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Do most of you glue your frets for assurance, or just tap them in?

I am doing some fret work for the first time and was wonderng what ya`ll usually do to make sure the frets stay in. I am worried that mine will pop out eventually, so I have used just a touch of glue to hold them in. What do ya`ll usually do?

I am using medium/medium fret wire. My saw I feel is a little wide for the frets.

Douglas

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Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on July 29, 2010 at 5:33pm

Tap em. If you have the right saw then they go in and stay in.

Go get you a Japanese Flush Cut Saw from Harbor Freight. Trust me.

-WY

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Permalink Reply by Outhouse Instruments on July 30, 2010 at 1:01am

Glue will just cause problems later on. I use narrow/low mando wire, so it'll wear quicker than your med/med, but if the cbg is played as much as it's supposed to be, it will eventually need to be re-fretted. When you pull the old ones with the glue, it's gonna bring more wood out than you would want.

Matt

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Permalink Reply by otis on July 30, 2010 at 2:20am

i agree flush cut saw and tap them in.

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Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on July 30, 2010 at 2:24am

In addition to what Matt says, if you need to refret, one thing I found useful, tho a PITA, is to take thin shims of the same type wood as the fretboard and inlay them in the slots then cut the slots again. Assuming you haven't put frets in or are refretting, this works really well. Believe me, I've made Grand Canyons out of slots before. And it doesn't show... too much. CA glue can work as its real hard. Titebond red label is also good as its not plastic based (PVA) and will saw well.

You can make the shims easy enough with a block plane set to cut thick, a band saw will work, carving with an exacto knife will work. Even a chisel will create thin shims. I would use a 2x1/4 piece of stock and cut onto the 2" side to make 1/4" wide shims.

Hmmmmm I might get some pics of that.

-WY

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Permalink Reply by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on August 12, 2010 at 8:43am

Now, just for the sake of counter argument:

Martin Oakham (respected luthier in the solid body world) recommends thinning Elmer's white glue with water and filling the slots with that before pushing in your frets. It's thick enough to ensure a good lock but thinned out enough that tearing will be negligible if you have to pull any frets. If you're chamfering your fret slots properly before putting the wire in then the affect will be minimized. The white glue won't really adhere to the wire very well. All it does is fill gaps and minimize potential fret rattle.

At the PRS shop, the actually secure their frets in place with super glue, which seems a little overdone to me.

If you want to know the best answer, try both methods for yourself. Don't listen to any of us.

Josh

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Permalink Reply by Warren on August 12, 2010 at 9:12am

Agree with Wes; that's what I'm doing (only 3 necks though, and so far so good).

Wes Yates said:

Tap em. If you have the right saw then they go in and stay in.

Go get you a Japanese Flush Cut Saw from Harbor Freight. Trust me.

-WY

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Permalink Reply by Robert John Spotti on August 13, 2010 at 1:53am

Doug,The first thing I would deal with is your saw.Get yourself a points gauge and get the .024 gauge and compare it to your saw.Make a few cuts and check with gauge,take a file to the sides of saw blade equal swipes on both sides until you get a good tight fit.Then whack away!Should be able to get gauge at any auto parts store.
Bob