Fretting in depth. (Les Paul Jr.)

[@briansavage932]

No Sunday afternoon is complete without you!

[@david25876]

That’s real pressure

[@scottmulrooney3130]

A masterclass in how it’s done.

[@timothycormier3494]

Even better when you realize that you only watched the beginning of the video on Sunday because you had to take the son to a birthday party and then remembered on Thursday afternoon that you still have the rest of the weekly Ted video to watch. 😁

[@troybradley8647]

Same for me ❤ sat morning I watch him and on the way to work I listen at work he has no idea how many off days he's helping me with

[@radducku]

yay...polishing, polishing time!

[@rustyaxelrod]

I realize it gets tiring to repeat instructions over and over but thanks for doing it. It is helpful (for me) to be reminded when there are so many details involved. As a hobbyist its often months between work on this level and it’s easy to forget the steps and options until you’re standing there with the tool in your hand. There are many resources for instructions out there these days but I like the level of detail, the discussion of related considerations and the speed of your videos so I prefer the twoodfrd way of doing stuff. 👍

[@Steve-j7z]

One of the best fretting videos ive seen as everything is well explained rather than simply videoing a refret

[@mikehelton697]

That quick cut to the previous headstock felt like it was straight out of the shining 👯‍♀️😂

[@frankfarklesberry]

Laughing heartily at the "fret selection paralysis" comment. We're so crazy. 🤣

[@beenaplumber8379]

I can so relate as a player. When I had my baby (Rick 4003) in for new frets, it was like... I've gotta play these frets for the next several years. I've gotta get it right! But in the end I realized it's not hard to adapt to different fret wire. Not on a bass anyway. I've never had a refret done on a 6-string. Maybe that would be different?

[@seanj3667]

@@beenaplumber8379 I can imagine that's a tough refret with the board on a Ric. I have a 4003 and can't picture how you'd get the frets off without chewing up the board. Granted, this stuff is WAY above my skillset.

[@beenaplumber8379]

@@seanj3667 Yeah, that and the fact that the 4003 has such soft frets to begin with, so they're more likely to need it sooner doesn't help. The finish on the board forms a fillet with the original frets. He seems to have cut that down and leveled it before installing the new frets, which have no fillet. (I'm totally fine with that. I prefer the feel of it on my fingers.) The new wire is wider than the original, so he only had to level the fillet with the fretboard - no extra cosmetics necessary. Then there's the binding on the sides - the whole job was around $400, but it was beautifully done. The sustain and brightness are as remarkable as you might imagine, and I never did like the filleted frets. Whatever he did, it was great work. (Shout out to Willies American Guitars, Steve the luthier and repair manager, St. Paul, MN. I'd trust Steve with anything. He's had my Rick twice now, and I'm always scared to have it in the shop, but his work has been fantastic both times.)

[@seanj3667]

@@beenaplumber8379 It's good that you have someone local who can do the work (and props for sharing who it was).

[@giovanni5063]

This series is high quality instruction, not only with the actual philosophy of repairing these machines but also the realities of making a living at this craft. Among the top series of craft on the Tube that costs you only the time you spend up loading to your brain. Best regards.

[@seanj3667]

I love seeing an old friend come back for more work. I can't imagine this Jr would need anything else.

[@frankwebster9110]

MIs en place. A very familiar term to the chefs! Everything in its place. Super important for any project

[@JohnnyHurbonConnections]

As a 3 string cigar guitar builder past three years I stumbled upon your fretting wisdom and Thank You from Tucson Arizona for sharing your meticulously crafted video and loved the fret rocker insert. I make own necks and fret my soundboards. The diagrams were helpful because I am a visual learner. I subscribed to your channel.

[@chrisdrake447]

Expert tuition. Feel there should be some “Mississippi Queen” riffing to play us out tho’ ...

[@Riverdeepnwide]

Ooooo especially the 1:50 of Mississippi Queen. Leslie changed my young life with that note.

