Super glue your frets

[FLICKOFLASH]

Trade Secrets! Newsletter from Stewart-MacDonald

[MIDNIGHT]

even if i know how to do it, some things i would just prefer to leave to the pros..

thanks though flick

[coldsteal2]

I would be to SCARED of screwin' up

[loneguitar]

I leave fretwork and woodwork to the pros the rest is a piece of cake to me, but I do like the newsletter there's alot of good tips inside each issue, thanks for posting Flick

[Luke Gibson]

...I've actually though about doing this, if I'm not mistaken Gibson used to use hide glue when installing frets back in the Golden Era.

[BOBBO]

I do certain mods to my guitars but that I would never do !!

[NickVig]

Good way to hide a crappy fret job, IMO. Frets should be seated from installation, not with gaps filled in with thin CA.

[Southbay Ampworks]

Originally Posted by NickVig

Good way to hide a crappy fret job, IMO. Frets should be seated from installation, not with gaps filled in with thin CA.

Yo Nick! How the hell are you?

While Nick is right about the original fret job not being done right, that's not uncommon.

I had to super glue down my Ibanez Artist's fret ends because they rocked, and it's fairly simple to do, pretty much as was illustrated in the SM article, except you can do it with a straight tip screwdriver pressing down right after you put some super glue along the fret end. Let it soak in for 15 seconds, wipe the excess with a paper towel, then press down for 30 seconds with the screwdriver on the fret end.

Now if you have to do the entire fret width, then perhaps a pro's help is needed. I had to do 24 frets (48 fret ends) and afterwards my luthier did a real light level & dress and the guitar was fine after that.

[NickVig]

Originally Posted by Southbay Ampworks

Yo Nick! How the hell are you?

While Nick is right about the original fret job not being done right, that's not uncommon.

I had to super glue down my Ibanez Artist's fret ends because they rocked, and it's fairly simple to do, pretty much as was illustrated in the SM article, except you can do it with a straight tip screwdriver pressing down right after you put some super glue along the fret end. Let it soak in for 15 seconds, wipe the excess with a paper towel, then press down for 30 seconds with the screwdriver on the fret end.

Now if you have to do the entire fret width, then perhaps a pro's help is needed. I had to do 24 frets (48 fret ends) and afterwards my luthier did a real light level & dress and the guitar was fine after that.

Hey Jimbo!

You're absolutely right. On an older instrument (even with 5 years old) if the frets have become slightly unseated due to weather or wood expansion or just general use/abuse then that is a great way to re-seat frets without having to pull and try to create one that fits in a slot where frets have already been dressed and crowned (like in a recent Dan E. article in VG where he replaced only 5 or 6 frets on a guitar). The problem I have is that the article says "Factory fret jobs" and that should never be the case, IMO. While we all know that none of the OEM's are ever perfect, that's just work that the consumer shouldn't have to put into an instrument that is brand new.

One note, nickel/silver frets are very soft, so be careful with pressing on the ends with a screwdriver. Maybe run silicon tubing over the tip or use the rubberized end of a screwdriver to hold down the fret while the glue dries, that way you don't risk denting the fret and having to re-crown or dress the fret excessively.

[HolyGrail]

I've been using the super glue fret trick almost as long as it's been
on the market. Especially on old 40's Gibson Arch tops .It's such an
easy fix and is done many more times than you'd believe.

One thing though. Press the fret down with something other than your finger.
Fingers tend to sick really well to super glue .

[Roman Rist]

I use superglue, many High end factories use superglue.

On vintage stuff you have to use traditional methods but on other stuff, hey, we ARE in the 21st century

I even did a super glue experiment on a guitar I built for myself.

The fingerboard is glued on with the stuff...15 years later, it is holding up beautifully!

Roman

[BCRGreg]

The REST of the guitar is crap......but the board is still solid!!!!





























Aw, I love ya, Roman, you old bag.