loose (?) frets

[AndyV]

I have a couple fret wires that have sprung loose at the end and so are too high. Best way to correct this? Should I remove, radius them and then reinstall? I read a post on the forum from someone that said they just used super glue (?!!!??).

Thanks in advance?

[rcc56]

Sometimes you can use one drop only of super glue, and push the fret down with a screwdriver and hold it in place for a couple of minutes until it cures. Then you have to scrape away the residue, and you still may have to level the offending fret and possibly its neighbors.

If you are experienced at fret work, removing and re-radiusing them is sometimes, but not always, a better choice. If you have an active shop, the Stew-mac fret tang crimper can be very useful when you are reinstalling a fret that was previously loose.

Generally speaking, when I encounter an instrument with more than 5 or 6 loose frets, I prefer to re-fret the instrument. If the upper frets above 12 or 15 are in good shape, I will sometimes do a partial re-fret instead.

[AndyV]

How much of a concern should a glued fret be if later considering a re-fret?

[pops1]

How much of a concern should a glued fret be if later considering a re-fret?

When heated with a soldering iron it will release easily.

[Wrnchbndr]

Off the shelf superglue from your average hardware store is often a bit thicker than is optimum for doing this. Stewmac sells a water-thin CA that will wick down into the slot and if you're patient and lucky, almost all of the CA gets sucked up where it ought to go.

On each fret, you need to practice your action of holding down the fret before you apply the superglue. If you're not careful, you can glue the fret into the elevated position and end up with superglue under the fret making it impossible to push the fret down without pulling it and cleaning the slot. I've done this process of securing frets many times and it never fails later on but you need to have your wits intact, good light, and take your time.