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Hello Everyone,

I am seeking advice as to what would be a good choice of 5 minute epoxy to use for a glue in refret method. Do some brands work better than others? Also, what is a good way to clean epoxied fret slots for future refrets? In my research I have found a few references to the Dremel tool. Are there drill bits that can clean a .023" slot? I have read that the sound conductivity of epoxy falls short compared to other types of glues. Does anyone have any feedback about tonal qualities and sustain being any different with epoxied frets?

Thanks for your comments..

Joe Koziatek
S. River, NJ

I made the mistake of using epoxy to set frets on a new build. the frets were loose, so I opened up the slots a little farther and used Araldite rapid to stick 'em in.

the squish out was horrible, really hard to remove. I use CA now. SOOOOO much easier.

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Epoxied in Frets are a refret nightmare don't do it

very fine line of CA is a much better option

the epoxy refret method was popularized by don teter who desribed his technique in his first guitar repair book back in the '70's. it is not used that much any more as tools, techniques and the availability of many sizes of fretwire, as well as martin's belated adoption of the adjustable truss rod, have made it almost totally unnecessary.

the method involved widening the slot with the dremel in a router base to about the width of the tang barbs so that the frets just finger pressed into the epoxy filled slot. the board had to be waxed to avoid the problems martin aludes to, and is good practice any time you use glue in a refret; makes cleanup a snap.

he described the method using dental burrs in the dremel, but appropriately sized carbide bits are readily available now.

in subsequent refrets a hooked knife made from an xacto and similar to that marketed these days by stew-mac, could be used to remove the worst of the epoxy but one did not have to be too picky since the epoxy sticks to itself well.crazymanmichael39059.3807291667