Here’s a 1985 “A series” Japanese Stratocaster on the fretting table.

Although I had leveled and recrowned this instrument a few months prior, the owner wanted higher frets due to his fingers slightly dragging in the middle of the board.

Here’s a nice picture of the aged headstock, along with the Japanese locking mechanism and the wooley mammoth tusk ivory saddle I had made for it.

Here’s a close up of the groovy soldering iron used for heating up the frets prior to removal.  This helps expand the wood and slightly brings the oils in the wood to the fret, acting as lubrication for removal.  For ebony boards I also use a very liquid-like lemon oil.

Here I am starting to heat the fret, checking it by touch. Getting it to the point of almost too hot to touch is the just right amount.

These blunt nose pliers have been specially ground on the face to bite underneath the fret wire.

And here’s what the neck looks like with the frets removed.

Although this not exactly a necessary step, I keep them in the order they were removed.  This can prove to be a good habit when matching bound fingerboards.

Once the neck is removed, its radius is checked at the nut,

…at the 4th fret,

…and at the end of the board.