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Refretting a Banjo Refretting a banjo can be a rewarding yet challenging task. It takes a bit of know how and skill to pull it off correctly so please don't attempt this job without the right skills, knowledge and tools. There are many different techniques that can be used when refretting a banjo. This is the method that I felt was right for this instrument. I offer this series as an opportunity for you to see how this type of work is done. This is not necessarily an instruction in refretting.
Banjos that play with buzzes and appear to have heave grooves in the frets probably need at least a partial refret. This banjo needed a complete refret as the groves were deep and were very pronounced all the way to the 14th fret. Lets see how to safely remove frets from a fingerboard.
Removing the frets is one of the trickiest parts of the job. Many people use a soldering gun to heat the frets up before removing them as do I. Frank Ford taught me this trick with the soldering gun that makes all the difference in the world. By cutting the tip of the element off and shaping the ends to be concave, you get a great tool that is easy to control when it is being held on the frets and you make the fret part of the circuit. This means the whole fret heats up all the way through instead of relying on convection to heat the fret from the top. You do have to take care not to overdo it. As you know, binding can be damaged and fret slots burned if too much heat is applied. Another great tool I use is the specially ground (by me) flush cutting end nips. You can see how I hold them from the photo above. I use two pairs of nips when pulling frets and I will explain the reasoning as I proceed through this series.
Why heat the frets? Because a lot of people use glue of various kinds to help secure the frets into the fingerboard. Aliphatic resin (white glues), epoxy, Cyanacrolate (super or crazy glues) and the list probably goes on. These glues need to be heated before the fret is removed in order to keep from damaging the fret slots. Even on a virgin fret job where the frets were not glued into place, heat will help the fret to be more easily removed and greatly reduce the amount of chipping along the edges of the fret slots especially in ebony. After the fret is heated enough (only experience will tell you that) I start with the thin, narrow pair of nips. I have ground these to a very thin point and have narrowed them considerably. This allows me to get under even the tightest frets and start the removal process. I work my way from one side of the fret to the other being careful not to rock the nips but to only squeeze them closed under the fret. This is important as attempting to pull them all the way out on the initial pull will most likely cause chips to be lost that will have to be repaired. Nothing will stop all chips from occurring but this method works very well for me.
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