Telecaster build - fretjob

Time to put the frets in. Once you've done this you can't really do much else to the fretboard, so I spent a double checking it was straight and the correct radius, and that there were no scratches on it. 

I went over the fretslots with a little triangular file, just opening them up a bit. I've never refretted a guitar, but apparently this makes a big difference. Then I cleaned all the dust out of the slots with a scalpel: 

The binding on the fretboard makes the fretting very different. Usually you could just hammer this fret into the slots:

But obviously the binding means this won't work. You need to shape each of the frets like this to cover the binding strip:

Various places sell a c$70 tool to snip this little bit of tang off. I bought some cheapo snippers from amazon and dremeled a slot to take the fret, this picture probably doesn't clear up how they work, but they're basically the same as the real version but a tenth of the price :] :

They produce these fret ends:



I put a little glue into the slot, this isn't for holding the fret in, but for making sure there's no voids or gaps under it:



And whack it in. I use a deadblow hammer with a brass head, making sure the underside of the neck is supported all the time. Hammer the sides of the fret in, then move from the middle to each side:



Then it's just a case of moving up the fretboard...:



... until you're done:




Next up - side dots!