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Hi all, I am trying to fret a neck off the body ( long story but I sent the guitar to Joe White to be finished with out fretting, I like to fret when the neck is on, but this is not a bound FB and he suggested fretting the neck before he finishes it) Well I got the neck back, it has a Martin precut FB and used Stew Mac Med/Med fret. I don't know it if was because the neck was not on the body or possible the fret slots were not well matched for the SM frets but these did not seat well at all. I fretted with a hammer, and then went back and used a fret press to try to seat them better. I don't know if I should just keep banging away to try to get them seated properly or pull them (or at least the really bad ones) and start over

any advice?

thanks
Richard

Did you check fret slot depth?
I use a feeler guage with a scored line on it to tell me if the slot is deep enough.
Also is the tang of the frets the same as the slots,larger?

I rout with a #111 dremal bit .
I leave the last 3mm of each slot alone so the ends seat well.
I then make sure my radius is correct on the frets and using med. C.A. i tap the frets in.
never had a seating problem or loose fret since I started doing it this way.

Mike

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Mike Collins

Hitting them more will not get them to seat. If you whack'em too much they will just come un-seated, which sounds like what has happened. You're best to pull them, check the slot size and depth, and start again.

Cal

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Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!

I had this problem on the first telecaster neck I built. Either your slots are not deep enough or your slots are too wide. In my case my slots were too wide. I just trashed the practice neck and on my next one used a better saw, but I guess thats not an option for you. I dont think you will have much luck getting them to seat better, from my experience if they do not seat correctly the first time then they never will, but others here would probably disagree with that. If you do pull the frets and you find your slots are too wide, stew mac sells tang pliers that you can use to expand the tang on the frets, they are expensive though. Another option would be to lay superglue down in each slot before you put the fret in, then clamp them down with a fret press.

If you are getting them in with a hammer, hitting it too hard may take away some of the radius and create a seating problem. That plus all the other suggestions above.

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

something else to consider .. fretwire is drawn, and as such the inside corner between the tang and the bead is not perfectly square (unlike the edge of the fret slot, once you level sand the board, it will have a very sharp edge), there is a round fillet in there if you will ..so you need to bevel the edges of the fret slots or you will be fighting to get the frets to seat right down.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"