Guitarfrenzy Posted September 21, 2003 Report Share Posted September 21, 2003 Yes, many people use superglue to make the frets stay in place and keep you from getting a dead tone. One thing though, like he said, you'll have to wipe down the fretwire with Naptha (same as Lighter Fluid) real good so that the glue will bond with the wire. Also, make sure you take extra care to tape off areas that superglue could run. I've seen Dan Erlewine use electrical tape, since it won't run underneath it at all. You'll also want to prep the fretboard with wax, that way you can really put more superglue on it and never have to worry about it bonding to the wood. You can just scrap it up very carefully with a razorblade after you are done. I think some of luthiers use the arbor press that has a wheel that turns to lock it into place. That helps because you can use the glue then press the fret in.. then lock it in place till it drys really good. You can also use accelerator to speed up the drying process. But even so, your still gonna want to make the fret slots the correct kerf for the fretwire your gonna be using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted September 22, 2003 Report Share Posted September 22, 2003 Can't frets be set in glue to avoid all these problems? The luthier Bob Benedetto uses Titebond.He leaves about 3/4 " dry in the middle so the glue has a place to go ,otherwise the fret won`t seat fully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 22, 2003 Report Share Posted September 22, 2003 Great point Goat.. I remember seeing Brian Gallop use that method of fretting.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nccyr Posted September 22, 2003 Report Share Posted September 22, 2003 Hello, I am also new here and I will have to do the same for my latest project. I was just wondering about using a dremel cut-off wheel for this job (making fret slots). Providing I could get the mechanical issues out of the way (with a special jig of something), the dremel wheel (#409) has a width of .025". Has anyone tried this and would it work? ncc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 22, 2003 Report Share Posted September 22, 2003 man that cutting wheel is hard to control.i wouldn't try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 22, 2003 Report Share Posted September 22, 2003 man that cutting wheel is hard to control.i wouldn't try it. My thoughts exactly.. lol.. I think this is one time you'd be better off using a miter box and backsaw with the correct kerf.. I'm not saying you can't do it.. it's just like Wes said though... hard to control with a cut disc.. You could use a small bit and use a dremel in that way, but not quite sure it'd make it any better for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted September 22, 2003 Report Share Posted September 22, 2003 even if you made a jig to hold the blade perpendicular to the board, it woudn't be long enough.... The only way you would do it with a dremel is if you had a radius block you clamped to the fretboard measured out the right distance from the center of the cutter, then use a engraving bit that's 0.024" cutting width, then run the dremel accross the board making sure it's pushed against your radius block. The only problem is youre going to have to reset the position of that block 24 times which could become a pain. But that's how i rout out my nut slot, with the dremel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnuk Posted September 24, 2003 Report Share Posted September 24, 2003 Feel sorry for me being so poor and unequipped as to even think this... but... I was going to see if I could find any small hacksaw blades that would cut the slots. RioGrande sell a huge number of special jewelery blades that go in a normal hacksaw specifically for cutting very precise cuts. Figured it might be easier and cheaper than buying a backsaw. I have a micrometer so I'll be able to check the blades anyway. I'm talking about the kind used for metal working, with very fine teeth. Have any of you tried this idea already? I not trying to go cheap ass on every tool I need, but this is the first guitar I am building, so it would be a serious financial outlay to buy all the specially made tools in one go. We have a CNC jewelery mill in school but the ever burning annoyance that it is probably has safety switches all over the safety screen, so I'd never be able to get the neck under it (Plus it's cheating! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted September 25, 2003 Report Share Posted September 25, 2003 This is one argument I'm NOT getting into. I will offer this bit of advice, Read the Stewmac Fretting book, it explains the fretting/refretting methods and the Pros/Cons for each one. It also explains why you should use the correct width saw for each method. IMO this is one place where trying to save a buck or two will end up costing you far more $$$ in time spent fixing it later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 25, 2003 Report Share Posted September 25, 2003 I will offer this bit of advice, Read the Stewmac Fretting book, it explains the fretting/refretting methods and the Pros/Cons for each one. It also explains why you should use the correct width saw for each method. IMO this is one place where trying to save a buck or two will end up costing you far more $$$ in time spent fixing it later. Exactly.. some things you can do to save you money will end up costing you more in the end. It's also like my friend told me one time, you can either spend money on instruction books and videos and save time and money later on by avoiding common mistakes, or you can save the money, buy some good wood and mess it up really bad and learn that way.. either way your gonna pay to learn.. lol.. I thought that pretty much summed it up!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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