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Permalink Reply by Michael Gajeski on March 10, 2010 at 12:20pm

I don't have pics of the process, but its really easy. make a shallow groove with a hack saw. fill it with super glue. then press the toothpick to it for a few seconds. after they dry, CAREFULLY saw off the ends. if you go to fast you'll make the toothpicks crack.

I brushed a few layers of superglue over mine to make them a little stronger and so far they have held up much better than expected.

hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on March 10, 2010 at 1:08pm

Mine popped out with the super glue adhesive. I think I"d try some kind of epoxy next.

I used the round toothpicks and set them in the hack saw groove. Then when dry I sanded the tops down so they were flat and even -- fret dressing! I think the round toothpicks are harder wood than the flat ones, and they are more consistent in size for sure.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Gajeski on March 10, 2010 at 1:13pm

Ah, i forgot levelling the frets. I haven't had any trouble, but the build i'm talking about is only two months old.

Diane in Chicago said:

Mine popped out with the super glue adhesive. I think I"d try some kind of epoxy next.

I used the round toothpicks and set them in the hack saw groove. Then when dry I sanded the tops down so they were flat and even -- fret dressing! I think the round toothpicks are harder wood than the flat ones, and they are more consistent in size for sure.

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Permalink Reply by Roger Morin on March 10, 2010 at 1:46pm

Why not just use tightbond 2, I hear it's so strong that the would would break before the glue gives.

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Permalink Reply by Jkevn on March 10, 2010 at 4:56pm

My first build had shallow grooves cut to mart fret locations, after a few days fooling with it, I added toothpick frets. They were an after thought, and were simply laid in the slots and glued with a gel type super glue. They have held for almost a year now, and held fast enough to run a powered palm sander over the ends to bevel them a bit. I glued them down with the strings in place....and was plunking on it in about 30 minutes. It's not my best work....but I learned on it....and I still grab it first.

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Permalink Reply by c# merle on March 11, 2010 at 6:36am

i use cocktail sticks. they come in a uniform size so just snap off the ends, superglue in place then run your sanding block over them to level the frets and dress the edges.

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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on March 11, 2010 at 11:18am

The plastic kind??

c# merle said:

i use cocktail sticks. they come in a uniform size so just snap off the ends, superglue in place then run your sanding block over them to level the frets and dress the edges.

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Permalink Reply by c# merle on March 13, 2010 at 5:41am

never tried plastic, diane, but can't think why they wouldn't work

Diane in Chicago said:

The plastic kind??

c# merle said:

i use cocktail sticks. they come in a uniform size so just snap off the ends, superglue in place then run your sanding block over them to level the frets and dress the edges.

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