*Gluing Frets --- Yes Or No*

[Jack Wells]

The question of whether or not to glue your frets has come up in another thread. What are your thoughts on the matter?

[rip_topaz]

I always do, if at all possible.

[wbegg]

I always glue. I used to use thin super glue to wick into the frets after the wire is installed. I now use wood glue and fill the slot before pressing in, then clamp the entire fingerboard with a caul.

You can tell a big difference when you start filing the fret ends. If you don't glue, they seem to chatter quite a bit.

[TeleTim911]

Almost every video or advice I've seen on this subject says yes. I did a refret on a guitar not long ago, and even with glue, the frets kept popping out. Drove me mad. I finally super-glued every fret, all along the slot. Duh.

[Olav]

Originally Posted by wbegg

I always glue. I used to use thin super glue to wick into the frets after the wire is installed. I now use wood glue and fill the slot before pressing in, then clamp the entire fingerboard with a caul.

You can tell a big difference when you start filing the fret ends. If you don't glue, they seem to chatter quite a bit.

'chatter'? What does that mean?

[Buckocaster51]

Yes

[LightninMike]

Originally Posted by Olav

'chatter'? What does that mean?

the file causes the fret to move back and forth very slightly and you get an inconsistent cut....

[adirondak5]

Yes and no , depends how they go in , if they seat good , I leave them be , if not I wick in some super glue .

[davmac]

I'm another one that uses glue. After the frets are in I clamp up along the edge and wick in just a drop of thin CA.

[crazydave911]

Depends...........on the fretboard radius and the fretboard material. In general, the tighter the radius, and the more porous (rosewood, paduak, walnut) the fretboard , the more I have seen the need for glue. Interestingly enough, I have had greater issues with the consistency of tang/barb width on fretwire in the last 10 yrs, leading to the need for glue. Fretwire in general, seems as good as it's ever been (there are very few companies that actually make it), the problem seems to be in grading/packaging. When you buy fretwire these days, you would get the impression that the .023 tang dimension is the standard, regardless of the crown, and that is only partly true. At different times over the years, it has been made in many tang sizes, mostly to facilitate repair of vintage guitars with no truss rods (C.F. Martin, Stellas, Lyon Bros.) , especially those with ebony boards. Fretwire used to be primarily sold by the pound (in rolls). You always miced it when you received it to make sure it conformed to your order. There was only two possibilities, it was all correct, or all incorrect size. Today, fretwire is sold in 8,10,12 piece packs, making things quite interesting indeed. In just the last 10 yrs, I have received random wires (in packs that were supposed to be .023) that were sized the following, .016,.018,.020,.022,.023,.024,.026, and .030. Checking them first prevented any issues, and maybe the universe is just out to get me , but I'd say if this has happened with me, it has happened to others. As you can see, three of the sizes are very similar to "standard". The largest and smallest you would notice right away, but one that was tight, and one that was slightly loose, you'd probably blame on your own fretslotting and never think twice. This doesn't happen all the time, just occasionally...............just enough that I always measure it

Dave

[Mike Simpson]

Yes.
I put thin super glue in the slot and then press the fret in with a caul. The frets are solid in the neck because the CA glue helps fill any voids in the slot.

[bubba01]

I use CA glue on everything but ebony. None of the ebony fretboards I've done needed it as they held the fret solid.

[rolling56]

I saw a video of a luthier removing frets with a soldering iron/pencil and the glue just smoked up and the frets came out fine so ya glue them.

If i can find the video i will post it here.

[Kennedycaster]

I haven't felt the need to glue frets...yet. I'm open to the idea, I just haven't had any reason to so far.

Bob

[guitarbuilder]

After each fret is pressed in, I put 2 steel rods along both sides of the entire neck at the fret ends. A piece of wood on top of those rods acts as a caul. I use 3 clamps to hold the whole thing together. This forces the fret ends down, if they didn't seat themselves so great. Then I put a dab of superglue at each end of each fret, first one side, then the other. After a few minutes I repeat both sides again. Seems to do the trick.

[Olav]

Originally Posted by LightninMike

the file causes the fret to move back and forth very slightly and you get an inconsistent cut....

Thanks for that explanation. I hadn't seen it called that.
I have avoided glueing in frets in the couple necks I built, but will start doing so from the next one I do.

[mgdesigns]

Originally Posted by rolling56

I saw a video of a luthier removing frets with a soldering iron/pencil and the glue just smoked up and the frets came out fine so ya glue them.

If i can find the video i will post it here.

I don't think I'd want to inhale the CA glue residue smoking - Cyanoacrylate is a cyanide derivative and inhaling the fumes can be deadly. I don't know if the fumes from CA that has soaked in and cured would still contain cyanide, but I don't want to be the guinea pig.

[gtrdoc59]

I don't glue in frets when I"m doing a refret unless I have to. If the fingerboard is trued up and the slots are cleaned and frets are radiused and installed properly you shouldn't need to glue them.

CA glue can cause damage to the fingerboard when removing the frets later on, not to mention the fumes when you heat them up. Poly vinyl resins like Titebond tend to be messy on the freshly planed and polished fingerboard.

However if it's a 40 or 50 yr old guitar thats been refreted half a dozen times I'll use Titebond.

BTW Crazydave I just finished measuring all of my fretwire, the Stewmac stuff is pretty consistent but some of the Ebay wire varies. Thanks for that.

[jkingma]

I always glue them in. It's very little extra work for a bit of insurance.

[crazydave911]

Originally Posted by gtrdoc59

BTW Crazydave I just finished measuring all of my fretwire, the Stewmac stuff is pretty consistent but some of the Ebay wire varies. Thanks for that.

No worries . Most people just roll their eyes when I tell them this, but it does happen