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
Replies
Wes Yates said:
-WY
Bob
Wes Yates said:
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
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
Matt
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next