Fret Ends!

[darren]

My second guitar's fret ends are proud of the fretboard ends. This is the all-Koa finished last Dec with a Maccassar Ebony fretboard. Presumably from the fretboard drying out, though humidity has been consistently around 45 upstairs where the guitar is kept (in a case) and its been 40-43 downstairs where I work on things...

Just checked the fret ends on my first (finished Feb '00) and they feel nice and flush, the frets in a couple 25+ year old guitars are similarly fine. Obviously they have had more time to dry than the koa but I'm wondering if anything can be done, short of filing them down and refinishing the neck. It is tru-oil on the neck, so refinishing would be fairly straightforward, if that is the recommended course of action.

thanks for any advise you can give!

[Ken C]

Darren, Guitars get refretted all the time without requiring a neck refinish, and some luthiers even fret after the finish has been applied. This is probably much easier with a bound fingerboard as that lower end of the tang is not visible. Where is the edge of your finish? I roll the edges of my f/b and break the finish right along that crown with fine grit sandpaper and a sanding block. Depending on how you finished your neck, you may end up removing finish a little lower on the f/b edge, but seems like it should still be doable. I'd use 400G paper on a long straight sanding block to bring the fret ends down, then work my way through the finer grits. Ebony can be polished up nicely, and you might be able to hide the finish transition line.

Again, I haven't done this, so hopefully you'll get some tips from guys who actually know what they're talking about!

Ken

[darren]

Thanks for the suggestions, Ken. My finish goes to the corner of the fretboard so it does cover the tangs, that transition will be lowered as I work the frets back down to the FB. You're right, the ebony will probably buff to the same sheen as the finish if I take it through the micro mesh.

Is this something that will come back from time to time or is it a one time operation? It makes me wonder if the fretboard is not stable enough.

[tippie53]

it would help to have pictures. I don't think you need to refret but a redress may be what you need .