How To Repair Crack In Fret Fretboard Banjo

Acoustic Guitar Fretboard Crack Repair

Acoustic guitar fretboards are normally make out of dumbo woods like ebony and rosewood. Some fretboards are besides made out of other hardwoods like maple. These woods are difficult enough to stand up up to the abiding wear from the guitar strings.

Unfortunately, fretboards or fingerboards are no unlike than any other woods. If yous don't take intendance of information technology, it tin can crack, chip, and even have inlays come loose. In this article, I'll explain some common problems with acoustic guitar fretboards, how to fix them, and, most importantly, how to take of and maintain them. Permit's get started!

How to Repair Fretboards

Contents

i How to Repair Fretboards
- 1.1 How to fix fretboard fries
  - 1.1.1 Ebony and Rosewood Fretboards
  - 1.1.2 Maple and Light-colored Fretboards
- 1.2 How to fix fretboard cracks
- 1.3 How to Forestall Fretboard Cracks
- 1.4 Repair Acoustic Guitar Inlays
- 1.5 Related articles:

Fretboards tin can develop any number of different problems over years of use, especially if the fretboards are not maintained. Many older fretboards become dry and brittle because they are not conditioned or humidified properly. Another big problem that causes impairment to peoples' fretboards is poor repairs. Here are some easy ways to fix these common fretboard problems.

How to fix fretboard fries

Fifty-fifty though fretboards are extremely durable, they can chip for whatsoever number of different reasons. Dropping your guitar or hit it against your amp on stage can impairment the fretboard. These are obvious ways to chip your fretboard. Improper repairs might non be obvious sources of fretboard chips, but they are some of the virtually common.

Many people don't understand how to remove frets, so they just rip them out with a pair of pliers. As the fret is forced out of the fret slot, the fret tang rips and chips function of the fretboard on the way out of the slot. Don't do this! Make sure to accept the time to fully loosen the fret mucilage before you go yanking out the frets. For data nearly how to properly remove guitar frets, delight see the guitar fret removal folio.

Ebony and Rosewood Fretboards

Repairing chips in your ebony or rosewood fretboard is really piece of cake. Simply, take some ebony or rosewood dust that approximately matches the color of your fretboard and spread the dust in the chip.

Next, cover the grit in super mucilage. I suggest using Satellite City cherry super glue for this job. Once the super glue is dried, I like to apply eighty-dust sand newspaper and a sanding block to remove the backlog gum. And so I sand the fretboard with 120-dust, 240-grit, and 300-grit sand paper. Make sure to and all around the area evenly. You don't want a big flat or low spot in the fretboard. Employ a round movement to sand in the general area until the glued spot is level with the remainder of the fretboard. You should not even be able to tell there was a chip there!

Maple and Lite-colored Fretboards

Light-colored fretboards are a unlike story than dark fretboards like ebony and rosewood. Don't employ the old dust and glue trick on a light-colored fretboard. Information technology will look very obvious that in that location is a fill. If the fleck is minor, unproblematic baste some super mucilage in the hole and sand it off similar we did earlier. The filled chip will just slightly exist visible with the articulate super glue.

For more data nearly different glues that are safe for your guitar, please see the guitar mucilage page.

How to fix fretboard cracks

Fretboards can develop cracks if they are non properly humidified. Zippo is worse than feeling a sharp fissure in the fretboard when y'all are learning guitar chords. Small, non-structural cracks can be easily stock-still, while replacing the fretboard might be the just way to ready large cracks. If you lot detect that your fretboard has a small fissure in it or y'all run across a minor crack first to develop, you should properly humidify your guitar. Chances are, yous fretboard is extremely dry and the scissure is separated due to the shrunken wood. By carefully humidifying your guitar to the proper less, the crack will be open to a more than "normal" size. In other words, you don't want to glue a when the wood is extremely dry because when the guitar comes back to the optimal humidity level, the crack might shut and cause a crack in your glue articulation.

Once the fretboard is properly humidified, accept some ebony or rosewood dust that approximately matches the color of your fretboard and spread the dust in the scissure. Next, follow the same gluing process that we used to fill the fretboard chips. Comprehend the dust in super gum. I suggest using Satellite City red super glue for this job. One time the super mucilage is dried, I similar to utilise 80-grit sand paper and a sanding block to remove the excess gum. And so I sand the fretboard with 120-dust, 240-grit, and 300-dust sand paper. Make sure to and all around the surface area evenly. You don't desire a big flat or low spot in the fretboard. Utilize a circular movement to sand in the general expanse until the glued spot is level with the remainder of the fretboard. The glued crevice will slowly disappear into fretboard, as yous sand information technology!

See my guitar glue folio and guitar humidity page for more info.

How to Prevent Fretboard Cracks

Now that we know how to prepare acoustic guitar fretboard cracks and chips, how practice nosotros end them from happening? That's the easy function. Accept care of your guitar! I said a few times in this commodity that humidity and corruption are the main reasons for guitar fretboard damage. Try to maintain your acoustic guitar correct around 50% humidity and don't throw information technology around. Another reason for fretboard harm is ill-trained repairman. Make sure to read my truss rod adjustment and fret repair articles earlier you outset tearing into your guitar. Make certain y'all know what yous are doing before you endeavor to prepare your frets and adjust your truss rod. Trust me. It will save you in the long run.

Your fretboard should look like new and your frets should exist playing great! I hope this article helped repair your fretboard. Time to get back to playing your acoustic!

Repair Acoustic Guitar Inlays

I didn't mention inlay repair in this article. It is a big problem with acoustic guitars, so I decided to write an entire article about information technology. Check out my audio-visual guitar inlay repair article for more info.

Fret Repair
Guitar Maintenance