Vega Mandolin, Bar Fret Refret - Page 14

This Vega barrel back (also called cylindar barrel) mandolin was originally produced with bar frets. Bar fret wire is much different that today's conventional fret wire and is far more difficult to work with.
Years or perhaps decades ago this instrument was partially refretted using a brass wire (original is a nickel composition) on the first 12 frets (the remaining frets were original). While the home made brass frets were crude, there is a small chance that the repair person was unable to obtain the wire or suitable material and made their own, though this is conjecture on my behalf.

Unoriginal Brass Refret

Picture of Fingerboard Damage

The original frets had been removed, leaving chips and cracks which were filled with glue. Once I carefully removed these frets the damage was clear. No biggy, I'll fix that too!

Bar Fret Wire

Bar fret wire is flat and it's tang and crown are uniform, unlike today's fret wire which looks very much like a mushroom. Because of it's uniform thickness from top to bottom it also requires larger fret slots, usually over .030. This fact makes using conventional wire a poor choice for refretting and would necessitate quite a bit of work to the fingerboard if one hopes to convert.

Leveled Bar Frets

Bar fretting requires time consuming preparation and installation. The wire must be flattened prior to use, most comes rolled or worse!  Each fret wire is cut and thickness ground to fit each individual fret slot correctly...too tight a fit and you create a back bow, too loose and you end up with excessive relief. Because the wire is uniform fret tangs are often required for gripping and must be created by hand. Once the wire has been installed in the fingerboard excess material must be removed.
The flatten tops are then filed to a crown and polished.

New Bar Frets

Close Up of New Bar Frets after shaping

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