so ...... when you bugger up a fret slot .....

axisus

OK, so I cut the fret slots last night. I made this mickey mouse jig which kind of did the job, but I got a bit lax at one point and my concentration lapsed. I didn't tighten up my thingy quite enough onto the whatsit and it slipped. This in itself was no problem, but attempting to realign and carry on was. The bottom line is that one slot is wider than it should be. Best fix? mix up some glue and sawdust, fill it then recut when hard?

It's not the end of the world as this is (probably) now a practice fretboard, but I may as well try and fix it.

WezV

yeah, not ideal but you have two options for a fix

 

Fill with veneer and recut or fill with dust and glue and recut

 

Obviously a fret that is seated in glue and sawdust isn'y really as reliable as you want but it will be fine for practice

axisus

Many thanks. Best sort of glue?

WezV

Epoxy for a structural one like this.

You can do superglue, certainly if cosmetic. But I wouldn't here.

I would also make sure you glue this fret in, if you glue it in with epoxy it should still be strong enough to use. There was an old refret technique which involved making the slots a bit wider and epoxying the frets in. It fell out of favour but could save the board here

ICBM

WezV said:

Epoxy for a structural one like this.

I would do that too.

Make sure you use high-strength epoxy not quick-set (it isn't the same at all) and preferably heat it gently while curing with a hairdryer or a bench lamp - it makes the glue penetrate into the wood better and set stronger.

WezV

yeah, i tend to warm my bottles of epoxy in hot water before mixing - it really does make it a pleasure to use

if you do that and gently warm the wood it will penetrate really well, and continued gentle heat for a short time after will help with the cure