Official Luthiers Forum! :: View topic - Fret Slot Filling Advice

Thanks for the advice guys. This is for a dulcimer which I will keep so I'm not worried about it being perfect; so I would rather not start over. This is a trial, error, and learn build. I tried and learned I can't free hand saw a fret slot, heh. Now I will learn how to fill a bad fret slot.

. So I take it HHG is hot hide glue, but what is PVA?

Goodin wrote:

. So I take it HHG is hot hide glue, but what is PVA?

PVA is Polyvinyl Acetate (Titebond 2, Yellow Carpenter's glue, etc)

CA = superglue right?

OR .. get some of the teflon fret slot stuff stew-mac sells, put that in the slot, then dust and CA the gap .. thats what I would do.

Tightbond would work just as well as epoxy in this case. But if you used CA then you could work the fret slot 5 minutes after gluing rather than waiting over night

Author:	Goodin [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 12:23 pm ]
Post subject:	Fret Slot Filling Advice
I asked for some help in an old thread that I revived called "Fretting Advice" but have not received any responses thus far, so I thought I would start a new thread. I got overly-confident while cutting fret slots on build #2 and attempted to saw a fret slot free-handed and I made the slot too wide on one side. The tang fits snug on one side but starts to get wider towards the other end and the slot is too wide to hold in the tang. I am thinking the best solution is to fill the fret slot and re-saw it? What do I fill it with? I am thinking Titebond Original mixed with fretboard dust? Am I on the right track? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Author:	Mark Groza [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 12:31 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
If it was me, i'd slot another fretboard. Maby that's why you didn't get a responce. But if were to fill it, i'd use epoxy and reslot.

Author:	Barry Daniels [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 12:39 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
Glue fills just don't work. Cut a small strip of wood veneer and glue it with PVA or HHG.

Author:	Goodin [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 1:43 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
Thanks for the advice guys. This is for a dulcimer which I will keep so I'm not worried about it being perfect; so I would rather not start over. This is a trial, error, and learn build. I tried and learned I can't free hand saw a fret slot, heh. Now I will learn how to fill a bad fret slot. . So I take it HHG is hot hide glue, but what is PVA?

Author:	Mark Fogleman [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 1:58 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
Goodin wrote: Thanks for the advice guys. This is for a dulcimer which I will keep so I'm not worried about it being perfect; so I would rather not start over. This is a trial, error, and learn build. I tried and learned I can't free hand saw a fret slot, heh. Now I will learn how to fill a bad fret slot. . So I take it HHG is hot hide glue, but what is PVA? PVA is Polyvinyl Acetate (Titebond 2, Yellow Carpenter's glue, etc)

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Author:	Goodin [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:06 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
Tarhead wrote: Goodin wrote: Thanks for the advice guys. This is for a dulcimer which I will keep so I'm not worried about it being perfect; so I would rather not start over. This is a trial, error, and learn build. I tried and learned I can't free hand saw a fret slot, heh. Now I will learn how to fill a bad fret slot. . So I take it HHG is hot hide glue, but what is PVA? PVA is Polyvinyl Acetate (Titebond 2, Yellow Carpenter's glue, etc) Will Original Titebond be sufficient?

Author:	Bryan Bear [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:14 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
If I were to fill (instead of starting over) I would also use veneer. However, since this is a dulcimer, there may be a third option. Consider planing the top down (If you hollowed it out there may not be sufficient thickness) and cap it with more hardwood.. You can then re-cut your fret slots. If you use a different wood, you turn your mistake into a "feature."

Author:	jfmckenna [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:23 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
If it's just a little bit to wide then CA works well. I like to use the black CA with a hardener and just set the fret in all at the same time. otherwise filling with a veneer is the way to go and again I'd use CA.

Author:	TonyKarol [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:04 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
OR .. get some of the teflon fret slot stuff stew-mac sells, put that in the slot, then dust and CA the gap .. thats what I would do.

Author:	Goodin [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:21 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
CA = superglue right?

Author:	amcardon [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:27 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
Goodin wrote: CA = superglue right? Yessir... CA = cyanoacrylate = superglue

Author:	Goodin [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:55 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
Thanks;). Bryan, since I have already cut out the strumming notch, and cut 9 fret slots I would prefer not to plane it down. It has a nice veneer of purpleheart for the top of the fretboard, and I dont want to shave it away. I think I will try to fill the fret slot with a veneer. I dont have any Titebond 2 or HHG at the moment. I am off work and gonna give it a go in a few. Will CA glue or original Titebond be sufficient to glue in the veneer?

Author:	Barry Daniels [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 6:20 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
Original Titebond is much preferred over Titebond 2. CA/superglue would also work well.

Author:	Darrel Friesen [ Mon Jun 06, 2011 6:57 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
TonyKarol wrote: OR .. get some of the teflon fret slot stuff stew-mac sells, put that in the slot, then dust and CA the gap .. thats what I would do. I did the same thing Tony recommends but used epoxy and dust and a slice of margarine container lid to fill the slot. Holding fine 5 years later and on an ebony board, is more or less invisible.

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Author:	Goodin [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:14 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
I ended up cutting a thin veneer of the same wood as the fretboard (Purpleheart), and glued it in with epoxy. I let it dry overnight and I will sand and resaw the slot tonight. Hopefully it works out ok. If I have to do this again I may use Titebond because the epoxy was messy. Although my thoughts are that epoxy dries harder than Titebond and would work better for this application. Am I right?

Author:	jfmckenna [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:23 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
Tightbond would work just as well as epoxy in this case. But if you used CA then you could work the fret slot 5 minutes after gluing rather than waiting over night

Author:	Goodin [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:43 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Fret Slot Filling Advice
jfmckenna wrote: Tightbond would work just as well as epoxy in this case. But if you used CA then you could work the fret slot 5 minutes after gluing rather than waiting over night Good point;). Always learning!