Friedl wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 2:54 am
Mossman wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 12:02 am
This time I did it the
right way instead of
my way... Came out a lot better.
Any tips? I used a soldering iron to heat the frets, started them using a razor blade, moved to a putty knife to lift an end, then lifted them out with pliers. The chips aren’t too bad, but I definitely need to saw the slots a little to widen them before filling them with the leftover mahogany veneer I have.
The best tip I can offer (for future reference, of course) is to use a pair of fret puller pliers. They greatly reduce chip-out.
The first time I did this, I heated the fret with a soldering iron and pulled one end out with a small pair of bottle-nose pliers. I had intended to try to slide the frets out sideways to avoid chipping, but the frets came out much more easily than I expected. Most of the time, the whole fret would just lift right out all in one motion before I could do anything about it. I noticed I was getting some chipping, but I figured most of that would get leveled out when I radiused the board (after filling the slots), and kept on truckin'.
Well, the voids didn't diminish with sanding as much I thought they would, so of course, I kept on going a lot longer than I should have.
I also didn't do a very good job of keeping even pressure on the radius block, and had worn down the treble side considerably more than the bass side. To top it all off, the wood veneer that I chose to fill the fret slots with wasn't the best choice. I saw some Birch veneer in the discount bin at a hobby store one day, and decided to use that to fill the slots. I thought it looked light enough, but once that Birch got saturated with super glue (I can't even remember why I used super glue), it turned dark grey, and the lines looked weak and thin... Barely visible. But that didn't matter much anymore since I had partially sanded them away on one side of the fingerboard!
I declared the entire enterprise a disaster, chalked it up to "tuition", and averred to make another attempt some day.
The thing about the fret pliers is; they lift the frets while simultaneously crimping down the tangs, resulting in almost no chipping. Once you get under the fret, you just crimp your way across the fretboard... Easy peasy. What little chipping you do get is microscopic, and
does disappear when you level the fingerboard. I also splurged on Maple veneer this time, and used Titebond to glue the strips in, instead of cyano.
Before you widen the slots and fill them, do a little sanding on the board with your radius block to work up some sawdust and mix it with a little wood glue, and use that to fill the chippy spots. Since they're right on the edge of the slot, it's easier (and cleaner looking) to fill those voids before the veneer strips have been glued in. Whatever filler goops into the slots, you can saw through when you widen them.
And just be careful when widening the slots that you don't get too carried away. That was another mistake I made the first time. It might be better to sand the veneer down a little than to make the slots too wide. What's the thickness of the veneer you're using?
This time I did it the right way instead of my way... Came out a lot better. 
