Basic steps when DIY defretting for dummies and cheapskates

[PlungerModerno]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1435454111' post='2808987']
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]

Aye, but sadly as rosewood is so varied in it's properties between fretboards. That plus they are usually unsealed and the environments humidity and temperature can effect it's brittleness and tendancy to grip the fret tangs.

I recommend using heat from a soldering iron to soften up the frets seating (& any glue in the fret slots).

[Annoying Twit]

Thanks guys. My tools aren't as flat as the modified ones above, and I suspect that they are my partner's father's pincers, and modifying them may not be on the table. I did see if they could 'grab' the frets, but they can't.

My first intention with the bass is to practice fret levelling, and I must remember to borrow a file from the machine shop at work.

[PlungerModerno]

Here's a tip that I found useful: Very cheap pincers tend to be made out of fairly soft steel (it steel, and it's a tool, but It's not what I'd call tool steel!).
This makes grinding it flat more practical - takes less time than if it were harder, tougher steel, and it can be done by hand in a reasonable amount of time (I used 80 grit sand paper & a flat file took me 20 - 40 minutes but could be done in 5 if you were aggressive enough!).

If it's a relatives tool - don't interfere with it (that sounds so wrong). Get a cheap tool, or a tool made for the purpose. Or make one yourself, if you have the time and the skill!

[Annoying Twit]

I'm back here in this thread after months. I bought some pincers as recommended and had them ground down a bit in the machine shop at work. I thought that perhaps I hadn't ground them down enough, but I just tried using them on the neck. They work too well, as a fret I pulled at just came out. I pushed it back in again, but probably this means that I'm past the point of no return and should defret.

The frets don't appear to be glued in. They are reasonably tight in the wood, but they just pull out.

Now to go look for some maple (or similar) veneer on eBay. And some glue. What sort of glue should I use? EDIT: CA glue it says above. My memory is a sieve. EDIT: Cyanoacrylate glue? Similar to superglue? Really? Not wood glue? I can see myself making a mess.

EDIT: Oh dear, all frets removed. Some were bent a bit as they were removed, so there's definitely no going back now. I haven't made the big hash of the fretboard that I expected.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Annoying Twit

[tauzero]

I've used PVA glue on the ones I've done.

[Annoying Twit]

Thanks Tauzero. As in the deko thread, I used EvoStick wood glue as that's what I found in our big box of adhesives. I now have zebrawood veneer stuck in the slots and will leave the glue to dry properly, though the first few frets seem suitably firmly attached now. I have to work out how to flatten the veneer such that I can then sand it down. I'm hoping to use left over veneer to veneer the headstock as Andyjr1515 does to entire instruments.

One problem is that this is a neck that Andytre recycled to me. I don't have a bass to put the neck in, but this is practice. If this turns out a success I could always buy a deko jazz bass and have a bass with swappable necks. Or, I might be tempted to defret my deko PJ.

Edited September 13, 2015 by Annoying Twit