Mark 1 repair work

[tom villaflor]

Good day to all
I Joined the forum few years ago.Proud owner of a 66 Mark 1 sunburst Sent pics also.
Just wondering is it possible to get a re-fret job on my guitar.Have some that have" lifted" slightly... more so on the high e and b string side.get some buzzing and they are litlle bumpy instead of "speed frets" as before.Have tried lightly tapping them back down, but it doesnt last.Is there a place I could trust to do this ?....Would it be the same gauge wire?......and how much am I looking at paying ?

Tom Villaflor
Murray Ky

[axis9313]

If the frets are otherwise good, you may be able to glue them back down with some shellac, thin superglue, etc. But if they're worn and you're getting buzzing etc., then a refret would be appropriate. I think Mosrite frets would be too small to do a fret dress (which would save the original frets).

You can remove an original fret and measure it with a special calipers (so you can measure the tang along with the width and height), then match it with the closest available fretwire. I like the Dunlop wire that Stewmac sells. Or you can make it a larger size if you want.

If you need to also replace the zero fret, you would use a piece of wire a size or so larger than the regular frets.

The fretboard has binding, so makes it a little more complex, so that would increase the cost a bit.

Any good luthier in your area should be able to handle this. Rates can vary a lot depending on the person and the area. At a guess, I would say in the $300 range?

Your avatar says you live in Murray, KY. I would consider going to the nearest large city ie. Nashville. There have to be a ton of great luthiers there.

[zarfnober]

First thing I would do would be to oil the neck with fretboard oil, wipe off excess. Let it soak a few days and do it again, let it dry completely, and don't play it while doing this. This will allow the fretboard to "swell up" a little, as the wood can dry out depending on where you live. then I would try retapping them with some glue, wipe off excess glue and then use a board with rubber bands, or a "LIGHT" clamp to hold frets in til dry.

The real original frets aren't available, and even those were filed down a lot. I wouldn't refret it unless it can't be fixed. Just my $.02,

Rocco

[Mr. Bill]

There used to be a pharmacy that had a smoker out back, there in Murray. They had the greatest smoked shoulder I have ever tasted.

There are many people here on the forum that can refret your guitar, you just need to decide what you want to have done. I'd agree with Zarfnober in that I would repair if possible and refret only if that was the only way to make it either right or what you want it to be.

I've see many Mosrites that have been refretted because their owners didn't like the original frets. If you don't like the feel of the low frets, you could have taller frets installed.

Gluing down frets is a common repair and is done all the time. In fact a lot of refrets are done by gluing in the new frets rather than pressing them in.

[tom villaflor]

Thanks for all the help.....I do like the original frets , and I hate to refret the whole thing just because of 4 or 5 that have raised up some at the high e end and pretty far down the fingerboard......Also thought about lightly filing them.???
May leave it alone.Since its still all original..and hardly a scratch on it.
thanks again to everybody
I cant think of the pharmacy you mentioned.How long ago was it??
Tom Villaflor

[Mr. Bill]

Tom, it was more than 30 years ago and I can still taste the smoke!

I used to work in a woodshop for a fellow from Murray, and every now and then we would drive down to pick up supplies of air dried Walnut, bar-b-que and grits. Nice town, but I suppose that it's changed a lot since then.