Service manual

Sinclair Community College | ETD 110 Guitar Service Manual
17
Fret Repair and Replacement cont:
Fret boards have a slight curve to them
known as the radius and this will have
to be measured if you want to install
new fret wire. To measure the radius,
you will have to take the strings off and
place a radius gauge against the
board. Turn the gauge until you don’t
see any light coming through when you
have the gauge placed on the board.
Radius Gauge
Fret wire will usually come in 1 or 2
foot sections, although they can be
bought pre-cut. This fret wire will
initially be straight but to fit it on to
your guitar, your will have to bend it
to the radius of your fret board. You
can use a fret wire bender to
correctly bend it to fit your fret board
Fret Wire Bender
- Over time frets will begin to wear from continued use.
Worn frets will have divots where the strings lay. Worn out frets can
be leveled out but if the fret is worn down too much than there isn’t
enough material left to play and they will need to be replaced.
Frets can become damaged from several different
things like dropping your guitar on a hard surface. A damaged fret
will most likely need to be replaced.