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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I just bought the 1127GC from Dave.
It really could use a Partial Re-Fret...
There are dents in the first few frets that cannot be "dressed" away.
So I figure that I would just replace 1-4, maybe only 1-3.
I am looking at Stewmac Fretwire
Which should I buy?
I have ordered a 1/2" Fret Puller and Hammer and Fret Nipper.
I have an cheap Soldering Iron and a bucket-full of tools.
And I might go down to Goodwill and buy a junk guitar to practice on.
(WOW! That is actually a good idea that just came to me)
So which fretwire should I buy?
I was thinking Medium/Medium #0148... eh?
Any advice from wiser folks is always appreciated
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Joined: November 2002 Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Whatever matches, whatever is there already. "Don't overthink the plumbing". Though, you may need to yank one of the wires, to determine that- :-). I bought the Stew-Mac refretting kit, years ago. A bit spendy, but never regretted it. Just the fret rocker, is absolutely essential to the whole process. |
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Joined: November 2013 Posts: 163
Location: Phoenix, AZ | Arthur, I found this fret wire on Ebay, and used it for a partial re-fret on my 1127 and my 1617, and it matched perfectly. Not sure how to post the actual link, but this the Ebay item: http://www.ebay.com/itm/171672683413?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Thank You, Lonnie.
That actually looks like what I need.
Something low, to blend-in with the other frets.
Still looking for other opinions/options, so other 2ยข is appreciated.
I ain't gonna be starting this immediately.
Gotta collect supplies. (and mail is annoyingly slow)
Then I might just nut-up and become a Re-Fretting Maniac.
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Joined: June 2012 Posts: 2316
Location: Pueblo West, CO | Per FlySig:
Ovation engineering drawing for fretwire, dated 5/5/92, which shows a crown height of .040" and a width of .078" |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | The eBay listing sez:
"Crown Height: .037" (0.94mm) Crown Width: .080" (2.03mm) Tang Depth: .050" (1.27mm)"
I will know if they look right next week.
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Joined: June 2012 Posts: 2316
Location: Pueblo West, CO | Yep. Those are close enough to the Ovation specs that I don't think you'll notice a difference without using a micrometer. |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Yeah... Frets 1,2 & 3 have divots on the "B" and "e" string, so that is about as far as I am going.
My crappy digital micrometer shows the height at the lower frets to be +/- .37"
Which is an amazing coincidence, cuz I had not measured them until now.
(I forgot that I own a micrometer)
According to my micrometer the width of the frets is about .81 ...
This is not a scientific grade instrument. I think that it was about $4 from China eBay.
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Okay, Here is the Sacrificial Guitar that I am gonna practice on...
I feel bad about possibly destroying a guitar...
But I might be able to remove some frets and put them back on, so it won't be totally destroyed.
I was playing "Aqualung", "Iron Man", "Cinnamon Girl", and anything else that I could think of that I could do without a "D" string, while waiting for the Streetcar.
So once I get the tools next week I will practice on this poor critter.
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Joined: June 2012 Posts: 2316
Location: Pueblo West, CO | I think you'll do fine. Re-fretting is a pretty straightforward job. |
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Joined: March 2016 Posts: 13
| Stew-Mac has a couple of items that I like. One is a pair of slotted shields for the fretboard that help prevent splintering when prying out the frets. The other is a funny looking saw for cleaning out the fret slots safely, especially if your fingerboard is bound. |
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Joined: June 2012 Posts: 2316
Location: Pueblo West, CO | I agree with Lloyd. When I refretted my 1617, I ordered the following tools from Stewmac:
Chip Stoppers Deadblow Fretting Hammer Fret Cutter Fret Puller Refret Saw Fret Slot Cleaning Tool Fret Tang Nipper Three-in-one Fret File I knew that I was going to be using these tools more than just that one job, so I was willing to spend the money on all of these. For my next refret job on my 1619 or Alvarez PD100S, I'm going to build myself a fret bending machine using plans I ordered from LMI. (See: Steve Klein’s Do-It-Yerself fret bending machine) Of these, the most essential would be the fret puller, fret cutter, fret slot cleaning tool, chip stopper and fret file. |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Are Ovation frets Glued-in?
Translation: Will I have to heat the frets to remove them?
Thank You.
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Joined: March 2016 Posts: 13
| Assume they are. Soldering iron works well. Start heating at one side and use the nippers to pry the edge up. Move the iron a bit, heat, move the nippers, etc If you get chips, make sure you don't lose them so you can glue them back in with super glue. I'm sure you'll do fine.
Edited by Lloyd 2016-06-14 11:02 PM
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