[@MenkoDany]

09:05 OH. MY. GOD. BROTHER YOU JUST CHANGED MY LIFE WITH ONE DIAGRAM. How did I not know this sooner? I have a "jazz" (really it's a "rockabilly") guitar with this exact issue and I spent 70+ hours over the years when it began having this issue trying to get the intonation right and it has jumbo frets and I picked it up and took a look at it AND IT HAS THIS EXACT ISSUE (on a few frets). Solved it in 15 mins with a fret filer I bought 6 years ago and never used. Hot damn...

[@MenkoDany]

Jesus christ I literally can't handle my emotions right now. Thank you so so so much

[@mrclaus859]

Very informative thanks Ted

[@nobodynoone2500]

Another masterclass. Thank you for documenting these repairs for the world. You are a legend and a gentleman.

[@billbones1000]

Ted I am literally preparing to do my first ever full fret level and dress on a LP I just finished building.....my first LP after several successful tele builds. Can't tell you how great it was to have access to this video at this specific time!!

[@seanj3667]

Good luck!

[@clintchambers7156]

Great video…. Best channel around!

[@joeferris5086]

Some how that kind of thing always happens to me with his videos. They always seem to be right on time

[@ahf5471]

I’ve purchased several enthusiast made guitars in the last 10 years or so. I have yet to find one that had correct intonation. It seems everyone makes the same miscalculations.

[@billbones1000]

@@ahf5471 that's too bad. My three builds are spot on but I take a lot of time and attention building guitars for myself that I play in live settings. I could imagine if I was building to sell and more focused on a reasonable compensation for my time the chance for errors would increase.

[@mattrorke7536]

One of your best how-to videos yet. And that’s saying something!

[@garywhitt98]

The encouragement of a craftsman who refuses to cut corners.

[@dsmanpr1]

Your opening my mind

[@joelnakasone]

😎 Maestro, (a.k.a Ted) you’ve done it again! Slow clap, knowing smile, and awe.

[@petedazer3381]

Ted, you are a master craftsman sir! Thank you for your consistently excellent videos.

[@mattliebenau9083]

Thanks Ted. I was aware of most of this but it’s a great refresher as I have an old Kay to get some new frets in soon.

[@Gjo1784]

Perfect end to a good week❤

[@terryeaster1]

In!!!!!

[@mikedavis3841]

I really like your show.

[@markjames9487]

Again and again total quality and craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing - these videos are addictive. Take care

[@srt8speed]

Nice work as per usual Ted. I learn so much watching your videos that perhaps I will become a guitar repairman/luthier in my next lifetime.. For the remainder of this one I’ll just enjoy your work. Carry on sir!

[@williamgalbraith3621]

Great work and thanx for sharing! The first electric guitar I ever played was a Les Paul jr. way back in 1968! My cousins had found one in a bunch of junk somebody had set out by the road after cleaning out their flooded basement. My uncle cleaned up the jr. and waved a magic wand over the Marshall 18-watt they also pulled out of the pile. We were banished to the pole barn after a few too many poorly and loudly executed attempts at various rock and roll songs of the day.

[@mahoganymarco9199]

Not a joke, you are a genius, an example of passion. Not a great life here but your videos are medicine to me and helped to fix things on my "too many" guitars. Thank you!

[@johna1160]

Makes sense Les Paul (the man) liked low frets, he was a glissing emeffer.

[@waynewhiteside]

Great video. Thank you.

[@ssrattus]

Another great video, thanks Ted.

[@iGluTV]

is it only me or this is one of a kind video? like a "101 - how to refret a guitar like a wise, calm, clever and centered pro". (I'm not a luthier of any sort, I just play guitar but I also enjoy diy)

[@forsythejonny]

Ted, I appreciate these videos so much! Thank you for sharing your craft!

[@stewsim]

Another great video! Thanks Ted…!!!

[@martin-1965]

Hi Ted, probably one of your most fascinating and instructive videos to date - especially for those of us who play and work on electric guitars mainly. I also think - being 20+ years older than you I guess - that because you make your videos look so effortless, it can be easy to ignore the physical as well as mental effort that goes into working on a guitar setup and re-fret especially. As I get older I am noticing how much more tiring certain jobs can be - especially the polishing of frets which is why I now use a Dremmel to finish off the work whereas beforehand I would always go through multiple grits until I got that perfect shine ⭐ Really appreciated the tip about using the fretwire to recentre the curvature of the fretboard. This old dog learned a new trick there 🦮 Thanks again and love all your videos 👍

[@francisarbelo8099]

You know what...this was really good!!!

