Official Luthiers Forum!

We have a very nice fingerboard from Craig Lavin for a build we are doing.

Now we need to glue in the frets to keep from chipping the inlay - and I have NO idea how to proceed.

My concerns/questions are:

1) I've been told to flatten down the tangs to keep from chipping the inlay - so how exactly do I glue these in after flattening so they won't come out easily?

2) What type of glue? CA?

3) I need to avoid squeeze-out as I can't sand the fingerboard - or I will possibly ruin the inlay. This is probably my biggest worry right now.

ANY and ALL help and advice GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!

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P A U L B U R N E R
Burner Guitars

Paul, you can remove the barbs from the tang and glue in with a drop of CA on each side. This tool removes the barb, or you can make your own with 2 pieces of a file in a vise.

http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online_Resources/Fretting/Fret_Barber_Instructions.html

Clean up the squeeze out with a rag dampened with acetone.

When It is dry?

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P A U L B U R N E R
Burner Guitars

No, when it is wet. Or as quickly as possible. The sooner you clean it up, the easier it is to remove all traces of squeeze out.

Make sure you file the inlay. I use a triangle file run down the fret slot. A square file would probably work as well.

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Michael F Smith
Goat Rock Ukulele
http://goatrockukulele.com

Paul, I rout the areas where the inlay crosses a fret slot with a tapered bit set to rout a bit wider than the tangs. That way you can still use the fret as is and I use a white or yellow glue to set the frets instead of cyano. It;s less messy...