Maple fretboard and low fret??

OK, so I want to raise a low fret (#11) off a maple fretboard that I think is lacquer covered.

According to the fix in Erlewine's book, you put floor wax on the fretboard to keep the superglue from spreading, but he's talking about a rosewood fretboard.

Aside from not having any floor wax, what could I use to coat the maple fretboard so that when I apply the superglue, it won't run all over the place, or even if it does, I can clean it up without ruining the maple?

go to a professional luthier and have them do it before you mess up your fretboard...

I presume bringing the other frets down to the level of #11 is out of the question? That's fast & easy by comparison

this is after a new fretjob. I already tried that, but the fret is sitting too low. I don't want to bring down all the other frets to match that one.

Who did the fret job? If you had it done I'd suggest going back.

Absolutely not the same person though. An amateur will only make things worse.

The proper way is to replace the bad fret or level the entire fretboard.

I've never trued to raise a single fret. it would have a gap between the fretboard and the fret which would look bad. Suppose if you want to try it its up to you. Tape off the areas you dont want affected with Vinyl electrical tape.

WRG makes a good point. Again. Why is that fret lower in the first place? Is the slot cut too deep? Is it possible to replace that one fret with a taller one than the rest & then bring it down level with it's stable mates? If you use the same fret size how are you going to fill up the slot? I haven't yet done a fret job, so I'm paying attention.

even if I replaced the fret instead of raising it, I still am stuck with the issue of not getting superglue on the fretboard.

I've tried using vinyl electrician tape on a fretboard before, but the superglue got underneath it.

Any other ideas?

Floor wax works great. The glue will chip right off.

"Floor wax works great. The glue will chip right off".

Dont think so. I use floor wax on my guitars and crazy glue will bond right through it. Maybe car wax would work because theres alot of silicone in it, but thats about it.

If its getting under the tape he's having a major application issue.

Get super glue gell - It wont go under the tape. Apply it with a tooth pick, dont just squeeze it out of the container. Roll the tooth pick parallel to the fret and roll it under the fret. Quick and easy, over and done.

I really need to use thin superglue. Remember, I'm trying to raise a fret. I'm going to need a glue that will wick in underneath the fret.

IME nada wicks under the blue (or green) painters tape, pressed down with a roller.

Wicking CA under a fret raises it? Sounds easy....too easy...

I have my doubts as well. It seems to me like the right way to do this is to pull the fret, fill the slot, recut the slot & replace the fret. But not having experience in this area I'm not sure.

A properly leveled fretboard and uniform height frets should be pretty level; any variation is handled in the fret dress/leveling which should bring down the high frets to be equal to the others. One low fret seems like different fret heights (? bad QC), a low point on a bad fretboard level, or too much lowering on a single high fret.

So pulling the fret and adding CA gel and then clamping with a caul to give even height might even it up, but no need to recut the slot right? The fret just "beds" to the level of the fretboard, not the slot bottom right?

It will work as a rig as he's trying to do it. You lift the fret up a littel with a razor knife, wick some CA in there, let it dry a bit, then use the glue to build up the gap a littel. It all depends on how far off the frets are. This wouldnt be the way I'd do it and its curious how he got a single fret like that that was low. Possibly doing a leveling with a popped fret or misuse of a fret file might have done it, either way, it can be done, its just not pretty.

By the way, Custom tele, Frets have different tang diameters to fit the slots. You dont fill the slots and recut them. If you have a neck thats been refretted before and the slots have been widened from the last refret, you simply get a wider tang. If the guitar is ancient and the width is maxed out and you have the widest tang, you nip the tangs to widen them so they stay in the slots. Otherwise, replacing the fretboard (or gluing the frets in) are the last resorts.

There are specific tang expander/compressor tools to, LMII sells these

the idea is to lift the fret to level with it's neighbors (using a fret puller to raise, and a straight edge to level). Then wick in the CA to anchor the fret at hopefully the right height.

AS to how it happened, I'm assuming that I wacked that fret too hard when I refretted.

Very possible. The fretboard can be dented by hammering too hard and lowering the fret. Good luck on your fix. I still think electrical tape up against the fret will be enough protection to prevent accidents applying the glue. Its very unlikely the glue will wick under it if you rub it down on the fretboard real good to remove air gaps. The worst you may have is a glue line against the fret that can be removed polishing the fret with some steel wool.

I'm going to try to run tests on electrician's tape, painter's tape, and (drumroll, my own idea) white candle wax to keep the CA in it's place. Merci for all the ideas:thu:

I'd love to hear the results of all those tests if you don't mind.

Good luck!

more than likely, as someone said they got carried away hammering the frets in meaning they rushed the job and dented the wood. if this is the case,here's one thing that MIGHT work. take a wet rag put it over the low fret and hit it with a heat gun or an iron. the steam swells the wood a decompresses the grain taking the low spot out

honestly you shouldnt have to do anything because its the luthiers responsibility to fix it properly.

as far as getting super glue on your fretboard.no1 Superglue is the wrong thing to use because of it holding properties(science b/s i dont feel like explaining)and no2 You never glue a fret in. in 20 years ive never glued frets in and never had a problem. tedmich showed you some exspanders. i use a similar tool , but i normally dont have to break that out unless the guitar has been refetted a couple of times or someone glued the frets in and i had to re slot the board.

that would be me...I wasn't rushed, just inexperienced

You realize this goes 100% against Dan Erlewine.....

I'd love to hear the results of all those tests if you don't mind. Good luck!

OK, just give me some time