I was a pro guitar repairer for many years in Johannesburg and then Denmark st London for another 8 years , as you can imagine I have worked on many vintage instruments during that time and learnt much from many good repairers and I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed the attention to detail and care you take with your work . You are a lovely example of the best practice and care when restoring a precious - and what has now become irreplaceable , vintage instrument . I am so glad Chris Buck was able to have you restore his Strat . 👍He is my favourite guitarist 👌
That's really kind of you. Thanks ever so much. It's a privilege to work on vintage guitars and hearing Chris Buck play that red Strat for the first time was a career highlight. He's kinda my favourite too, but don't tell him I said that ;) H
Well done . These old instruments deserve this kind of respect and attention to detail so that they live on to be enjoyed by future generations. Check out the Mathew Scott video of him refretting his 59 telecaster. Wha wha what.......
I have three rosewood board guitars that have been under cared-for in recent years, so the boards have dried out a bit and the fret ends are now very slightly proud of the fingerboard edge. Huw’s wisdom and calm approach, which are so clearly in evidence in this video, have finally given me the confidence to try fixing the issue myself. Thanks Huw (and Ed, of course,) for taking us on these journeys.
Fantastic work and explanations on both videos! That also shows how much work and attention to detail are necessary to bring an old neck back to life! l know some guitar tecs and luthiers that could have a look at your work 😏
Some people hate re-frets. but as a player and a car mechanic I'll make some comparisons. if you have a classic car it would be great to have the original tires, but if you want to use the car they wouldn't work well for you. also compare it to the brakes. the strings & frets mate together, they are wear items like pads & rotors. the only other moving parts are pots, switches and tuning gears. and maybe, just maybe the strap buttons. so if you want to actually play a beautiful classic, sometimes you must do what it takes make it work. then you enjoy it again.
Stunning work as always, Huw. I really enjoyed both parts of this series, the level of detail and care is incredible. Fascinating stuff, the finished neck looked amazing. I bet the owner was very happy indeed. Great job
This method results in an uneven amount of glue between the fret and fretboard. The side you push the fret towards has more glue than the side you push the fret from
Beautiful work! Not many out there that take this kind of detail into mind. Love the workmanship here! The neck was perfectly done, and must sound fantabulous :-)
Stellar job Huw! The owner will be ecstatic! Educate me on why you placed the tiny bit of fret wire on the treble side while you hammered in the frets. I didn’t understand that process.
Sorry I didn't make that clearer. It's really there to give the clamping caul something to rest on at the treble side and maintain the perfect height as the fret is being guided through the slot. When the fret reaches that little bit of fret wire, it pushes it out of the slot and the clamping caul can be removed. Without it, the caul would be pressed against the board on the treble side, thus preventing the new fret from sliding in - H
just a fantastic job handling such a vintage piece.. the care taken was really unique to a vintage piece.. to put frets in the side was a treat for most of us and thanks to the donor as it is rare to find original frets on a guitar of such vintage.. Curious as to what the body color was on this guitar.. something about the rosewood boards i really love.. Curious.. how does the board soak up oil after the epoxy repair?.. are there any issues with the areas which did not absorb oils under the repaired areas?.. Thank you for posting..
Absolutely brilliant, such passion and dedication! Loved this. I have just one question - How do you get the fret ends to looks so tidy underneath the fret - i.e. if the fretboard slots are deeper than the fret (despite trying to find the best fit wire - I notice found some vintage necks have slots that are too deep) do you put rosewood or maple sawdust underneath the frets (along both sides of the fretboard) to make it look so tidy and to ensure all gaps are filled?
Mostly I try and find fret wire with a tang width and depth that matches the original wire or, if the neck has previously been refretted, I try and match the wire to the existing slots. It's trickier when veneer boards have been over sanded and the slots have been sawed deeper - often into the maple.
Another great video, again I would never do this but I do enjoy watching it. I sometimes see Fender put in the specs about a particular guitar that it has vintage tall frets. Are these different from 6105s?
Patient, beautiful job. Doesn't the oil swell up the board, making the precisely done fretwork somewhat incorrect in spots? And as you are restringing constantly, how many hours does a job like this take you?
I have a SEP63 neck that was refretted perfectly, but has a gnarly repair from a different style of tuners being on. How can I contact Huw? This is some amazing work.
