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Thread: Pulling a fret

  1. #1

    Default Pulling a fret

    I recently made a baritone uke from the StewMac kit. I made a LOT of mistakes along the way, but the end result is fun to play and sounds good.

    One of the mistakes I made was when sanding the frets: I didn't take extreme care not to sand the first fret more than the others. Obviously I had a bit too much pressure on one end, and as you all probably know, it's a fairly easy mistake even when being careful to let the opposite end rise up just a tad for just a moment.

    Anyway, the end result (due to that and another issue) is that the first fret is too low.

    I did it per the instructions, pounding in the fret, trimming it with nippers, and gluing it by letting CA sink in from the sides.

    I have extra fretwire and I'd like to replace this fret. Here's what looks like a good Youtube on it:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b0B39mE65w

    Is that how you'd do it?

    Any clue what temp to use on the soldering iron? I solder small electronics at 650 F, but my iron has a wide range.

    Luckily I haven't glued the nut yet, so that won't be an issue.
    Last edited by JeffLearman; Mar-28-2021 at 4:18pm.

  2. #2
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    You will now regret that CA.
    Heat the fret until you see smoke curling up, while you can still see, right before the CA vapors force your eyes closed. When your eyes stop watering, pull the fret before it cools.
    Next, you'll have to clean all of that extra hard CA out of the slot before you can proceed.

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  4. #3
    Teacher, repair person
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    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    Ditto what John said.

    A 30 watt iron plugged in direct will work. You can dial it down if you want, but there's really no need to.
    I miss Radio Shack.

    Kiss the top of the fret slot with 400 sandpaper wrapped around a small block of wood before you drive the new fret.

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  6. #4
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    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    If you have a gun soldering iron and don't mind sacrificing a tip, cut the tip off at the soldering end and spread the two pieces out to the width of the fret. I like to use a round file and file a concave at each end. You now can head the whole fret at once instead to moving around to get it all heated. Tinning each end will make it quicker too.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

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  8. #5

    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    and maybe not glue down the nut, either?

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  10. #6

    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    Thanks guys! I was following the StewMac instructions.

    My soldering iron is this one: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and I'm really happy with it for an inexpensive iron for hobby use.

    Unless I hear otherwise I'll keep the temp to a pretty normal soldering iron temp, which is around 650F.

    So, no glue is best? I don't remember how well the fretwire held before gluing it, but IIRC it seemed snug enough; had to tap it down with a light hammer.

  11. #7
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    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    Whether to glue, and if so, the choice of glue varies between workers.
    I prefer to glue my frets, and use Titebond liquid hide glue. Easy to clean up, lets go with heat, easy to clean out, and no toxic fumes.
    I don't like pulling frets that have been glued with CA. I don't mind pulling frets that have been glued with yellow glues or liquid hide glue.

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  13. #8

    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    Jeff, that iron setup is excellent for general electronic work, and its 60W should be enough to get a fret smokin’. Depending on what it’s made of, you may have to move around, and use a chisel tip if one came with the iron to get better heat transfer. If you make a habit of extractions, get a (specialized) end nipper to grab them more easily with less damage. Because of the CA, you may need something narrow to clean out the slot, like a scrap of metal that won’t widen it. Just make sure there are no little clumps of glue in there to interfere.

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  15. #9
    Adrian Minarovic
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    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    Quote Originally Posted by pops1 View Post
    If you have a gun soldering iron and don't mind sacrificing a tip, cut the tip off at the soldering end and spread the two pieces out to the width of the fret. I like to use a round file and file a concave at each end. You now can head the whole fret at once instead to moving around to get it all heated. Tinning each end will make it quicker too.
    +1
    Instead of sacrifying tip I just took two pieces of steel wir eof the same diameter and inserted them in and bent them to allow easy touching of the fret near its ends (at least 1/4" from any celluloid binding !). I used thin round file to file notches into ends of the wire so it will sit on the fret with better contact. Heats whole nice at once in seconds and I never had problems removing CA glued frets. The CA just evaporates.
    Adrian

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  17. #10

    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    Thanks again guys. I do have fret nippers that I think will work well.

    Since the uke is for me, I'll try without glue, and if I have problems I'll glue it. Lesson learned!

  18. #11
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    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    FWIW, Bill James (axinc.net), sells a nipper that's only about 1/2" wide that is probably made for something else, but it is really amazing at getting under the fret wire to get it out with minimal damage to the fingerboard. NFI.

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  20. #12

    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    These are my fret nippers, which are inexpensive and work great, though no idea how they'd hold up with frequent use:

    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    But as it turns out I should have asked my son. Didn't think to, as the only fretted instrument he ever made was a pretty crude (but fun) cigar-box guitar guitar, 10 years ago. Well, he needed them for something else and ground down a pair of edge nippers; did a great job too. (He's a blacksmith among other things, and handy with tools.)

  21. #13
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    Default Re: Pulling a fret

    Work in a well ventilated area, preferably with a fume extractor setup.

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