Jump to content

Glueing Frets In


Recommended Posts

CA is what I use. It's easier to use and clean up than epoxy and is very strong. The thinner kinds will also soak into the wood and dry clear. Like Workingman said, wood glue won't bond to metal, so it won't do you much good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wick a little thin CA in from the ends as well. However, several here have written that they will sometimes use wood glue for the same reason stated. Not so much to stick to the metal but to swell the the wood in the slots a little....to make for a tighter fit so to speak.

SR

Link to comment
Share on other sites

depends on what you're doing really. Are you over sizing your fret slots? Just looking for extra grip on normal fret slots? If over sized at all, you should definitely be using epoxy or CA. I dont see thinned wood glue expanding the wood well enough to cause any further hold that a drop of CA on each end wouldnt do...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The main question here is as Paulie says; Why glue them in? I know I have been hit hard for this statement here before but I stand behind it: If you cut your fret slots right there is no need to glue frets in. If you need to glue frets in to get the to seat correctly you have not made the fretboard in the right way and you should first practice on scrap and then do it right on a new board and scrap the one with problems. However if you are doing a re-fret you do not control the width of the fret slot and there might have been more several re-frets before and the slots might be in really bad shape etc and then there is all reasons in the world to use glue. I use thin CA for re-frets. I seat the frets as close to perfect first, then I run a drop of thin CA on each side of the fret and quickly follow that with a rag soaked in acetone to get rid of all surplus. If you just want to secure a fret overhang on a bound fretboard there is also good reason to use glue. But if you do the job right on a new fretboard there is no use for glue for the main length of the frets

OK, fire up...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, fire up...

I agree - if the board is slotted correctly you won't "need" glue.

However I still glue them in. It's the idea of overkill. It's the security that I know they won't lift and it removes the "what if" factor. It's the same reason I use fret tang expanders at both fret ends.

I used to use wood glue but after realizing wood glue doesnt really adhere to metal I changed to superglue which is actually much easier to manage for the purpose.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, fire up...

I'll nibble :P. Doesn't gluing in the frets help against fret sprout to some degree? It's also probably more catered to the hobbyist that enjoys building vs the professional types. Im so ****, I wish I could just CNC everything, but I cant justify the price drop to do so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll nibble :P. Doesn't gluing in the frets help against fret sprout to some degree?

Thats probably the idea behind using glue, the thought that it will prevent future problems, a bit like demonx said. However I cannot say that I have ever had a fret lift on a guitar that I have made from scratch, not yet...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wes, that's why the tang expanders. Ever since using those I've never had a problem.

In ebony I've never had a issue (except when a guitar I built was on tour and got crushed in transit, a couple frets lifted slightly) but sometimes in softer timbers I was getting the ends wanting to lift, after a squeeze with the fret tang expanders everything always stays, so I just use them as a part of my process on every fret now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heres a quick video of my fretting process. It's not the way I've always done it, it is the way all my experimentations have evolved to this point and I'm sure at some stage the way I fret will change again, but this is how I do it at the moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWQxGYyuMLM&feature=plcp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The main question here is as Paulie says; Why glue them in?

I agree and like I said, I've never glued my frets in except for the odd time where a fret wouldn't hold the radius shape and I'd pull it out and install a new fret with a small dab of glue.

Another reason is that as I radius and flatten the fret board, sometimes, the frets slots are no longer deep enough on the edges. This is a problem mostly with 9.5" radius necks. Everytime you insert that fret saw in the fret slot and deepen the slot, that slot becomes compromised IMO.

My last couple of necks have been superb but I'm still trying to find ways to improve and now that I'm using stainless steel frets, I need the fretwork to be as solid as possible.

I guess that the extra little bit of insurance on the fret work is a good thing and only time will tell if it actually makes a difference. In terms of tone alone, I think that a glued in fret possibly has less wasted energy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...