lungimsam
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Hopefully gonna do it on my 2013 NS Starfire (you can stop clutching at your heart now) in the spring when it’s warmer and I can sand outside without risk of shocking the wood and finish from cold temps.
Still torn about putty fret line filler vs. wood veneers, but leaning toward maple veneers. I’m not gonna epoxy/cyanoacrilate seal the fretboard after. Just oil it. If I mess it up I can always have my local luthier do it with an unmarked slab fretboard. But why not try myself first?
Any tips?
I’m hoping to do it this way:
Still torn about putty fret line filler vs. wood veneers, but leaning toward maple veneers. I’m not gonna epoxy/cyanoacrilate seal the fretboard after. Just oil it. If I mess it up I can always have my local luthier do it with an unmarked slab fretboard. But why not try myself first?
Any tips?
I’m hoping to do it this way:
- Remove nut.
- Eye drop water on high side of fret. Heat fret with solder iron til steam exits other side of fret. Remove fret starting from one end with nippers by letting the nipper pinch out the frets -no pulling.
- Clean out fret slot
- See if veneers need to be cut to radius of fret slot or not. Dry run putting veneer in and then trace fretboard top on it with a pencil. Cut bottom with scissors. That’s your slot radius.
- Wood glue in the veneers, making sure they go all the way to bottom of slots and dont rock. Let dry over night.
- Trim veneer with nippers and chisel
- Sand down veneer with radius block
- Adjust truss rod to straighten neck, check with straight edge.
- Level fret board with beam/use white pencil/check with straight edge
- Sand board with radius block to reestablish radius
- Sand fretboard side edges
- Oil fretboard
- Reinstall nut.
- Setup and play!
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