MKGBass Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 What's the best to use to glue frets in? No glue at all? Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 tanged or tangless?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 i'm no fretting pro, but i use the CA instant (10 second) glue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 You shouldn't need any glue at all for tanged frets. Thats what tangs are for, to hold frets in the fretboard. For that matter I've never heard of untanged frets and wouldn't use them anyway. Save the glue for other things. Its less of a pain in the ass later on when refretting, ie. having to heat each individual fret with a soldering iron to soften the glue so you don't wind up ripping chunks out of your fretboard when pulling them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 You shouldn't need any glue at all for tanged frets. Thats what tangs are for, to hold frets in the fretboard. For that matter I've never heard of untanged frets and wouldn't use them anyway. Save the glue for other things. Its less of a pain in the ass later on when refretting, ie. having to heat each individual fret with a soldering iron to soften the glue so you don't wind up ripping chunks out of your fretboard when pulling them. You obviusly havent fretted or refretted many guitars.... Your right though, you SHOULDNT need glue, but it is quicker (seating), more consistant (all seated the same), faster (less levelling due to consistancy), and better tone transfer (no gaps around fret tang). Use CA glue The barbless tang (i called it tangless, sorry) is a very common method, especially for refretting. Use epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 You shouldn't need any glue at all for tanged frets. Thats what tangs are for, to hold frets in the fretboard. For that matter I've never heard of untanged frets and wouldn't use them anyway. Save the glue for other things. Its less of a pain in the ass later on when refretting, ie. having to heat each individual fret with a soldering iron to soften the glue so you don't wind up ripping chunks out of your fretboard when pulling them. You obviusly havent fretted or refretted many guitars.... Your right though, you SHOULDNT need glue, but it is quicker (seating), more consistant (all seated the same), faster (less levelling due to consistancy), and better tone transfer (no gaps around fret tang). Use CA glue The barbless tang (i called it tangless, sorry) is a very common method, especially for refretting. Use epoxy. Couldn't have said it better myself. You might be thinking that just pressing the frets in would be good enough even on a new neck, but using CA glue gives you the extra comfort of knowing that they will stay where you want them and not come loose as easy. It's a great preventive method of fretting, and if you notice most people who build quality necks will have pressed in frets with glue also. Just look at Warmoth's neck quality list and you'll see that they also use this method of fretting also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 I wish they would make barbless fret-wire, I'm almost always shaving most of it off. I'd like little holes in the fret tang instead, or a little groove running across the center of the tang. that way, there would be a nice little channel to run super-glue along the tang from the side of the neck, after the fret is pressed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 You obviusly havent fretted or refretted many guitars.... Your right though, you SHOULDNT need glue, but it is quicker (seating), more consistant (all seated the same), faster (less levelling due to consistancy), and better tone transfer (no gaps around fret tang). Use CA glue On the contrary, I've refretted my fair share of guitars. And I'm sick of having to deal with unnecessary gluejobs that I've come across. All it does is add extra steps in fretting and then having to be extra careful when removing glued in frets. All of the guitars I've worked on are still ringing true, never had a fret loosen or fall out yet. Even if you cut your slots too wide you can always adjust the fret tangs to compensate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 On the contrary, I've refretted my fair share of guitars. And I'm sick of having to deal with unnecessary gluejobs that I've come across. All it does is add extra steps in fretting and then having to be extra careful when removing glued in frets. All of the guitars I've worked on are still ringing true, never had a fret loosen or fall out yet. Even if you cut your slots too wide you can always adjust the fret tangs to compensate. Why bother not glueing? I see it as an insurance policy, there's pretty much no chance a fret will pop up or come loose when glued in. as far as removing glued in frets, I don't think you have to be any more careful when removing them, or maybe I'm just super careful when removing frets period. I treat every neck as though it has glued in frets when doing a refret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKGBass Posted April 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 Found nothing in the tutorials about gluing. Glue before or after setting frets? If after...how? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 Run a thin bead of CA glue in the fret slot, press fret in and hold for about 15 seconds, repeat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKGBass Posted April 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 gorgeous, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 I do exactly the same thing Scott suggest, except I spray some Accelerator to speed up the drying process just to make sure it's fully dried. Not necessary though, just though I'd pass along the tip. Also, I've always heard that by cleaning the fretwire good they will glue in better, and I've done that so far. But I recently read this on the Warmoth site and was wondering if there was something to it. Warmoth's Fretting Method basically says the following. Using a special injection system, we apply a thick gel type of super glue to the entire length of the fret slot. The fretwire is then pressed into the glued slot. It is significant to note that there is an oil film on the fretwire. This oil prevents the glue from bonding to the fret. The fret is locked into the fingerboard as the super glue back-fills in behind the barbs on the fret tang. The end result is that the wood is still free to expand and contract with seasonal humidity changes, without splitting, and the frets never pop up! Because the glue is not bonded directly to the fret, there is no increased difficulty encountered during subsequent refrets. The last step is then to fill any gap at the bottom of the fret slot with the same gel glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 I do exactly the same thing Scott suggest, except I spray some Accelerator to speed up the drying process just to make sure it's fully dried. Not necessary though, just though I'd pass along the tip. Also, I've always heard that by cleaning the fretwire good they will glue in better, and I've done that so far. But I recently read this on the Warmoth site and was wondering if there was something to it. Warmoth's Fretting Method basically says the following. Using a special injection system, we apply a thick gel type of super glue to the entire length of the fret slot. The fretwire is then pressed into the glued slot. It is significant to note that there is an oil film on the fretwire. This oil prevents the glue from bonding to the fret. The fret is locked into the fingerboard as the super glue back-fills in behind the barbs on the fret tang. The end result is that the wood is still free to expand and contract with seasonal humidity changes, without splitting, and the frets never pop up! Because the glue is not bonded directly to the fret, there is no increased difficulty encountered during subsequent refrets. The last step is then to fill any gap at the bottom of the fret slot with the same gel glue. Be careful spraying accelerator on maple boards. Some accelerator has a yellow tint that will show up on a maple board. always test on scrap first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 ahh.. good tip Scott.. paste waxing the fretboard should be done before you use superglue in most cases. But I have never done just a plain maple neck, always either rosewood or ebony fretboard, so I've never experienced that problem before.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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