I’ve found that I’m not really using my ukebass, so I want to take off the frets to see if I can get some super-acoustic-y sounds out of it. Would this be possible without special tools?
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Yes it is but you have to be careful not to pull the fret too fast or hard. I pulled a few ukulele frets for practice before.
You’ll need a pliers(nail puller kind is best) and soldering iron and thin pieces of wood veneer some CA glue and sand papers. It’s best to tape between the frets with painter’s tape.
Heat up the fret with soldering iron to melt the glue
Carefully lift the fret work it slowly from one side to another to avoid chipping fingerboard.
Fill the fret slots with thin veneer or wood fill Trim out excess wood fills
If you want strong/hard glossy fingerboard this is the time to apply the ca glue on if not then just level sand the fingerboard and apply oil finish.
You are done.
You don’t need special tools but they do make life much easier. You may not need to heat up the fret but be very gentle when pulling.
The key word here is Patient. When you rush you’d pay for it one way or another, don’t ask me how I know, lol.
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