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I have a refret on a Rainsong coming up, and I was wondering what to expect. Is it a pain to pull frets our of carbon fiber? Should I heat the frets before pulling? And what about hammering in the new frets? Should I just glue and press them in? So many questions.

Additionally, the neck on this guitar doesn't sit flush against the body; there's a slight gap between the heel and the sides, but it goes away when string tension is slackened. The instrument seems to be a bolt on with a single bolt on the heel. Tightening that bolt had no effect in closing the gap. Also, there's a large washer around the bolt that is loose and rattling, but I'm unable to tighten the bolt any more. I'm beginning to think that the bolt is bottoming out in the heel. Anyone have any experience with the neck joints on these guitars? Thanks!

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I would definitely call Rainsong direct for advice.

From the Rainsong Support site:

"Refretting

Your RainSong has been setup using jumbo nickel alloy frets that have been pressed into fret-slots on the fingerboard. A qualified guitar technician should be able to refret your RainSong just like any wooden guitar.".

General statement to all posters: When you have a technical materials or specification question about a manufacturer's product, got to THEIR website first. At least GOOGLE the question. We have too many "point to the perfect link" replies. We're here to help you, NOT to do your work for you.

I second that:   gone are the days of a lazy couple of hours researching 'interesting" topics for those who can't spell Google.   Similarly, and separate from this thread, if you are new to the forum maybe resist the temptation to offer "this is what I think may work" advice if you haven't actually done it or not looked up the correct procedure or product specifications etc.  

This is not to discourage genuine attempts to be helpful, which are always appreciated, but it helps to get the right information supplied without having to argue the case or have the correct response dissipated by a weight of well meaning best guesses.  

With all respect to Ian;   The original Rainsong post here is akin to having a car mechanic do a major service without a tech manual - too much of this is going on in this business and too many manufacturers are either getting a free ride by not supporting their product or not having their technical support and manuals heeded. Either way its not a good thing.

Regards,

Rusty.

Perhaps I should have been a bit more clear in my original post. I tend to leave things out when I'm posting from my cell phone. I saw that bit on the Rainsong site first, though it wasn't particularly detailed or helpful. I also contacted Rainsong prior to posting this question.
Now I understand that you were making a general statement, but I must make it clear that I wasn't asking you to do my homework for me. What I wanted was to hear from someone who had actually refretted one of these guitars, and despite my best efforts, I hadn't been able to find that anywhere (except here).

I don't have experience with the neck joint and you definitely need to get that fixed before doing the refret so i can't help there but I've refret Rainsongs with both stainless and nickel-silver wire.  It's the same thing as any other refret so you will be fine.

The problem with the latest neck has been resolved. The bolt was bottoming out after all. Does the fingerboard material on these Rainsongs have a tendency to chip at all when you pulled frets?
Another concern I had was back bowing the neck with the frets, since there isn't any truss rod (the neck is absolutely dead straight right now), although I suppose that I should be fine if I match the original fret tang thickness.

Thanks for your input. Btw, I'm looking forward to attending your workshop at the GAL convention this year!

Thanks Ian,

I'll see you at the GAL.  Should be fun! I have tons of interesting photos and cool stuff to talk about for the convention.

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