Who does bar fret work?
 

I have a guitar that needs bar fret work. I am interested in finding someone whose turnaround time is not enormous - I'd like it back before 6 months. Who are the repair people who work on vintage guitars and who don't have a huge backlog?

Why do you need done? It’s not rocket science.

The whole neck of a guitar with bar frets is dependent on the bar frets for the necks structural integrity. They are completely different than most all other frets used for guitar necks. The truss rod and frets work together to support the neck. Do your homework when finding someone to deal with them.

I have one guitar with a single fret where the end has broken off. I don't know how that could happen. That's the easy one. I have another where the bar frets have been sanded down to a very low level so as to make the guitar hard to play. That's the harder one, I think. There are other things that I'd like to have done to that guitar (restoration-wise) that require a good craftsman with understanding and experience with vintage guitars.

It might be that the frets were sanded down to avoid a neck reset. Before replacing the frets it would be best to assess the neck angle to ensure that taller frets won’t be an issue. Expect the nut and saddle will be needed to be adjusted or replaced if you raise the frets.

Thanks, Charles. I expect that the second guitar will be non-trivial. I am hoping that the person who works on the first guitar will be someone I can have confidence in to work on the second.

With the tension off, the frets can easily be pulled out and replaced by a craftsman who has the material. The thickness, around .050”, must be exactly the same as the old fret.

The second guitar: the frets can be pulled out of the slot a little bit to create the desired height range, and then milled in the normal way. Any competent tech can do this, even if they haven’t previously.

I do this kind of work but only “while you wait” which means you have to bring it it person. No shipping etc. Either guitar is about a 2 hour job assuming the neck is in otherwise playable condition. If the frets are worn to the degree that they need replacement, or the relief is wildly out of the ballpark, then it is a much larger job, and I wouldn’t be interested. That’s why I asked in post 2.