Refretting An A-Style Mandolin
Typical Vintage Mandolin Refret
As you may have read elsewhere, it is my opinion that Vintage Mandolin Refretting is one of the most tedious, nit-picky fret work one usually encounters. Whys zat? Because, these popular old Gibson mandolins prized by pickers are commonly dehydrated and well warn. Dry and crumbly fingerboards challenge even the most patient luthier and those with bound fretboards take it up a whole 'nother notch.
Here I am completely refretting a Gibson A-5 mandolin
Plum worn out
When frets are pulled from fingerboard great care and patience must be used to avoid doing damage to the dry and brittle fingerboard. Because the frets tang act like teeth, most provide a firm grip and it is very common for small chips to be pulled loose as the fret is raised from it's slot. It is simply unavoidable on dry, brittle boards and Ebony seems to be particularly vulnerable.
Slowly and patiently I remove the frets, heating them prior to removal and hoping for the best.
Once the frets are out, small chips must be meticulously glued back or filled. Before repairing the chips at the edge of the fret slot I "block" the fret slot with a waxed metal insert to avoid having glue run into the slot and create more work for me. After the chips are repaired or filled, the fingerboard can be level sanded and prepared for fretting.
On bound fingerboards it is an extremely cumbersome task to clean the fret slots as conventional saws can not be used. If the fingerboard in question had to be planed and fret slots had to be deepened...oh my what fun!!
I don't need to tell you what would happen if an inexperienced guitar tech took up learning on your vintage mandolin.
So, we've got the frets out, the slots cleaned, the chip out repaired and the board prepared for new frets. Now we move to fret wire preparation.
Each fret on this bound fingerboard must be cut to fit perfectly between the binding. Any shorter and you'll see a gap, any longer and you'll hit the binding. On these old Gibson mandolins the fret crown did not overhang the necks binding but merely butted right against it. And originally, the binding created a "nub" at the ends of the fret. This nub is simply a left over binding tab which is not scraped away when the binding was scraped flush with the fingerboard.
I personally like to use a 1" belt sander to achieve the clean mitered look at the end of each fret when sizing it, I tend to get a rounded look when filing them by hand.
Now to install the new frets...
Oh goodie, itty bitty tinee winee fretwire, usually in the neighborhood of .043. Fun, fun!! (Said with loads of sarcasm.)
Each tiny piece of fret wire is now tapped in with a fretting hammer and seated firmly but with great care. Remember that dry, brittle fingerboard that wanted to crumble when the frets were being removed? Yes well, it may want to do a little of the same while we're hammering new frets in. I use numerous little tricks to coerce those tiny guys to seat properly whilst avoiding flattening my fingers with the fretting hammer.
Patience, that's what it boils down to. Good tools, lots of experience and an enormous amount of patience.
I will be completely honest with you, if I did not care what my work looked like, if all I cared about was making a buck or pushing work out the door as quickly as possible I would never go to the effort I do with repair work. I've had people tell me they've found someone who will do a cheaper fret job or neck set or whatever, and I have no doubt they have. But I've seen "cheap" and I personally don't offer different levels of quality. My reputation hinges on each job, so when people are trying to figure out how to have something done cheaper by cutting steps they need not come to me.
After all frets are installed we proceed with a light level and dress to insure consistant fret height and we're nearly ready for our next test drive.
New Frets
As you can clearly see from the photos both before and after, this little guy had really been played. Divots in the fingerboard had been created by the players finger tips. While it is possible to fill these divots I prefer not to if it does not pose a playability problem.
How 'Bout that Test Drive?
Interested in reading more about my refretting techniques?
Check out a Partial Refret of a Gibson F-5 Mandolin or Guitar Refretting Page.
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