[@robertcharles7085]

The rise and fall of the 3rd fret. An indepth study. Vol. 1 Love it. 🤔🤔🤔😜😜😜🐒🐒🐒😎😎😎

[@aluminati9918]

Great video as always! I’ve had good experience with the Jescar EVO frets you mention. They are very durable.

[@stewsim]

I’m a huge fan of the EVO wire! My preferred fretwire.

[@Stergios_lutherie]

@@stewsim me too, alas Jescar does not produce EVO fret wire anymore! 😕

[@stewsim]

@@Stergios_lutherie Say whaaaat…?!? First that I’ve heard about it… No bueno…😢

[@EbonyPope]

Does fish glue even adhere to the metal of the fret? Shouldn't I use super glue instead?

[@daviswall3319]

Excellent job man. As an amateur luthier, thank you for sharing your knowledge. Well done sir

[@davidradke5170]

Thanks for posting. I appreciate all the work you do putting these videos out, really enjoy them

[@R3TR0R4V3]

Excellent video! Tons of great info packed in here. I'll definitely check out your Canadian buddy for tools & whatnot, because I am not paying Stew Mac prices unless I absolutely have to. 👍

[@bldallas]

Perfect timing on this one, Ted. Frets have been a big part of this weekend for me. Last night and this morning, I’ve been wrestling with a 2 or three isolated slightly high frets on a Telecaster that I set-up a while back. They’re only under specific strings but not the same string. I’ve already tapped them to make sure they’re set. Was ready to drop the big bucks on a SM Fret Kisser, but they’re out of stock. So I used my engineering brain and made one, using a 4.5” “below string” leveling beam, double stick tape and a strip of 240 emory cloth. I cut a 1” piece and stuck it to the middle of the beam then cut two other short pieces to stick on either end, rough side toward the tape. Works awesome!. Now I just need to touch up the crowns and polish, polish, polish (those spots anyway).

[@allenhanford]

My first decent electric guitar was an accurate black beauty knockoff with miniscule frets. I absolutely loved it.

[@ishgumi44]

Excellent demo and lecture, Ted. A big winner, again!

[@mellowvids9637]

Great video as always !

[@dongill6216]

Brilliant,very interesting.

[@billdyke9745]

All anybody ever needs to know in 27 minutes. The man's a jeenyus, I tells ya... 🇬🇧👍

[@jpizzleforizzle]

I had a 64 sg Jr that was kind of a freless wonder. Super worn frets, but everyone loved the feel.

[@ix-Xafra]

A joy to watch Kudos from Brisbane

[@denverrandy7143]

"Mis en place" Very good Chef.Everything in it's place.👍

[@P_Ezi]

Some of us have never ever heard that term. Apparently some of us don't watch cooking shows.

[@passerbycmc]

excellent stuff like always, you do a really great job at explaining how you think about problems and why you take the approach you do.

[@joelonsdale]

I really love a LPj... A straight forward guitar, small and light and charismatic.

[@Wrenchfist_Studios]

Perfect timing. I just got all the tools to do my own fretwork and who better to watch and learn than twoodfrd?

[@takedeadaim8671]

Great sound lives in that one

[@scottreynolds4252]

Great job! A coup de grace on the fretboard! Excellent episode!

[@howardmaryon]

The diagram about fret height was an eye opener to me. I have an expensive vintage guitar that I just cannot play well, it requiring harder finger pressure even though the action is very low. Now I realise why, thank you.

[@stormengine3261]

When I was a younger man I always wanted a guitar with full binding including the neck, until I played it too much and realized I need a refretting and it's gonna be difficult to not only remove the frets without breaking the binding or when you're putting them in as well. No binding on the neck is what I prefer now

[@livy1962]

Love the focussed lesson Ted. More please!!

[@pvdguitars2951]

Beautiful beautiful work as always Ted. And I love the way you approach every job in the most economic way ( no unnecessary fret end waste, no need for a brand new nut, …)

[@telecasterbear]

I have been usuing the fret press and fret bender from ontario. Quality tools at a very fair price.

