Replacing Fret Dots

[Brendan]

Differences in effect between different types of shell.
Couple of photos to show effects of different shell against different backgrounds - some work - some don't.
First series - Black MOP.


Black MOP on Rosewood. Doesn't stick out too much, but was the look I was going for.


Black MOP on Maple. Sticks out quite nicely.

More photos to show how light affects the MOP differently.

[Brendan]

Paua:



Paua on Maple - haven't got fret dots, so closest thing is the logo. Doesn't stand out terribly well & hard to get a good photo. Next time I'll do something different.


Paua on Rosewood. Neck has been defretted, hence the different look.

[Brendan]

Paua logo on Rosewood for comparison.

[gavinturner]

Great tutorial Brendan. Thanks so much for writing this up!
You've definitely given me the confidence to try it. Thanks dude!

cheers,
Gav.

[Brendan]

Gav, personally think it's well worth it - it does take some time, but I look and see - all high end guitars have some form of natural dots - abalone, paua, MOP, etc. Therefore darnit - so should mine!

[Brendan]

Finally got around to doing a vid. Ads has put it up on the Pitbull Youtube channel (https://youtu.be/9yA4c4rTseY). Couple of things I learnt -
1. Don't do videos outdoors on a 36 deg day in Perth - it's hot, windy and the CA glue dries more instantly than normal,
2. Don't cover the job when you're trying to demo how to do it - at one point my hand obscures me drilling - I could redo it, but won't as I figure you all know how to drill anyway.

If you see it, I did make one mistake that Ads picked up straight away - I needed to be more careful with the pliers as I did dent the fretboard slightly near one of the dots - will need to steam that out gently...

As above - this is about my 6th go at it, so I'm still pretty raw - happy to take tips on how to improve!

[dingobass]

Nice one BP

Only thing I do differently is I use a scribe point or a small flat head screw driver to lever the old dots out.
Lessens the chance of damaging the fret board.

[Brendan]

New trick - is use a screw - drill the hole in the dot, screw a screw in enough so it has a good bite and then the dots wiggle out easily - with no damage to the fretboard.

[andrewdosborne]

New trick - is use a screw - drill the hole in the dot, screw a screw in enough so it has a good bite and then the dots wiggle out easily - with no damage to the fretboard.

Great tip Brendan!

[Brendan]

Great tip Brendan!

Learned it the hard way. Using something to lever the dots out runs the risk of damaging the fretboard.


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