Re: do you hammer or press your frets-do you use glue?
I have always tapped frets in. I've used several kinds of mallet over the years, but for the last decade or so I have used a dead-blow hammer that weighs 9 ounces. The maker is Lixie. It has a hard face that I use for frets, and a softer face used mainly on annoying customers, but also for jobs like easing a part into place without leaving a mark. I don't use a general application of glue, but on a mushy board I will follow up with a drop of thin CA at each fret end and clamp with an old Hamilton capo. Over the body I squish the tangs with one of Frank Ford's special tang-squishing pliers to make them very easy to tap in, and support underneath the face as best I can.
Shade Tree Fretted Instrument Repair, retired
Nevada City, California
Bookmarks