Refretting a maple Strat neck

I have here a 57 RI Fender Strat which needs a refret. Maple necks are hard to handle and some lacquer chipping usually occurs no matter how careful one is. Certainly, the best way is to relacquer the neck, but sometimes cost is a consideration and here, I'll have to work with the original lacquer. Here goes:


Handsome looking burst


Original frets have worn out


The lacquer overhanging the fret is adroitly removed with an Xacto knife.


Frets are heated up and removed with a cutter ground flat at the jaws.


Some lacquer buildup is still present and a micro chisel is used to fix that.


Frets removed and not much major chipping


I then stained the maple to give the neck an even look throughout. This allows an acceptable appearance when touching up the chips with lacquer later.


The frets are hammered/pressed in and a fret level is being done.


As the frets were hammered in nice and tight, only a very light level was needed as you can see from the metal filings.


Quick check across the frets revealed no problems.


The fingerboard is taped up once more and the frets are crowned, trimmed and polished.


Finally, the end result. The neck feels new and plays well again.

KC