It depends on the application Karl. I'm just mindful of the tech who might follow me a few years or decades down the line and I feel that the fish glue might release more easily when heat is applied than Titebond. I worked on the basis of about 20 minutes open time, so depending on how the frets are going in, I'd install half of them or a third of them before clamping overnight - H
this is what freaking awesome. ...just wanted to ask if you know what degree the bevel was? i have the same problem with the string slipping on small radiuses. you should make more... i'm still new at this. LOL cheers
Certainly Christopher, I used Chris Alsop's 15 degree beveling tool. Copy the following into eBay's search box and you'll see it - Guitar Fret Bevel File. STEEP 15 Degree for Max Fret Length DIAMOND FILE. TF043
Good job. But, IMO there are no advantages in pressing/tapping the frets in from the side (there is a reason Fender stopped doing it..). Actually, it could make a future fret job a real mess, because the next guitar tech would think that it had a refret (which it did) and pull out the frets the normal way, thinking that no sane tech would have refretted it by driving in the frets from the side ;-)
In essence, you appear to be saying that the next tech would end up in the same position as I would have - if I had I yanked the frets out in the usual way? So it would have been preferable for me to willfully damage the board to save someone's embarrassment a couple of decades down the line. I think maybe you and I have different feelings on what constitutes sanity ;-) H
@@pallecla Well that's kind of why we made the video. The intention is to demonstrate that sideways fretting is just as viable as regular fretting, and in our opinion more appropriate for a vintage Fender that's getting its very first refret. We respect your right to differ.
I never saw anybody putting frets this way. It's insane and takes much more time.
I was a pro guitar repairer for many years in Johannesburg and then Denmark st London for another 8 years , as you can imagine I have worked on many vintage instruments during that time and learnt much from many good repairers and I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed the attention to detail and care you take with your work . You are a lovely example of the best practice and care when restoring a precious - and what has now become irreplaceable , vintage instrument . I am so glad Chris Buck was able to have you restore his Strat . 👍He is my favourite guitarist 👌
That's really kind of you. Thanks ever so much. It's a privilege to work on vintage guitars and hearing Chris Buck play that red Strat for the first time was a career highlight. He's kinda my favourite too, but don't tell him I said that ;) H
Well said ! Think I'm gonna press the sub button !
pre cbs fender 스타일로 사이드웨이 인서트부터 탭톤 체크까지 착실하고 훌륭한 작업이다
Brilliant video, thanks Huw. Keep em coming.
Every minute of these two videos was a joy and privilege to observe. Seeing such mastery in action is good for the soul.
Well done . These old instruments deserve this kind of respect and attention to detail so that they live on to be enjoyed by future generations. Check out the Mathew Scott video of him refretting his 59 telecaster. Wha wha what.......
Outstanding work. Well done.
I have three rosewood board guitars that have been under cared-for in recent years, so the boards have dried out a bit and the fret ends are now very slightly proud of the fingerboard edge. Huw’s wisdom and calm approach, which are so clearly in evidence in this video, have finally given me the confidence to try fixing the issue myself. Thanks Huw (and Ed, of course,) for taking us on these journeys.
Perfection!!!!
Fantastic work and explanations on both videos! That also shows how much work and attention to detail are necessary to bring an old neck back to life! l know some guitar tecs and luthiers that could have a look at your work 😏
As always informative and practical. 👍🏻👍🏻
Tap testing the frets is something I've not seen before, I'll definatly have to try that myself!
Some people hate re-frets. but as a player and a car mechanic I'll make some comparisons. if you have a classic car it would be great to have the original tires, but if you want to use the car they wouldn't work well for you. also compare it to the brakes. the strings & frets mate together, they are wear items like pads & rotors. the only other moving parts are pots, switches and tuning gears. and maybe, just maybe the strap buttons. so if you want to actually play a beautiful classic, sometimes you must do what it takes make it work. then you enjoy it again.
Stunning work as always, Huw. I really enjoyed both parts of this series, the level of detail and care is incredible. Fascinating stuff, the finished neck looked amazing. I bet the owner was very happy indeed. Great job
Tahbo Tone Twins many thanks
This method results in an uneven amount of glue between the fret and fretboard. The side you push the fret towards has more glue than the side you push the fret from
Beautiful work! Not many out there that take this kind of detail into mind. Love the workmanship here!
The neck was perfectly done, and must sound fantabulous :-)
Stellar job Huw! The owner will be ecstatic!
Educate me on why you placed the tiny bit of fret wire on the treble side while you hammered in the frets.
I didn’t understand that process.
