Ou7shined Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 [quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1344437234' post='1764478'] Clean out your slots. Buy your veneer (.23mm). Cut it into oversized strips, along the grain not across it. I use a little whsmith guillotine but scissors will do. Run glue into slots and gently work the veneer down into the slots. Be careful, if the slot is too tight do not try and force the veneers in, they will break into little pieces. If the slot is tight then widen it with your saw. Wait for glue to dry (about an hour) and clip off excess (with your nail clippers?) and sand flush. Very, very easy to do. Just common sense when you have it all in front of you. [/quote] I agree about cutting oversized pieces but after that my technique differs a little. I'll not confuse matters but adding my 2p worth but I should add that Superglue has a wonderful capillary action so can do a lot of the work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Also, don't believe you are being clever by taping off all the wood between the fret slots, as the supergluey-tapey mess left over is a lot harder to get off than it is to sand off any excess glue. Learned the hard way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettsguitars Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1344438317' post='1764506'] I agree about cutting oversized pieces but after that my technique differs a little. I'll not confuse matters but adding my 2p worth but I should add that Superglue has a wonderful capillary action so can do a lot of the work for you. [/quote] The nail clippers bit was directly from the op. I use fret nippers to cut excess. +1 on the no masking tape too. It isn't needed at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenitram Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 What about leaving the slots empty, and just sanding the board down a bit to smooth it out? Is that nuts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 [quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1344438987' post='1764525'] What about leaving the slots empty, and just sanding the board down a bit to smooth it out? Is that nuts? [/quote] That leaves you with a weak board and cause all manner of problems for adjusting the tr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 +1 thats why I filled mine, when i got it the slots were empty and the action was high, turned out there was quite a curve on the neck and the truss rod was nearly maxed out. filling the slots with veneers did help alot. I didn't have any special tools or knowledge, just don't rush it and it will look like a pro did it I used PVA glue because it's what I had, its probably not the best thing to use as people have said it takes ages to dry but I always come unstuck when I use superglue - well actually quite the opposite, twice I have stuck my fingers together hours before a gig, not fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 [quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1344441168' post='1764578']....I always come unstuck when I use superglue - well actually quite the opposite, twice I have stuck my fingers together hours before a gig, not fun! [/quote] Hardly a day passes by where my fingers haven't gotten stuck together at some point. I've got this sort of twiddly technique for freeing them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenitram Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 (edited) Could any of you point me in the direction of the sort of veneer that would work best? Any colour/shade. Thanks. (sorry for all the questions and requests) Edited August 8, 2012 by Zenitram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettsguitars Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Any contrasting coloured beech veneer will work well. Maple veneer is pretty standard and you can get a metre or so for under a tenner from a load of places, ebay, craftsupplies, timberline etc. It's usually about .23mm but I wouldn't worry about that. You might even have a local model shop or craft store which sells it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wood-Veneer-Samples-/370576274467?pt=UK_Crafts_Other_Crafts_EH&var=&hash=item5648113423"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wood-Veneer-Samples-/370576274467?pt=UK_Crafts_Other_Crafts_EH&var=&hash=item5648113423[/url] dunno if this is any help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenitram Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 I was looking at that, but the thickness is only 0.6mm, apparently. Which seems very thin. Though I could stack them, I suppose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Those linked to by Skidders would appear to be perfect. I myself use 0.6 veneers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1344455284' post='1764942'] Those linked to by Skidders would appear to be perfect. I myself use 0.6 veneers. [/quote] +1 I used 0.6 (donated free to me by my cabinet maker friend) for my maple P neck. Works a treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettsguitars Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Yea .60 is thick. I sand each strip to thickness it a little, now I think of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenitram Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 Okay! Rosewood veneer ordered, tapewounds ordered. Sandpaper next, and glue, and some time. Will report back. Thanks so far everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettsguitars Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Good luck mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubbersoul Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Seriously considering doing this to an old damaged Westone Concord. Are there any differences for a varnished maple fretboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 [quote name='Rubbersoul' timestamp='1365454685' post='2039951'] Seriously considering doing this to an old damaged Westone Concord. Are there any differences for a varnished maple fretboard? [/quote] Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myke Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 [quote name='Rubbersoul' timestamp='1365454685' post='2039951'] Seriously considering doing this to an old damaged Westone Concord. Are there any differences for a varnished maple fretboard? [/quote] I did it to a bass with a maple neck. Did the same thing and filled it with Rosewood veneer. Look in my signature for link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubbersoul Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 That looks really cool. Did you take the varnish off first or after you'd removed the frets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myke Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 (edited) Afterwards. That way I could go inline with the grain easier and get the radius correct. And thank you Edited April 17, 2013 by Myke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubbersoul Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 That makes sense. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I wanted to avoid starting a new thread, and this rather old thread had a title that fitted me well Will the tool in the below picture be useful for defretting a bass neck? I don't know where this tool came from, but every time I see it, I think 'defret'. NB: I won't start the defret until I've used this neck for some fret dressing practice. Just had a thought. If I defret this neck, and want to sand it down, what will that do to the inlays? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlungerModerno Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Interesting. Never worked on a bass neck with binding (other than a clean and polish) - but I have defretted a rosewood fingerboard with decent results. I used walnut veneer and CA glue to fill the fret slots. That tool should work - but it's all in the detail. I took a very cheap (i.e. fairly low quality) set of pincers - and filed/sanded/ground the face to an almost flat edge... Like this guide with pictures: [url="http://munix.dk/tutorials/instruments/refretting-fender-jazz-bass-guitar-diy"]http://munix.dk/tutorials/instruments/refretting-fender-jazz-bass-guitar-diy[/url] Unless you're working with mandolins or 24+ fret guitars with frets almost on top of each other a small (or medium) pincer like the one above will work great if It's sharp without too much of a gap between the edge of the tool and the face, like below: The inlays should be fine, as long as they are glued in well, and the fingerboard leveling and radiusing (and subsequent finishing - I used CA glue with decent results) is done with care (go gently when sanding, careful not to let the wood, binding or inlays heat up too much and warp or fall off!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 One word of caution though, rosewood splinters really easily, so don't rush the fret removal otherwise you'll end up with ragged edges to the gaps, instead of lovely straight ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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