Re-fretting an old Japanese Lawsuit Era Les Paul Copy
North East Guitars
687 views
In this video, we tackle a full refret on a vintage Japanese "Lawsuit Era" Les Paul copy. These vintage instruments have incredible wood and mojo, but decades of wear left the frets pitted, worn out, and buzzing.
Watch the full step-by-step restoration process as we pull the old frets, level and prep the fretboard, install and seat fresh fretwire, bevel the ends, and perform a complete level, crown, and polish.
🎸 Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction & Guitar Inspection
0:45 - Pulling the Old Frets
2:10 - Fretboard Cleaning & Radius Sanding
3:30 - Prepping & Bending Fretwire
5:00 - Installing & Seating the Frets
7:15 - Beveling & End Dressing
8:45 - Leveling, Crowning & Polishing
If you enjoyed this guitar repair and restoration project, don't forget to like, leave a comment with your thoughts, and subscribe to North East Guitars for more lutherie and repair content!
13 Comments
More seriously though. When I restored that Les Paul kit I rescued I used 600 and 800 grit wet dry paper to sand the oil into the fretboard. After that I started doing that process every other time I restring a guitar. Work my way up to 2000 grit and oil over time. The fretboards now are sooo silky smooth.
PS! I thought my crowning file was worn out after doing just a couple of guitar necks with vintage frets, but it turned out the teeth were just clogged with nickel-silver filings. A small brass/steel brush cleaned it out and it cut properly again.
Thanks for sharing your process. I'm learning a lot from you. Cheers!
Re-fretting an old Japanese Lawsuit Era Les Paul Copy
North East Guitars
687 views
In this video, we tackle a full refret on a vintage Japanese "Lawsuit Era" Les Paul copy. These vintage instruments have incredible wood and mojo, but decades of wear left the frets pitted, worn out, and buzzing.
Watch the full step-by-step restoration process as we pull the old frets, level and prep the fretboard, install and seat fresh fretwire, bevel the ends, and perform a complete level, crown, and polish.
🎸 Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction & Guitar Inspection
0:45 - Pulling the Old Frets
2:10 - Fretboard Cleaning & Radius Sanding
3:30 - Prepping & Bending Fretwire
5:00 - Installing & Seating the Frets
7:15 - Beveling & End Dressing
8:45 - Leveling, Crowning & Polishing
If you enjoyed this guitar repair and restoration project, don't forget to like, leave a comment with your thoughts, and subscribe to North East Guitars for more lutherie and repair content!