What glue should you use when refretting?

Neil-Nitro

Hey guys.

Topic says it all. Thank you in advance!

Gearhead

In my humble opinion, you should not use glue for fretting unless it is really necessary, ie the slots have to be damaged or otherwise too big for the frets. The solid connection that a fret wants with the board/neck is best made mechanically. If you have to use glue, put stuff that can be steamed out.

Neil-Nitro

Gearhead wrote: In my humble opinion, you should not use glue for fretting unless it is really necessary, ie the slots have to be damaged or otherwise too big for the frets. The solid connection that a fret wants with the board/neck is best made mechanically. If you have to use glue, put stuff that can be steamed out.

Wow.... I thought glue was standard practice when refretting. THen again I saw it on a Youtube video ?

lapdawg

Fish glue. Its like hide glue, except it is liquid at room temperature. I have a source in Germany that I will be ordering from soon. Let me know if you want some.
As Gearhead said, It must be removable with steam. With fish glue, you can also run a soldering iron along the fret to soften it. It also sets hard & brittle so will not damp the string, but will improve the resonance if anything. This is important.

Malkav

Here's a cool pictorial a guitar tech I follow put up regarding refretting.

http://avhguitarrepair.com/repair-blog/refretting-an-unusual-les-paul/

The one comment he made regarding glues I thought was pretty useful in regard to your enquiry:

" I will use hide glue in the slots for extra security. CA and Titebond-type glues are also frequently used (epoxies are not recommended), and I still use CA for securing fret dresses and quick fixing loose frets, but on whole refrets I prefer to use good ‘ol hide glue like Gibson did. It does hold the fret very well (you see very few pre-80’s Gibsons with lifting frets), is easily removed with heat, and because it dries to a very hard, crystalline consistency, it does seem to transfer string contact vibration much better than the other typical glues used (which = better tone)."

Now I don't know about better tone as that's a bit of a suspect claim, but from what I gather Hide Glue is stable, easy to remove and easier to clean out of the slots if need be than the alternatives.

lapdawg

Chad Adam Browne wrote: Here's a cool pictorial a guitar tech I follow put up regarding refretting.

http://avhguitarrepair.com/repair-blog/refretting-an-unusual-les-paul/

The one comment he made regarding glues I thought was pretty useful in regard to your enquiry:

" I will use hide glue in the slots for extra security. CA and Titebond-type glues are also frequently used (epoxies are not recommended), and I still use CA for securing fret dresses and quick fixing loose frets, but on whole refrets I prefer to use good ‘ol hide glue like Gibson did. It does hold the fret very well (you see very few pre-80’s Gibsons with lifting frets), is easily removed with heat, and because it dries to a very hard, crystalline consistency, it does seem to transfer string contact vibration much better than the other typical glues used (which = better tone)."

Now I don't know about better tone as that's a bit of a suspect claim, but from what I gather Hide Glue is stable, easy to remove and easier to clean out of the slots if need be than the alternatives.

Gibson used fish glue. Its not definitive, but some of the experts are adamant.
[edit: This may have changed in the 60's, but hide glue will cool and gel very quickly in contact with a metal fret. This makes it hard to use effectively.]
<insert reference here or no one will believe you>.
Ok, Ok, If I find time I'll add some links. ?

I really don't like the idea of using CA glue, epoxy or anything like that. Rosewood does not need any encouragement to split. Permanent glue is reckless and wrong. I'm digging in here.

Also, there's a lot of cr@p written about tone, but this is one I really believe. Imagine a a hard brittle substance between fret and wood as opposed to some rubbery damping along the whole length of the fret.

Brastep

A new fretboard should not need any glue if the fretslots are sawn to the correct thickness to match the fretwire. But refretting can damage or widen the slots.

Check that the tang of your new fretwire is the same width as the original.

If the fretslots are not too damaged, one option is to squeeze some ordinary wood glue into each fret slot, wipe off any mess on the fretboard surface itself, and allow to dry overnight.

This strengthens the exposed endgrain in the slots and makes them narrower by a few microns... and consequently gives a better seat for your new fretwire.... without actually gluing them in.