John E Dallas 'A' 1930's Ukulele Banjo

[Paul1973UK]

Hi all, I've recently bought the above Banjolele, it's in reasonable good condition but i've stripped it to its component parts to give it a good clean and polish.
The question i have is about the well worn frets, do i keep them as original as they are still playable, or do i replace them with new frets? will a re-fret decrease the potential value? should i just level, dress & polish them?

 

[rustydusty]

No pics...

 

[rrieth]

Hi Paul
Since nobody has replied I'll give it a shot. Since the frets are tall enough to be renewed I would be tempted to go that route. They have lasted 90 years so far. Replace them in 90 years when they are truly worn out. I'm in favor of doing the least amount necessary to get the job done to avoid unforseen consequences of more invasive procedures. JMHO/YMMV

It sounds like a fun project refurbishing an old instrument. Good luck whatever you do. I'm in agreement with rustydusty that pics would be appreciated

 

[Paul1973UK]

Hi Paul
Since nobody has replied I'll give it a shot. Since the frets are tall enough to be renewed I would be tempted to go that route. They have lasted 90 years so far. Replace them in 90 years when they are truly worn out. I'm in favor of doing the least amount necessary to get the job done to avoid unforseen consequences of more invasive procedures. JMHO/YMMV

It sounds like a fun project refurbishing an old instrument. Good luck whatever you do. I'm in agreement with rustydusty that pics would be appreciated

Hi, thanks for your input, I decided to keep the original frets but i gave them a level, crown and polish, as for the rest of the instrument, it was stripped to its component parts, wooden parts were given a couple of coats of shellac to neaten them up, the metalwork was cleaned and polished, when i got it the poor thing looked like it had started growing mould and was very dull looking, it's looking much better now.

First Pic is as I bought it, the others are after I gave it some TLC

 

[rrieth]

Hi, thanks for your input, I decided to keep the original frets but i gave them a level, crown and polish, as for the rest of the instrument, it was stripped to its component parts, wooden parts were given a couple of coats of shellac to neaten them up, the metalwork was cleaned and polished, when i got it the poor thing looked like it had started growing mould and was very dull looking, it's looking much better now.

First Pic is as I bought it, the others are after I gave it some TLC

 

[rrieth]

Looks really nice-ready for 90 more years of happy split strokes!!

 

[Paul1973UK]

Looks really nice-ready for 90 more years of happy split strokes!!

Thanks, it will out-live me for sure!