[@deanmccaskill5495]

That Fret Gauge! Genius

[@BryanTrotter-op2dx]

Thank you for your therapy beyond belief 👊

[@pmsphoto]

Another wonderful video Ted, thank you... Always the highlight of my KZbin viewing week ! I'm collecting a modern Telecaster Elite for a friend from Cambridge, England later today without any strings on it. After watching ALL your videos and armed with some simple tools, I now have the confidence to set it up properly for him. I may even wear one of your T-shirts whilst doing so !! 😉

[@Goomer]

Nice detail on this one, I can watch the same procedure over and over because it "almost" like experience. That guitar is now solid.

[@BryanTrotter-op2dx]

Whether you know it or not you truly are the luthiers luthier your voice is calming, and your precision it's unprecedented, I haven't even met you and you are mentor

[@chuckyz2]

I use the diamond crowned tool for crowning. Gives the perfect rounded top that intonates great everywhere. I guess free handing can be accurate if you have the right technique and lots of experience. They are costly though. I bought one from japan hoping it would last forever. Medium side is done after 4 or 5 levelings.

[@waybackplayback1347]

"Carefully labeled for just such an occasion."- Foghorn Tedhorn 😆

[@peachmelba1000]

I have to admit I didn't quite follow when you (likely adequately, save for my denseness) explained how you got a slight compound radius via leveling.

[@stevebolander9276]

Thanks for a great tutorial! I've been trying to improve my fret work and this is just what I needed! I always enjoy your videos!

[@petriihalainen1091]

That fret clamp must be my favorite thing on these videos. It always hurts my head, when they show professional (luthiers or factory people) hammer frets in with a brass mallet and "Oops, dent..." :)

[@221b-l3t]

Luthier were I learnt it just used a rubber mallet, works great and no damage when you miss.

[@milt7348]

Stay safe and we'll see you next week.

[@peterbayliss1484]

Another quality video. I wish there were more 👍😎❤️

[@icedog75]

I have that fret press and fret bender and concur that they are quality and very reasonable.

[@lancemillward1912]

Nailed it. Great content

[@_NoDrinkTheBleach]

I've got one guitar that has extra jumbo stainless frets. I genuinely like how they play and how the guitar sounds, but I'm not fully on the snake oil train in thinking that every guitar should have them installed.

[@jhpattonca]

@twoodfrd, on the subject of your flush cut nippers: I believe if you wear out any Stew Mac tools during normal use, they will replace them from what I understand. Of course, I've been wrong before.

[@ianhoyle8459]

I can’t hear a difference with stainless steel frets over nickel/copper either. Your work is amazing and I so wish I could develop your level of care and patience.

[@flapjack413]

Hey there, Ted! So a few years back I did a full refret on a 1964 Harmony H-19, that had VERY rolled over binding edges, which rendered very little playable fret surface to the outside of the E strings. In order to get a more usable fretboard width, I decided to sand the board down some. I was concerned with sanding through the block inlays, and decided to remove them first. Beneath the inlays in the rosewood board, were little risers made of a lightly colored wood, seemed likely to be basswood. The routes for the inlays didn't go all the way through the board, so I can't wrap my head around what the purpose for those risers were, beyond maybe just being there to help the semi-transparency of the celluloid inlay material to not be darkened by the rosewood beneath them? Curious if you or anyone reading this have ever come across this, and if the true purpose of them is known to anyone. Thanks in advance to any insight anyone has to offer!

[@TheFretman2]

I've built and fretted quite a few guitars and I learned something from this vid. Tnx,

[@zacharyjohnson1987]

Seeing what Mandolin wire looks like, it blows my mind that Lee Sklar uses it. I believe he has it on his Dingwall 5 string w fanned frets too.

[@richardmcfalls8393]

Outstanding tutorial.

[@JasonT-xp3kh]

If you have nickel frets, use nickel strings. Your frets will last longer than if you use ss strings. It took me many years to figure that out.

