still playing the same bass, and the neck is excelent. I always get compliments on the workmanship AND the Purplehart. It's just so much more classy than putty.
 
#52
I actually joined this community yesterday in hopes of starting a thread relating directly to this issue.
I am glad that there are ppl out there who are kind and knowledgeable enough to share their experience with the rest of us. You saved me a bunch of headache, and heartache no doubt as well.
thank you all for doing this, and being so supportive in this players endeavour.
I am loking forward to being a member of this community and asking countless moronic questions to all of you experts involved with it.
Once again, thank you, and happy thumping.
 
#53
Hey all

Ive written up a big word document on defretting- how i did it, some things i did well and some things i botched up etc.

Its too big to attach on here, but if anyone would like a compy, feel free to drop me an email at [email protected] and ill be more than happy to send it to you and give you a helping hand.
 
#54
well, i am about to buy some plugs for the spaces, i need to know what i can use on the neck to coat it with after im all done. I asked for marine epoxy, they said "sure, that'll be 350 bones" and since thats all i have paid for the guitar i said no. I just need to know what i can use that will stand up to the string vibration, and fill in the several botches that occurred. any help will be greatly appreciated.

thanks folks, and happy thumping
 
#57
I'm trying to work together with my father who claims to be pretty good at this in my quest to rid my Ibanez ATK of its frets. He says he'd like to try to abrade the frets with an abrasive block if I understand him correctly. Sounds pretty crazy to me, what do you guys think of this method?

Oh, by the way, my father, too, said there isn't supposed to be any glue on the frets, as no one in their right mind would try to glue metal on wood because it's near impossible.
 
#59
Try doing it first without heating the frets. My bass had no glue in them and I was told that in most basses (at least the cheap ones), they don't glue the frets in. Only if it's been refretted. A real thin screwdriver beneath the corner of one of the lower frets is a good place to start. See if you can wedge it out a little. Also, be careful if you're into the cosmetic thing cuz the screwdriver CAN and will put indents in the wood. It won't effect the playing but if you use filler that's lighter than the wood, you'll see them. It took me about 4 frets before I got the hang of it and did it flawlessly.

I'm pretty sure a fabric iron is good too, just cover the neck with something to protect the wood, and be really careful.

Want to add also that if I were to re-do mine I'd re-think the filler color I used. I intentionally used a lighter color because I wanted a lined neck, but now wish I had spent the time to match the color of the rosewood. The neck would have looked flawless if i did, and after having it a while I'd have actually preferred it without the lines. Id still be able to see them up close even if I did match them up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back