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Gluing Frets - Experiences Requested

#21
clamping first can work, but i'd be too likely to end up superglueing the clamp itself to the fret.

plus, when there's gaps due to the fret not being seated right, it's easier for the thin CA glue to get down in there.
 
#22
update (copied from my post on TGP):

used the self-radiusing caul teeth in my fret press for a stainless steel re-fret, and it worked like a champ!

this was on an old G&L with a maple board that i didn't want to alter. the caul allowed me to glue and press each fret confident that it would be getting full pressure all along the fretboard even if the 20-year-old board radius wasn't perfect.

i figured out that the teeth work best when they're closer together, almost like 3 pressure points with a wider center contact area. i could feel the fret positively "snap" into place in each groove, where i held it while the superglue dried. no spring-up at all.

i haven't gotten the little magnets yet, so i've been using bits of masking tape on the sides of each tooth to hold them in the track while still letting them swivel to conform to the fret.
 
#24
Well, I have the tools and I believe the skill so I took the strings off today cleaned off any remaining fretboard oil with naptha and was going to get started but I chickened out not knowing what to expect.

So I am clearer, I run a thing bead of thin CA along the fret edge (nut side, bridge side, does it even matter?), give a quick wiping off of any excess CA before quickly pressing the fret down by whatever method works best ( I am assuming the appropriate fret caul is the correct answer here) and holding for 8-10 seconds and then on to the next. I did read one place about wiping with accelerator as well before pressing.

Does this all sound like the correct procedure? Is there anything I am missing, pitfalls to be aware of, squeeze out I should watch for after pressing, etc.? If there is squeeze out after pressing what is the best method of removing it or not having it happen in the first place?

I just need it very clear in my mind before risking another major screw up on a bass that would positively sicken me to do so to.
 
#25
you're on the right track.

i'd avoid the accelerator, you risk it foaming up, or hardening before you get the fret properly clamped down.
 
#26
so here's the last piece of the puzzle for my clamping get-up.

i got these little neo-D magnets from mcmaster-carr
flexcaul009.jpg

and inlaid two of them into each of the moveable teeth in my fret clamping set-up. (which is to say, i drilled out two holes in each "tooth", slipped the magnets in there, and ran in water-thin superglue to lock them in place.)
flexcaul008-1.jpg

after testing with some alnico rod pickup magnets i had lying around, i determined that two magnets oriented in the same polarity had stronger pull to the outsides than two magnets oriented opposite each other, so that's how i set them.

it works just as i'd hoped, with the teeth staying in place but easily moved around in the clamping caul holder.
 
#28
walterw said:
so here's the last piece of the puzzle for my clamping get-up.

i got these little neo-D magnets from mcmaster-carr
flexcaul009.jpg

and inlaid two of them into each of the moveable teeth in my fret clamping set-up. (which is to say, i drilled out two holes in each "tooth", slipped the magnets in there, and ran in water-thin superglue to lock them in place.)
flexcaul008-1.jpg

after testing with some alnico rod pickup magnets i had lying around, i determined that two magnets oriented in the same polarity had stronger pull to the outsides than two magnets oriented opposite each other, so that's how i set them.

it works just as i'd hoped, with the teeth staying in place but easily moved around in the clamping caul holder.
Click to expand...

Been thinking about this, and I plan to make some ''teeth" from some UHMW plastic, w/minimagnets.
 
#29
first i've heard of UHMW, but a quick googling shows it to be super tough stuff, good for things like ship's rigging, body armor and artificial knee joints. it is also described as having a super-low coefficient of friction;

makes me wonder how it would do as a guitar nut material?
 
#30
Alright friends. The deed is done. Thanks to everyone's patience, advice, inspiration and support I can triumphantly announce that the job was a 100% success. My sincerest thank you's to everyone. And, between re-securing the frets and methodically going through to then level and recrown some high spots it appears to have solved the 'clanky' issue at points around the neck that I had since I received it a couple months back. Issues that I have continually blamed on 'technique'. But I digress. It went so well that I thought that I would share my experience. So here we go.

Let's start with the tool I used. I really wrestled with this one. I bought a variety of Vise Grip style clamps and attempted to fashion a caul from maple and adapt that but in the end I broke down and bought the Stew Mac cauls and holder. I believe this was 100% the right choice. But, how to hold and use it all the way up the fretboard?

A brainstorm this morning produced this, the Kobalt Fret Press:

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Lots of muscle for the job, protective rubber pad on the backside and completely convertible back to it's original form and I don't believe the small hole for the caul holder weakens it enough to matter. The rotation along two planes it fully usuable all the way up the fretboard. A couple frets required a little creativity but really, it was no big deal. Just worked better than expected.

Here's a few of it in use:

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So with that problem solved it was on to the actual gluing. I was fortunate (or unfortunate depending on how you consider it) to have a scrap of the exact same fretboard from another botched job to test the tool and my gluing technique. That was without tape so I decided to take an extra step to mask off teh fretboard to avoid any possible mishaps.

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Than done, we got to the glue. Stew Mac thin with a whip tip:

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A simple squeeze to run a small bead along the nt side edge of the fret, quickly followed with a swipe from a clean Q-Tip, even more quickly followed with the clamp. Make sure everything was aligned, wait 30 sec and remove the clamp. I removed the tape after every fret that was glued to be sure there were no issues with squeeze out or errant glue where it ought not be. I believe the tape helped a whole lot.

Here's what they looked like right after gluing:

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After that it was on to check the level across them all and file and re-crown where needed. After that a quick re-oiling of the fretboard (much in need after the pre-gluing naptha wipe down), restring, retune and see how I did.

Here's a sample of some frets that I worked on:

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Thanks again to everyone.
 
#32
walterw said:
awesome!

i especially like the way the caul can swivel on the clamp, so you can get up over the neck/body zone.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That was a welcome and necessary side benefit. I neglected to mention that by placing the body on a sufficiently padded and non slip surface on my table saw and the headstock on a padded and raised table saw out-feed roller. This leaves the entire neck assessable and very easy to work on and the out-feed roller allowed the headstock to be raised just a bit higher to facilitate a little better gravity feeding of the glue under the frets.
 

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