[@the-chillian]

I was just re-watching a video of Queen's set at Live Aid in 1985 last night. Your comments about individual preferences in things like fret height and string weight made me think of Brain May's technique on the Red Special. He must prefer a very light touch to be able to tap like that and make it look so effortless.

[@TempoDrift1480]

Out of sheer laziness I discovered that I much prefer flat top, wide low frets much more than an actual crown. Strange because I can hear tuning and intonation discrepencies within a cent or two but I don't seem to have those issues with flat top frets. I'm also an electrician so I prefer the lower frets with #11 strings or else my grip will put everything sharp. Fun stuff.

[@ForeverDownByLaw]

Love this channel. Personally, I find somewhat narrow, taller frets to be best. Not ridiculously tall, but not "fretless" either. More like a "medium" fret wire, not overly low. I have guitars with frets like what I describe, as well as guitars with "jumbo" frets. For my money, the medium/tall are the best compromise re: playability and intonation.

[@ForeverDownByLaw]

Also, I had my strat re-fretted with larger frets than stock, medium to jumbo, and the guitar gained quite a bit of brightness, in not a good way. I'd be curious about your thoughts about that.

[@contrabandjoe7974]

Nice job

[@davidrachubka5300]

As always great info. Thanks. I learn so much from your channel. I was at my local guitar shop the other day and discovered a very crudely built coffin guitar case. inside was what is called a romantic parlor. It was a twelve string built in a Spanish style construction. The sound holes were two hearts. I'm hoping you can identify the maker for me. I believe one like it was purchased in Canada. I found one with google images. Thanks again.

[@creationinspired200]

This is a much needed video thank you ted just finished my evo refret its hard to find now

[@garyp5522]

I really like that guitar it is so cool.

[@dyrik]

you should do more in depth videos like this, it was fascinating!

[@Sammywhat]

Did he just wrap this video up with Judas Priest's Living After Midnight?! Ted, you never cease to amaze!!!

[@chrisosseweijer2798]

Thanks a lot, this one provided me some very welcome info 👍👍

[@shaofu424]

very interesting, never really understood what all went into a refret thank you for sharing the knowledge i swear this is one of my fave channels to watch when running arps on the guitar... the video was apropos being that is it "gibsunday" and i was playing my tv spec dc thanks again \m/\m/

[@davidkatona7485]

So did using the "compression fit fretting" around the 12th fret area take the dip out of the neck? Thanks for all your instructions videos.

[@dalgguitars]

Thank you for your videos!

[@ronfleecs3666]

Is there any other word that exemplifies fret juice more than "schmutz"?

[@david25876]

That was educational. Gracious!

[@markmelville6670]

Get hung up on some "shmutz"? LOL. I ordered the channel lock 357's Thanks again. You are my guitar repair hero.

[@alandust2188]

Wow, this was so good that saying it was great just doesn't seem to be descriptive enough. THANKS!

[@kkupsky6321]

Cheer up mate. Don’t fret.

[@aserta]

13:10 Work hardening does indeed happen the more you "roll" a surface, but ... i have to wonder if 3 pointing it is enough. I think you'd get far better results if you (can) start with a tall shaped fret and then using a jig (something that loosely supports the T's flanges) pass the top surface with a hand held roller that slightly deforms the crown, pushing the metal as it goes. It would have to be a custom roller that conforms to the shape just slightly off. ALSO, very important. It would have to be polished and of a hard metal. I do this all the time (not specifically this) with old scissors i fix. I have an "awl" that's made out of stainless steel, that's been polished to perfection (looks straight out of a Escher painting, but as a thick "awl" of 15 mm thickness tapering to 5 towards the tip). I pass it over the surface of old scissors that have (or where i have removed) lost their nickel plating. I could plate them, but it's not worth the hassle of masking the cutting surfaces so i use this method to harden the surface of the metal. It never rusts after and doesn't ding anymore. I've some that i've done with this method for at least 8 years now that have been sitting in my semi-opened porch and haven't even so much as dulled. So there's truth to what Mr. Erlewine said, but i think that you need a bit more than just 3 pointing. Of course, it's entirely possible that they have some sort of roller that 4 or 5 points the wire. And if that machine puts pressure between two rollers, squashing the T, then it would work. jm2c