'66 Strat fretting question....

[Mike Kolb]

G'morning  ... A good friend gave me his 1966 Strat to refret and I'm looking forward to it.  Before starting, I researched whether or not this particular guitar was fretted "sideways" at the factory as so many were. Found a lot of generalities but nothing terribly specific. 

So the question might be... is there any visual indication to look-for that would indicate a sideways fret job?  I know there's some strat geniuses here.....:)

[harrison phipps]

Knock one of the frets out sideways and inspect the slot.  If the fret was inserted from the side, the slot will look smooth with no indentations on both sides of the slot. If the fret was inserted from the top, the barbs on either side of the fret tang will make indentations in the fingerboard as it goes in.

[Mike Kolb]

Thanks Harrison!  Now, s'pose it is indeed a sideways job.... would I continue with my normal fret-from-the-top hammer and press method, or attempt to put the new ones in from the side?  

Also, am I correct in understanding that they were driven-in from the bass side?  

[Mike Kolb]

OK, I slid a fret out from the side (bass-to-treble) and -bingo!- not a tang barb mark to be seen. Good tip, Harrison... thank you. 

So that tells me that, to avoid the chipping when removing the frets, they will all have to be tapped-out sideways... good to know in advance to avoid gluing itsy-bitsy slivers of wood all day.

Thinking further, it seems that the new frets can be installed in the "standard" method (from the top) since any chipping will be confined to the downward pressure of the barbs and... if all goes well....not show since the minimal chipping is under the fret.

Or... is this doing a disservice to the next bloke who gets this neck for a re-fret? He/she may expect it was done sideways and act accordingly? Or will he/she do the "slide test" to determine that it wasn't?  

Funny how a fret job can turn into a full-blown morals dilemma!

[Paul Verticchio]

Mike, just one more bit of useless trivia:

When Leo's team developed the non-standard fretting method, they weren't concerned with refrets.  Leo used the bolt-on design not only as an 'ease of manufacturing' process, but also because he thought (and wisely) that it would be more economical to replace the entire neck than pay to have it refretted.  That philosophy holds true...but isn't necessarily applicable, in today's world of educated & picky guitarists.

And while I'm boring the readership with trivia, here's why Fender began using RW for their FB's:  Leo was watching a C&W TV show one weekend and noticed that the black & white broadcast accentuated finger wear marks on Maple FB's.  He had a fit and ordered all further FB's be RW to hide the wear in photos. 

And we thought everything was steeped in science ;)

Have a good one :)

[Paul Verticchio]

How's this Mike:

Page 209 in the 3rd Edition of Dan's Repair Guide: According to either Wayne Charvel  who worked for Fender, they put them in sideways UNTIL 1982. So, prior to 1982, everything was a sideways install.

The book has diagrams of the jig and lots of info on how it was done. Personally, after they're removed, I press them in using modern methods.  I've never encountered a problem with that method.  Good luck wit the fret slots in the veneer thin FB, especially if you have to level the board prior to fretting. You may have to trim the depth of the tang, depending on the wire you're using.

Hope that helps for this repair and all future Fender refrets.

Take care buddy,

Paul :)

[Mike Kolb]

Good research, Paul.  Thanks for sharing that you do them in the standard manner. Yes, there'll be some fretboard leveling but it should be minimal as there sure "ain't much meat on them bones".  

I share the concerns on the thin fretboard veneer and will measure the tang depth with a gauge before getting too carried-away.  Also, I can see this board is a prime candidate for a light filing of a 'v'-channel of the slot.... and I'll probably use diluted white glue to help lube the tangs on their way in. 

Super ... a little confidence and some great advice goes a long way!  Take care, buddy! 

[Robert May]

Stamped on Friday the 13th. Be careful ! hahaha

[Mike Kolb]

HA!  That's a good spot, Ken!  So this old strat turns 47yrs old next week... that's pretty cool. Happy Birthday!

[nathan clark]

Sideways removal unless its already been refretted. Be careful with that thin fretboard. Here are my coping strategies for that job:

http://fingerlakesguitarrepair.com/fender-strat-round-laminate-fret...

http://fingerlakesguitarrepair.com/fret-tang-grinding-jig/

[Mike Kolb]

Excellent info, Nathan.  Thanks for sharing the tips!  They'll printed-out and hung above the bench for this job.

[Mark A. Kane]

Lots of good advice; I'll add my 2 cents. If your friend wants vintage wire back in the neck, you can use an .080" x .042 (Allparts #LT468). While not .038" (vintage height, unadulterated) it affords you .004" to play with and minimizes material removal from that perilously thin FB. The LT468 has the same tang depth as the original so you don't have to go deeper. Just clean the slots thoroughly. Good Luck!

[Mike Kolb]

Thanks... that's good stuff, Mark.  The owner wants some "more beef" under his fingers, so we've settled on the StewMac #154, it's .100W and .050" tall... with the added benefit of having a relatively short tang (.060") compared to most of the other "wides".

Appreciate you knowing the depth of the original tang off the top of your head!  If there's anything iffy with the depth in this case, Nathan's fret tang grinding jig (above) looks like it could solve that problem in fine fashion.   

I'm -as usual- indebted to all the advice. There's a 47yr-old strat on the bench that thanks you even more!