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Joined:
July 2005
Posts: 92
Location: Northeast Ohio | Hello everyone, i saw the 2 earlier posts about the problem with the old Applause and Matrix necks once the frets became worn. as the proud owner of a pristine AA14-4 whose frets are in great condition it wasn't much of a concern. Then I found on ebay after months of waiting, an AA15 12 string model which matched my 6 string. Guitar was basically in good shape except for the frets. So i jumped in with both feet and started grinding with a dremel and a flat file. After careful work i had the first 5 frets flat with the fingerboard. (only needed to address the first 5 frets.) I then took a new hacksaw blade and carefully cut 1/8" grooves in the fretboard. This took considerable time , as they had to be straight and follow the radius. Bought some fretwire from Stewert- McDonald, cut and filed them to the proper length and was pleasantly surprised to find that the tang of the fret wire fit snugly into the grooves.I also had to carefully bend the fretwire to the radius of the fretboard. Gorilla glued them and rigged a clamp and let it set for 24 hours. while i had the neck off i also removed the flaking paint down to bare metal and primed and repainted the fretboard black.(it took some time to mask the frets). Restrung it and it plays beautiful. All i had in it was about 15.00 in fetwire and spray paint. Yes it took some man hours but it was fun and well worth it to me. Sorry to be so long winded but i wanted to share this with you all. Thanks, James |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Sounds like you'll get the job from now on.
Congratulations! |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | I was thinking about some process to replace the frets with new aluminum, but never thought about putting new frets in. Pretty clever BPB. It will probably take another 30 years for me to wear mine out, no more than I play it. Be sure to stick around so I can look you up when that happens. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | I am a firm believer that with a little elbow grease, quality garage time, dedication and liberal learning curve a lot of good can be accomplished!
It rebels against the movement toward a disposable society. Maybe that's the part I like best! |
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Refretted Aluminum neck