Fret Damage Advice

[Ocifer]

Hi All,

I have a backup guitar, a Hagstrom Super Swede, with me at university and I just had a bit of a mishap.

1) I ****ed up and left my guitar face-up on the carpet
2) I left a folding chair nearby leaning on a wall

As I was waking up, I nudged the chair somehow and it fell onto the neck/fretboard of the guitar. The strike landed around the eighth fret, and pressed the high e and b strings into eighth fret. There are two small imperfections now in the fret (small depressions) near the b and e strings on the eighth fret. The neck appears okay and not warped horribly, but the depression near the e string is causing strings to catch when I bend or vibrato the high e or b. The guitar is playable elsewhere, and even around the eighth fret but it's kind of ruining my mojo when the string catches.

Can something like this be fixed? Is it worth it money-wise given the relatively inexpensive nature of the guitar? Is there anything that a skilled repairmen could put in the small imperfection or is this warranting a new eighth fret?

 

[MasterKtulu]

Re: Fret Damage Advice

Replacing just one fret is not that expensive, go get a quote at a repair shop.

 

[LReese]

Re: Fret Damage Advice

I'm going to make someone cringe when I say this.... Use at your own risk..

I fixed a dent in a guitar this way, so it worked for me. Your case could be different. Burnish the fret with the back side of a spoon. Tape everything off well within vicinity of where you will be working. Work from the outsides in. You will need to use a bit of pressure, so please be careful.

If the dent is too deep, then go for the fret replacement. You will know after a minute or two of hot burnishing action.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Fret Damage Advice

I'm going to make someone cringe when I say this.... Use at your own risk..

I fixed a dent in a guitar this way, so it worked for me. Your case could be different. Burnish the fret with the back side of a spoon. Tape everything off well within vicinity of where you will be working. Work from the outsides in. You will need to use a bit of pressure, so please be careful.

If the dent is too deep, then go for the fret replacement. You will know after a minute or two of hot burnishing action.

I've read that this also hardens nickel frets

 

[trevorus]

Re: Fret Damage Advice

I have soldered some good electronics solder to a fret once, and then sanded/polished it slowly to level.

 

[Ocifer]

Re: Fret Damage Advice

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I think I will wait until I have a bit more dough and get the fret fixed by a pro. I don't trust myself to try some of the things mentioned.

Out of curiosity, Trevorus, did you ever notice a tactile difference when playing in the trouble areas after the solder?

I was pretty butthurt about this mishap until I read an article about all the makeshift fixes musicians have tried and flourished with. Had been practicing slide more lately, so I figure this might be a sign to keep listening to my Trucks records.

Cheers, guys.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Fret Damage Advice

File, smooth, and polish the imperfections out. Then if the fret plays oddly after that (from being too low), just replace it.

 

[BrianS.]

Re: Fret Damage Advice

Boy, I'd try that spoon trick! I can't see how you could really do much damage that way and it might take care of your issue. If it doesn't work, oh well!

 

[trevorus]

Re: Fret Damage Advice

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I think I will wait until I have a bit more dough and get the fret fixed by a pro. I don't trust myself to try some of the things mentioned.

Out of curiosity, Trevorus, did you ever notice a tactile difference when playing in the trouble areas after the solder?

I was pretty butthurt about this mishap until I read an article about all the makeshift fixes musicians have tried and flourished with. Had been practicing slide more lately, so I figure this might be a sign to keep listening to my Trucks records.

Cheers, guys.

I didn't notice anything once I got it nice an smooth. There was a sharp ding that a string could LAND in. Once I filled it and filed/sanded it smooth, you couldn't feel it at all. There was a tiny bit of color difference, but it was a beater anyway.