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I've got a couple frets that just won't stay seated. Any tricks? Eco fret wire, fret board slotted by LMI. I'm editing this a bit to include that the fret won't seat at all let alone stay seated. It simply won't seat all the way down. Fret slot is clear but it just won't seat all the way down.

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Thank You and Best To All

Superglue

This happens to all of us. CA is the answer. Sometimes you need a heavier tang as the slots may be more than .023. I do use fish glue when I fret , it helps to let the frets slip ,than acts as a filler . Still every now and then you have that one that you need to glue in.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Fish glue does 'grab' fretwire pretty well, as this test shows:



That's with a slot cut with a veritas crosscut saw which cuts wider (0.7 mm) than the usual kerf. Plenty of glue on it to fill the gaps between the barbs. I clean the fretwire with wirewool first though. In your case superglue might be a better solution if the fret is already installed.
BTW: the Veritas saw slices through Ebony. It's like using a Japanese saw but with a western tooth configuration.

I'm not bedding the frets in anything at the moment and the problem is that fret won't seat far enough down into the slot to use any type of glue. Will Titebond cause the slot to swell slightly then hold the fret down? Or is there a way to increase the hold of the tang? Narrow the slot?

EDIT: And the fret will come out fairly easily from the slot.

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Thank You and Best To All

Larry, I used to do fretboards by making the slots wider that the tangs (I learned this from a well-known luthier). I would clamp (gently) a surfaced 1x2x5" block over a group of 4 or more frets and then wick in thin CA on the ends. After the ends were dry then remove the clamps and wick more CA in the middle. Clamping a group of frets with the maple block keeps the frets level with respect to each other.

I don't use that method anymore but it shows that the CA will hold just fine by itself. These days I use fish glue when I fret, as John Hall recommended, but the occasional loose fret gets glued in with CA. Works great.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I like it Steve. I think some gentle clamping to level and CA will do the trick. Thanks.

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Thank You and Best To All

Quote:

"The problem is that fret won't seat far enough down into the slot..."

Experts have spoken above, but something about this seems wrong to me. Are you absolutely positive the slot is deep enough and/or completely clear of any obstruction?

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George :-)

Yes George. It's as if the slot is too wide. The fret will go down but not stay down. Maybe I'll straighten the fret a bit as well to get the center of the fret down then glue.

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Thank You and Best To All

If tangs go in all the way, clamp lightly with a caul so you can see one edge of the fret. Run thin CA glue on the edge. After it's set,remove clamp and run other edge. Clean up with acetone and single edge razor blade scraper.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

If you can get them to go all the way in, the glue should work. But there is a tool LMI sells that crimps the tang in a way that should make it fit more snugly in a too-wide slot. Fret tang expander is what I think they called it.

Sometimes simply moving the fret or flipping it around does the trick. When you hammer one end of a fret, it can rock the other up. When the barb pulls back through the wood, it makes a nice path for itself. Better hammering technique helps.

Other times there's just a soft spot in the wood or something, and it's fated. Clamp and CA works, like everyone says.

That is indeed what they call it, and it is the solution to the problem in this case (coupled with CA glue application)..

Of course, instead of spending $80 for the Stewmac or LMI tool, you could make one yourself for a fraction of the price

Not sure what you are describing. If the slot is a little too wide, the old standard method is to ding the back of the fret in several places with the corner of a flat file. This will form barbs on the end of the tang. For gluing, one method would be to clamp the fret down and then wick in a small amount of superglue from the end. You do not need to fill the slot in the fingerboard with glue for this to work.

Take a 3"peice of your EVO wire. One inch from the end file a V notch in the tang,bend it into the shape of a hockey stick,file the barbs of the tang. Now use this as a depth guage to ensure your frets will go in all the way. On a radiused board you lose some depth on the edges.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Evo wire is so stiff and springy that you need to match the radius to the board really well rather than overbending it like you would with regular fretwire

I over bend Evo so the fret is about 1/16" above the board before installing.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I think that was the problem Jeff or at least something I wasn't aware of with EVO wire as this was the first time I've used it. I ended up clamping all the frets and using some CA to hold them in place. Not a technique I really want to pursue as I now have to clean the CA but seems like it will work. Thanks to everyone for all the help.

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Thank You and Best To All

You say a few frets won't bed at all--that they won't go all the way in. Did you file a bevel into the top of the slots? The area where the tang meets the underside of the fret is usually slightly rounded, and a bevel (chamfer) across the top of the slot really helps. Then glue, as recommended above. And if, after everything, some ends still pop up, go to the superglue trick on those ends--pressing down with a screwdriver while the glue sets. Gotta be quick doing that, but it sure works.
Patrick