Sorry I didn't make that clearer. It's really there to give the clamping caul something to rest on at the treble side and maintain the perfect height as the fret is being guided through the slot. When the fret reaches that little bit of fret wire, it pushes it out of the slot and the clamping caul can be removed. Without it, the caul would be pressed against the board on the treble side, thus preventing the new fret from sliding in - H
@@tonetwinstv2863 , Ah! Makes perfect sense. Thanks, my friend.
@@yankeepeters2270 You're welcome and many thanks for the question.
Another terrific video Huw.
just a fantastic job handling such a vintage piece.. the care taken was really unique to a vintage piece.. to put frets in the side was a treat for most of us and thanks to the donor as it is rare to find original frets on a guitar of such vintage.. Curious as to what the body color was on this guitar.. something about the rosewood boards i really love.. Curious.. how does the board soak up oil after the epoxy repair?.. are there any issues with the areas which did not absorb oils under the repaired areas?.. Thank you for posting..
It's resistant to the oil BJ, but since the patches are a tad darker, oiling the wood helps them to blend in.
Absolutely brilliant, such passion and dedication! Loved this. I have just one question - How do you get the fret ends to looks so tidy underneath the fret - i.e. if the fretboard slots are deeper than the fret (despite trying to find the best fit wire - I notice found some vintage necks have slots that are too deep) do you put rosewood or maple sawdust underneath the frets (along both sides of the fretboard) to make it look so tidy and to ensure all gaps are filled?
Mostly I try and find fret wire with a tang width and depth that matches the original wire or, if the neck has previously been refretted, I try and match the wire to the existing slots. It's trickier when veneer boards have been over sanded and the slots have been sawed deeper - often into the maple.
Another great video, again I would never do this but I do enjoy watching it. I sometimes see Fender put in the specs about a particular guitar that it has vintage tall frets. Are these different from 6105s?
I went with Stewmac medium/medium for this one Dave.
Patient, beautiful job.
Doesn't the oil swell up the board, making the precisely done fretwork somewhat incorrect in spots?
And as you are restringing constantly, how many hours does a job like this take you?
Thanks Lukas.
In answer to your first question - not that I've noticed.
And to your second - about 12 hours for the board restoration and refret.
I have a SEP63 neck that was refretted perfectly, but has a gnarly repair from a different style of tuners being on. How can I contact Huw? This is some amazing work.
Thanks Alex - feel free to contact me via Instagram or through my website - huwpriceguitar.com
Watch this blow up in few days guys
Not quite sure what you're getting at there suraj
Some fantastic tips there Huw many thanks, how much open time does the fish glue have and do you rate it higher than titebond original.
Cheers Karl
It depends on the application Karl. I'm just mindful of the tech who might follow me a few years or decades down the line and I feel that the fish glue might release more easily when heat is applied than Titebond. I worked on the basis of about 20 minutes open time, so depending on how the frets are going in, I'd install half of them or a third of them before clamping overnight - H
@@tonetwinstv2863 thanks Huw, do you also prefer fish glue for wood to wood applications ?
@@karllongbottomguitars9192 It depends on the job. Where maximum strength is required, no.
@@tonetwinstv2863 thank you
this is what freaking awesome.
...just wanted to ask if you know what degree the bevel was?
i have the same problem with the string slipping on small radiuses.
you should make more... i'm still new at this. LOL
cheers
Certainly Christopher, I used Chris Alsop's 15 degree beveling tool. Copy the following into eBay's search box and you'll see it - Guitar Fret Bevel File. STEEP 15 Degree for Max Fret Length DIAMOND FILE. TF043
Where did you get g-clamp and the attachments at 2:20 in the video?
I found it on eBay Derek - H
Good job. But, IMO there are no advantages in pressing/tapping the frets in from the side (there is a reason Fender stopped doing it..). Actually, it could make a future fret job a real mess, because the next guitar tech would think that it had a refret (which it did) and pull out the frets the normal way, thinking that no sane tech would have refretted it by driving in the frets from the side ;-)
In essence, you appear to be saying that the next tech would end up in the same position as I would have - if I had I yanked the frets out in the usual way? So it would have been preferable for me to willfully damage the board to save someone's embarrassment a couple of decades down the line. I think maybe you and I have different feelings on what constitutes sanity ;-) H
@@tonetwinstv2863 No, that's not what I am staying. I would have tapped the frets out sideways, but pressed them in from the top.
@@pallecla Well that's kind of why we made the video. The intention is to demonstrate that sideways fretting is just as viable as regular fretting, and in our opinion more appropriate for a vintage Fender that's getting its very first refret. We respect your right to differ.
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@@tonetwinstv2863 !