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Hi again, everyone!

So on this guitar I'm building, I decided to bind the fingerboard and am at the point where I'm putting in the frets and wasn't sure what the best practice is with this. Just by looking at it I figured the best thing was to clip just enough of the bottom of the fret away so that it doesn't touch the binding. After putting in a few frets, it seemed that they were a little looser than I would like, so I pulled them out, and started again but using a touch of Titebond to hold the frets in place.

Is this right, or am I doing this all wrong? Any tips on the best way to install frets on a bound fingerboard would be super awesome!

BTW - I'm building an OOO acoustic and was just laying the frets over the top of the binding (not Les Paul style.)

Thanks everyone!

On bound fingerboards, I nip the tang away under the overhang, and file the underside of the end until it is as perfectly flat as I can get it. I also lubricate the fret slot with tight bond before inserting the fret--wiping off squeeze-out as I tap the fret in. This doesn't actually glue the frets in, but after the glue dries it does give the tang something to "bite" within the slot. It is a fairly common practice, I believe. Benedetto demonstrates it in his instructional DVD. I take an added precaution BEFORE putting on the binding or inserting frets: I file a chamfer in the top of each fret slot--about three strokes with a triangle file across the full width of every slot. This helps the fret seat tighter to the fingerboard surface. If any fret ends pop back up (it's fairly common to have one or two of those) you can put a tiny drop of watery CA glue under the fret end and then hold the end down with a screwdriver for 30 seconds or so. That will usually keep them down. Of course, you need to be quick about pressing the end down!

That's exactly what I did on the frets. Thank you for the reply! I'll have to find the DVD you're talking about. I've had a hard time finding any good instructional videos on the internet when it comes to some of the detail of building a guitar.

Hey, Joshua, you can get that DVD series (and a whole lot more good stuff) from this link:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Video,_DVD/ ... lding.html

Best luck and Happy New Year!
Patrick

You can also remove the fret tang with a Dremel - if you have one.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
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Thanks for the tip Cphanna.
Now I know why my frets don't appear to be pressed in all of the way.
I never considered the radius where the tang meets the fret.
I'll add the chamfers on the next one.

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Make a gauge to test the fret slot depth. Take a 3" piece of fret wire,at the 1" mark file a v notch into the tang to the full depth of tang. Bend the wire at the notch to look like a hockey stick. File the barbs off the 1" section so that tang goes into slot easily. You now have a depth guage to make sure your frets will not bottom out.
Tom

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