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Fretboard nearly finished-sanded open an internal crack!

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WolframMalukker
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Just finished the inlays for the fret markers, did a clean up sanding with 220 grit paper, then shined up the pearl dots with 600 grit paper. Wiped off the sanding dust with a dry cloth and re-cut the fret slots to make sure the tangs would clear.

THEN I see this crack opening up!

I noticed in the spots near the fret dots, where the medium viscosity superglue pushed up around the edge of the dot and left a "puddle" over the dot, (I used wayyy too much!) it left a really good clear finish when sanded at 600 grit. Am I OK to seal this crack up with some superglue, re cut the fret slot to clear any glue, and re-sand to 600 grit?

I've heard that some makers seal and finish their fretboards entirely in superglue, if I seal this crack up with glue should I just do the whole board to get it to an even look? It seems to act like a grain filler, so far...

If not superglue, what options do I have? The fretboard is not yet glued onto the neck, but the only thing left to do on it is frets, side dots, and glue to the neck.


   
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Robin
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@wolframmalukker   

THEN I see this crack opening up!

I think I would fill the crack with superglue and sand it again before the glue sets to work the sanding dust into the crack. The downside is that it'll fill your fret slots too, so they'll need cleaned out again.


   
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Boo
 Boo
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Posted by: @wolframmalukker

Am I OK to seal this crack up with some superglue, re cut the fret slot to clear any glue, and re-sand to 600 grit?

@wolframmalukker Yes, it’s fine to fill it with super glue (CA glue) and sand it flush with the fretboard. It does indeed leave a great finish with 600g sandpaper. I’ve sanded super glue up with much higher grades and had amazing results. It will shine up to quite a high gloss if needed. 

You could also add in some dust from the fretboard wood so you make a colour matched glue paste that will fill the cracks as @robin suggested. Just be careful not to stick anything (including yourself) to the fretboard or guitar in general as you are doing it and make sure you have some debonder to hand, just in case. I can’t stress this enough, I stuck both my hands to a guitar once with super glue (accidentally) when gluing in frets. It was rather embarrassing having to ask my wife to use the debonder to set me free again. No workshop should be without it. You never think it will happen until it does and you definitely don’t want to be walking into your local hospital to be released from your bondage. It would especially be bad because you would have a steady stream of people asking you to play a tune and bursting into laughter when they see that you are stuck to your instrument. 🤣 I have several bottles of debonder around the house and workshop, it’s a must. 👍

Make guitars, not war 🌍✌️🎸


   
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darrenking
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A straight longitudinal crack in a dark, stripy wood is going to be VERY difficult to spot afterwards if you follow the advice already given, and it will have very little, if any, effect on the overall strength of the neck.


   
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