I decided to replace the frets because they are just too low. Some are as high as 0.046 inch, but many are down to less than 0.033 inch. I want higher frets, so I intend to do a total refret. Over the weekend, I prepped the guitar neck. To remove the old frets, I first wet the fretboard with water and then used a little heater from an auto upholstery repair kit to heat each fret. [The heater plugs into a/c and has a little round flat tip.] When I could hear the water on the fretboard sizzle from the heat, I would move the heater further up the fret.


When the entire fret had been heated, I carefully used homemade fret pullers (ground-down nippers - see photo below) and gently pulled the fret up a little at a time. This seemed to work well while causing the least amount of damage to the fretboard. [In the past - when I yanked the frets out like teeth - they left big, horrible gaps that looked like the scars on Frankenstein's forehead.]


Now it is time to install the new frets on this bound bolt-on guitar neck. I re-bend the fret-wire. This time bending the wire is easier because the entire radius is about 15-16 inches and does not change. I cut the fret-wire as close to the exact size as I can. Although bending the wire is easier, installing the frets will be harder because of the binding. To go over the binding, I cut little notches in the ends of the fret-wire. Then I use heated hide glue made from dried Behlen Hide Glue. I ordered the Behlen Hide Glue from Stewart MacDonald, got a basting syringe from Wal-Mart, and bought a little glue pot from a local hobby store. I think the glue pot was intended for heating glue sticks to adhere flower arrangements. I mix the hide glue with water and heat to about 145 degrees F, then draw the glue up into the syringe and lay it down in the fret slots. The glue process is time-consuming because the little glue pot has no thermostat, and I have to be constantly unplugging the pot and then plugging it back in to keep the glue at the correct heat setting. It does work, however, and I can mix the glue differently according to whether I want to fill in or allow it to seep further down into the fret slots.