Easy ways to reseat a fret???

Hello,

I just bought an Ibanez ex series guitar that plays great, but I didn't notice when I bought it that it has several fret ends pulling up, I believe it is from the neck drying out, and not poor craftsmanship. I have read on some forums that you can heat up the fret with a soldering iron and force it down with a clamp or a hammer. I don't have a local luthier in my area, so that is kinda out of the question. Anyone have any experience with this?

This is the guitar, I bought it for it's looks.

Even if you can convince it to stay down, it probably won't for long without some encouragement. One way is to wick some thin superglue into the fret slot and then quickly clamp it down. You may need to wax the fretboard and have a rag soaked with acetone ready for clean up. Get real acetone, don't use nail polish remover. So , wax, wick, cleanup excess and clamp down but move quickly. The glue gives the fret tang something to grab onto.

The other option is to completely remove the fret. If it comes out clean you may get away with reusing it. You'd have to bend the tang so it grabs in the worn slot. I haven't had good luck with this method. The other option is to replace with a fresh piece of wire. You will most likely need to widen the tang or glue this new one down depending on how wide the slot is. I'd try the first option first.

After the frets are down, check and make sure that everything is level. If there are high/low frets, a quick fret level and recrown should take care of it.

While you are at it though, you may want to glue down all the frets. Chances are if that many lifted, others will too.

So, to put the first option in context for me; wax the fret board with some candle wax, use super glue underneath where the fret is coming up, clamp it down quickly, with acetone on hand in case there is any kind of excess, and allow it to dry. Is the fret tang the thin piece of metal that inserts into the wood? By wick do you mean using a super glue that has one of those longer nozzle applicators?

Thank you so much for all the info, I hope to be able to do this easily. I'm not what you would call guitar "handy".

The wax I mean is a paste wax. It just provides a barrier between the glue and the fret board making clean up alot easier.

The tang is indeed the metal part seats in the wood. It has little barbs that stick out and grab the wood. Putting glue in the slot gives the barbs something more to stick to. The glue doesn't really stick to metal.

To wick the superglue under the fret, just run a thin line of glue on one side of the fret where it meets the wood. The glue will work it's way under the fret pretty quickly, and what's left over (usually not very much if you laid down a thin line) wipe up with the acetone. You'll get the feel for it after a fret a two. I like a water thin superglue for this.

Oh, and here's some good info on fret work. Item 23 discusses gluing frets down.

Glue on the fretboard....sounds scary, but I'll give it a try once I get some acetone.

Thanks again for the help!

You only need a very small amount so you need to be careful with the dispencer. Some of those metal types will blow a major load out with a light squeeze. You may want to put a half a drop on a tooth pick and apply it that way. Gently roll the tooth pick so the liquid goes under the fret.

When I glue frets I use vinyl electrical tape right up to the fret. Crazy glue wont stick to vinyl and with a tight fit against the fret you protect the fretboard. Its not a bad idea to run pieces on the sides running the length too. If it drips out the fret end it wont hurt anything.

What usually pops frets out is someone goung to a lighter guage strings and not adjusting truss rod relief. When you have lighter gauges, the neck bows back and releases the pressure holding the pressed frets in.

good info, thanks!

I just popped mine back in with a plastic mallet. probly not the best idea but it worked.

That sometimes works, but in my experience, usually doesn't stay down for long. Depends if the slot is worn or not.

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