Frets not seated properly - need your input

[jackson1]

I have a guitar where a couple of the frets seem to not be properly seated. It seems to me, that the fret ends in particular, are not all the way down. Fret buzzing in this area supports this theory. As does wear on those frets so it must have been a problem for quite some time.

Now, I've tried pressing down on these fret ends, to see if they would move. They won't. I've used all the power I can manage in my fingers, but they are rock solid. Would you still think they need re-seating, despite that they feel rock solid? Does re-seating frets need a lot more force that what my fingers can manage? What's your experience here?

[Norton]

Oh,you need an hammer



I don't have much experience about this matter,but theorically,you would need to take off the frets and nail them again.

[Budman68]

Henrik, is this a high end guitar or are you just looking for function? If so, I would use a good epoxy glue with a thin viscosity and actually get some under the fret/s since you're able to see a space under it/them. Then I would just relevel the frets and recrown. Now if it's a guitar that you'd like to have finished perfectly, I'd heat up the fret, pull it, then refret weith a replacement.

[vwall]

Another quick fix is to heat the high frets with a soldering iron and then reseat them via a press or a clamp.
If they hold great, if the don't hold, heat the fret back up and pull it out enough to drop some CA glue in there and the reseat and clamp.

more over I don't recommend CA glue for fret work but occasionally it will do the job-

No offense to Mr. Budman- he knows allot but I would never put epoxy in my or my customers fretboards...

[Budman68]

Another quick fix is to heat the high frets with a soldering iron and then reseat them via a press or a clamp.
If they hold great, if the don't hold, heat the fret back up and pull it out enough to drop some CA glue in there and the reseat and clamp.

more over I don't recommend CA glue for fret work but occasionally it will do the job-

No offense to Mr. Budman- he knows allot but I would never put epoxy in my or my customers fretboards...

No offense taken, and I would never put epoxy in my friends "nice" guitars as well. But it works great and will soften when heated with a soldering gun in case it needs to be pulled.

[jackson1]

In my book, it is a high end guitar; it's an early 1987 Soloist I bought from Pat (Strangletooth) a couple of years back. It has been like this from when I received it, but due to different circumstances, I haven't played it much, nor examined it closely. It's not a big problem, but it prevents me from setting a cool low action. It finally dawned on me, that this could be the problem. Btw. Pat was golden to deal with.

I much appreciate your input, but I still have this question: Is it plausible that a risen fret won't budge when I press as hard as I can?

I can't shoot pics right now, but I would like to show you how the frets in question, doesn't "reach" all the way down to the binding (as the other frets do). There's a hairline gap between the binding and the fret end. I guess I'd like some kind of confirmation... like -"Yes Henrik, those frets are not seated". I'll see if I can shoot some pics tomorrow.

I haven't done such fret work before and I don't think I will use this guitar learning it. But, do you guys use a special clamping tool or do I just make something up?

I guess I should go read my Dan Erlewine book now on pulling frets..

[Bert]

That's definitely a nice guitar. Probably all it needs is to have the frets re- leveled. But take it to someone who can assess the problem properly and recommend an appropriate fix.

[Budman68]

That's definitely a nice guitar. Probably all it needs is to have the frets re- leveled. But take it to someone who can assess the problem properly and recommend an appropriate fix.

Completely agreed since it's a nice one, Henrik. Have someone that knows what they're doing, repair that for you. As for Dan Erlewine, notice how even HE uses 5 minute epoxy for clamping down frets -

[vwall]

well, thats interasting. I guess epoxy has changed in the last several years.
its good to know.
Still, Im pretty fluent in the methods I use.

[Bengal65]

Jackson1,
Those frets are or were put in tight. Most luthiers use an arbor type press with the fret "shoe" sized for the radius. So, some serious pressure is used to press those in. In the old days a brass capped hammer was used and still used today, but the arbor press gives a smooth transitional action in seating the frets. As you mentioned, check out the Dan Erlewine-StewMac connection. They have some presses on the StewMac site. Once those frets are seated, levelling and recrowning is the way to go. Once done, you should be in good shape for a long while!

[Bengal65]

well, thats interasting. I guess epoxy has changed in the last several years.
its good to know.
Still, Im pretty fluent in the methods I use.

Scott,

Your not alone, the epoxies have been changing chemical composition in recent years, so Dan the "Man" has been doing all the experimenting. The manufactuer's seek him out to test stuff. Sort of like my family Doctor, with all the new drugs, he gets freebies from the reps Everytime I go to the doc, which isn't that much, he writes a script and gives me most of it in his office. Definitely saves money, but sometimes I feel like a test guinea pig

Everytime I get a new StewMac catalog, there is some new glue in there.

[Twisteramps]

I like superglue myself... I've had a few guitars with the frets coming loose either on an end or 'bow up' as described. First, look closely at the fret and be sure that it is an issue with the fret not being seated properly - look VERY closely to see if there's a gap between the bottom of the fret and the fingerboard. You should be able to see a difference between the trouble fret and his tricky neighbors.

Something I've done (that you can do at your own risk) is to take a regular hammer and put a sock on the end of it so you don't dent the fret, and tap the fret back down. Be sure to take all your strings off, because if you hit a string into a fret, you WILL put a mark on it.

If it really is just a loose fret, a good luthier won't charge you much to fix it. Might just want to take it there since it sounds like a nice guitar.

Pete

[jackson1]

Thanks for all your input! It's very nice to lean up against your comments when deciding what to do, whether I try fix it myself or let a luthier do it. I don't have much confidence in Danish luthiers though. I've had some bad experiences.

Okay, I shot some pics. I know you like pics!

Here's problematic fret #2:




Here's problematic fret #3:




Here's okay fret #5:




Here's fret #4 (problematic) and fret #5 (okay). Notice the difference in wear on top of the frets. Fret #4: Either that's a fret dressing/level made long time ago or it's wear from the string buzzing against it. What do you think?




Oh btw, here she is. My black Grid Soloist

[bsteff666]

I would call that a "nice" guitar.

[Bengal65]

Yowza! Nice guitar and great pics. Maybe Scott can chime in here. He does these all the time. Here's my opinion. I would seat those frets first. The guitar looks like it has been played looking at the wear on the frets. The pictures probably make it look like more wear than there really is. With the combination of fret wear and the frets being sprung, it looks like it needs work. After the frets are seated, I'd perform a fret level, crown and polish.

Some of your frets look like it's time for re-crowning anyway and now is the time to do it. Just my opinion here. I would do it if it were mine. No good luthiers over yonder? Hmm, gives me an idea. Maybe you could learn and be the best in the region!