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Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/287193
dizzo - Posted - 06/29/2014: 04:12:08
Hey folks
got me a bellflower. I love it. I can see myself picking this thing for the rest of my life.
its a 2005 and has seen a lot of play. It has a few flat spots in a couple frets and it causes a buzz in one spot. I'm not sure if I should have a partial refret or if it could do with a crowning.
is this a job that any decent luthier can be trusted with, or should I send it to stelling? I live in milwaukee, wi and I don't know of any really good banjo luths around here so I may need to take it to Chicago or Madison if I don't send her to Geoff.
beegee - Posted - 06/29/2014: 04:34:38
I don't know of anybody in your area, but be advised that there are a lot of guitar techs out there who do re-frets. The danger is that while there are those who can do banjo frets, sometimes they only know electric guitars. Unless you can find an experienced repairman locally who understands banjo set-up, you may want to contact Stelling. There are a number of good luthiers here on BHO who could handle the job for you, but it seems as if there should be somebody good in your area. Do you have any experience with Spruce Tree in Madison?
Edited by - beegee on 06/29/2014 04:37:01
banjoman56 - Posted - 06/29/2014: 04:41:10
quote:
Originally posted by banjoman56Any good luthier who knows banjos should be able to replace or frets. If you have to replace them, you might want to look at stainless steel frets. I will never replace frets with anything else.
Seeders - Posted - 06/29/2014: 06:22:46
Stelling has a somewhat different fretting process where there frets are epoxied in. I would only send your banjo to Stelling unless you find a local luthier that is specifically familiar with Stelling banjos, refretting them and has experience doing so. If someone tries to pull the frets without knowing this, it could be a disaster. You'll never have to worry about a thing sending it to Stelling. It may cost a little bit more because of the shipping back and forth but you know it will be done exactly as it was originally designed to be done. I don't have any personal experience with their shop but have only heard good things about their repair pricing and turn around times.
stelling man - Posted - 06/29/2014: 06:59:49
I do have experience with Geoff's shop, He refretted my 88 Sunflower a few years back and did a great job and also replaced the comp. nut. Mine are getting pretty worn again, I'm going to have SS frets done next time..
STELLING MAN
dizzo - Posted - 06/29/2014: 07:44:10
Thanks for the info. If it needs a refret, I'll be sending it to stelling.
What about a dressing? I'd assume by the age and look of it, it's probably never had any work done to the frets. Is a dressing something more easy done? Is there a chance to damage something?
Texasbanjo - Posted - 06/29/2014: 07:51:40
He's a member here, PM him and ask your questions. He's one of the nicest people I've ever met and very easy to do business with. He'll give you honest and true answers.
Seeders - Posted - 06/29/2014: 07:56:24
quote:
Originally posted by dizzo
Thanks for the info. If it needs a refret, I'll be sending it to stelling.
What about a dressing? I'd assume by the age and look of it, it's probably never had any work done to the frets. Is a dressing something more easy done? Is there a chance to damage something?
If the worn spots in the frets are not too deep the frets can be leveled and re-crowned which is much more easily done and any competent luthier can accomplish. I'd just suggest someone that's familiar with banjos in case you have railroad spikes as some people are not familiar with them.
sunburst - Posted - 06/29/2014: 08:16:15
Any good, experienced banjo repair person who is familiar with glued-in frets (Stelling banjos aren't the only instruments with glued-in frets) should be able to do a fine job. Good and experienced are key words here. Other than being familiar with banjo set up and glued frets, the person has to be able to do good fret work in general (it can be surprising how many folks with a bit of experience still don't do good fret work).
dizzo - Posted - 06/29/2014: 10:54:46
Okey dokey.
I wanted to send it to Geoff anyway. I just wasn't sure if I was being overly cautious. And the shipping would add a lot to the cost.
With great banjo comes great responsibility
perltone - Posted - 06/30/2014: 19:08:18
Check out Jeff Kramer at Cloverlick Banjos in Burlington, Wis. He has done some good work for me. Nice guy,
reasonable.
Old Hickory - Posted - 06/30/2014: 20:58:18
You need someone experienced with refretting bound fingerboards. I think that's more important than banjo specific experience.
Rick Turner - Posted - 06/30/2014: 22:11:57
Any good luthier should be able to deal with glued in frets on a bound fingerboard. That's basic lutherie, as far as I'm concerned.
Frets should ALWAYS be heated when being removed. Most folks do it with a soldering iron; I prefer using a resistance soldering station which pumps low voltage, high current AC through the fret turning it into a heating element. This will soften any glue commonly used in fret work...hot hide glue, Titebond, epoxy, or superglue. It also softens the wood on either side of the slot just enough to minimize rosewood or ebony chip-outs, and on a very dry 'board, I'll lemon oil the wood before taking the frets out.
There are two treatments for bound fretboard fret ends...some fingerboards are fretted off the neck with the frets filed or sanded flush with the edges of the 'board, and then the binding is glued on covering the fret slot ends as well as the fret ends themselves. Then the binding is scraped between frets often leaving little nubs of binding at the ends of the frets. These can be a pain to refret if you're looking for an absolutely original looking fingerboard as the frets have to be cut very precisely to length before inserting them, and if you do any work sanding the fingerboard, you lose the binding nubs...which look incredibly stupid to me, anyway. It's a Gibson guitar thing, and it is a production expedient, not a great way to put in frets. A variation on this is to roll the binding back in towards the fingerboard with what in boats would be called "tumblehome". This puts the widest part of the neck down 1/8' to 5/32" below the very edge of the fingerboard, and the binding can wind up very thin right at that edge. Some folks like the comfort factor of necks fretted this way, and it's how EtParadox's "new" Paramount was originally done.
The more "modern" way is to bind the fingerboard, glue it to the neck, and then notch the tang off of each end of each fret overlaying a short section of fret bead over the binding. The fret ends are then filed flush and then the ends rounded or faceted smooth and flush with the binding. This actually gives you a little more usable fretboard width.
Any luthier worth talking to should be able to do either style, and one of the marks of a good luthier is his or her ability to work very closely in the style of the original builder. That, of course, means that the luthier has to have some decent chops and experience handling a lot of different brands of banjos, guitars, mandos, whatever.
And then, it is not necessary to work in the original style as long as that is what has been agreed upon. It's very common to refret Gibson bound neck guitars in "the modern style" rather than trying to preserve the binding nubs at the ends of the frets. On the other hand, if one is refretting something like the '41 D-45 that I did for Bernie Leadon, it damned well better look like it came out of Nazareth in 1941.
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