JPJ Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 So, I want to tell you a story. A few years ago I had an upcoming acoustic gig so I rushed out and bought a brand new four string Tanglewood acoustic. Now I know these things are marmite but I fell on the ‘like’ if not ‘love’ side of ownership so much so that shortly after I bought a secondhand Warwick Alien five string (Rockbass) off this very forum. Now owning two very similar instruments that have poor residual values has gotten me thinking of going fretless with the Tanglewood as I am mainly playing fretless electric and EUB these days. I have some purple heart strips ready to glue in place but I’ve been looking at fret pullers and nut files on line and there is huge price differential. So my question is, any recommendations for nut files and fret pullers please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 Can you heat them up with a curling iron and tap them out from the side? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 1 hour ago, lidl e said: Can you heat them up with a curling iron and tap them out from the side? Sadly not as the neck has maple binding 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 Years ago i had a washburn AB20(acoustic bass) i defretted myself and filled in with putty. It didnt look great, but it worked. I have another bass i had professionally defretted and that looks and feels killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted February 26, 2023 Share Posted February 26, 2023 The luthier that taught me had a pair of pincers that he ground down to make the tips quite sharp for getting under the frets to remove them. Some heat will help too e.g. from a soldering iron For nut files, don't buy cheap. I'll say it again - don't buy cheap. Hosco are a decent brand, but are not cheap 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted February 26, 2023 Share Posted February 26, 2023 Jaco only needed a butter knife! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted February 26, 2023 Author Share Posted February 26, 2023 4 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said: Jaco only needed a butter knife! And todays winner is 😂😂😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 On 26/02/2023 at 01:24, Norris said: The luthier that taught me had a pair of pincers that he ground down to make the tips quite sharp for getting under the frets to remove them. Some heat will help too e.g. from a soldering iron For nut files, don't buy cheap. I'll say it again - don't buy cheap. Hosco are a decent brand, but are not cheap Hi @Norris Anyway - this ^^ Fret pulling pincers have to be flat-ish shallow and sharp. So pretty much any budget set of end pincers, held closed and flattened/slimmed on a grinding wheel will do nicely. But why bother with that when you can get a pair already done from the excellent Chris Alsop web site for less than £12 https://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/shop/guitar-tools/fret-pullers-and-fret-cutters Nut files have to be decent quality. I also use Hosco and have never regretted it. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 Not knowing your skills please forgive me if I am about to teach granny to suck eggs. Don't pull them all out at once if there is any danger of them being tight enough to be part of the strength of the neck i.e. it may forward bow on you if they are helping to hold it straight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusoe Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 On 26/02/2023 at 01:24, Norris said: The luthier that taught me had a pair of pincers that he ground down to make the tips quite sharp for getting under the frets to remove them. Some heat will help too e.g. from a soldering iron For nut files, don't buy cheap. I'll say it again - don't buy cheap. Hosco are a decent brand, but are not cheap Yesterday, I watched a YouTube video that someone had posted on here, where a guy refurbished a MM stingray neck. He applied some solder to each fret and ran the soldering iron up and down the frets to heat them, before removal. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 5 hours ago, Crusoe said: Yesterday, I watched a YouTube video that someone had posted on here, where a guy refurbished a MM stingray neck. He applied some solder to each fret and ran the soldering iron up and down the frets to heat them, before removal. I do the same except I don't use any solder - just the soldering iron 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.