Frets raising at the ends???

[DugT]

I have a 2016 (160620) Legacy Tribute and eleven of its fret ends have risen above the fretboard. There is a about 0.20 mm of space between the bottoms of the frets and the fingerboard at the 1st string side. (A couple of fret ends on the 6th string side have also separated but not nearly as much.) The fret ends extend about 2mm beyond the fret tangs so there is nothing to hold the fret ends down. It seems reasonable pressure doesn't force them down so I don't think they could be glued and clamped down. What should I do? I'm not the orginal owner of this guitar but it seems to be a manufacturers defect. It seems the frets werent pre-radiused properly or the tangs should have extended further or both. I appreciate any advice.

Here is a photo of the gap. You might have to copy and paste the links below to see the photos.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/28286266@ ... ateposted/

This photo shows where the tangs end.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/28286266@ ... ateposted/

[Danley]

Needs to be re-hammered? Prob. a tech job.

Installation on my dad's ASAT tribute wasn't perfect either, for a couple of the upper fret.

[DugT]

Needs to be re-hammered? Prob. a tech job.

Installation on my dad's ASAT tribute wasn't perfect either, for a couple of the upper fret.

I assumed that, if I hammered them down, they would spring back out. However, I hammered two of them down and so far they are staying down. Maybe I should slide some glue beneath them first. I await more expert advice about using glue and which glue. (For some reason I don't think of a hammer as being a proper tool for a newish guitar but this is the second time it has solved a problem for me.)

Edit: one of the two frets that I hammered down sprung back up within an hour.

[goatofballstreet]

Hammering them down is fine, I would imagine it's some combo of humidity change from where they were made to when it was shipped to you and the seasonal changes that causes it. I wouldn't glue for now just use a rubber mallet

[DugT]

Hammering them down is fine, I would imagine it's some combo of humidity change from where they were made to when it was shipped to you and the seasonal changes that causes it. I wouldn't glue for now just use a rubber mallet

I tapped down two of the eleven raised fret ends and the both popped back up within hours. I think they would stay down if I used a small amount of glue under the frets ends and I am confident that I could get glue under the fret, tap it down, and wipe away any excess glue. A capo would hold each fret down until the glue sets. I think white glue would be the easiest to work with.

The humidity where I live (Truckee, CA 6000') and I often get typical fret sprout which is easily fixed with files. I would really like to solve this raised fret problem without resorting to keeping the guitar in a humidified case.

[Danley]

There's a special fretting hammer and technique that exists; I still recommend taking it to see a tech to have it professionally dealt with.

Fret sprout happens down here in the desert, as well... That's easy enough to deal with; an emory board and masking tape will do it.

[DugT]

I've started gluing the fret ends down using a tiny amount of gorilla glue. So far I have glued two frets and they are staying down.

If anyone else has this problem and for some reason the warranty doesn't cover it, this is my procedure to glue down the fret ends. First I tape off the fret and then I dress the fret end so that I don't have to risk breaking the glue bond when dressing after gluing. Then I slip a damp piece of paper between the fret and the fret board. Then I put a thin coat of gorilla glue on a piece of paper and I work it beneath the fret and the fretboard. Next I put a piece of cardboard over the fret and tap it lightly with a hammer to get the fret flush against the fret board. Then I wipe around the fret in case any glue has squished out. Then I put a capo on the fret and clamp it tight. This is an old type of capo that applies a lot of pressure. It doesn't have springs or any other form of elasticity. Gorilla glue should be clamped for two hours so the process takes time. Luthiers are much more likely to use thin CA for this. CA works very fast which is much more convenient but it is harder to control.

[rauchman]

Check out Stew Mac. Great resource for fret job tools and advice on using those tools.