- 1). Unstring the guitar.
- 2). Heat the broken fret wire by touching it with the end of a small soldering iron. Be very careful not to touch the fingerboard or the fret markers.
- 3). Work the broken fret wire out gently, using the end nippers to slowly pry the fret out along its entire length.
- 4). Clean any old glue out of the fret slot by gently running a fret saw blade through it. Be careful not to enlarge the slot.
- 5). Support the neck of the guitar along its length by laying it face up on a sand bag or a rolled towel.
- 6). Cut a length of fret wire so that it is about 1/4 inch longer than the width of the fretboard at the fret you are replacing, using the end nippers.
- 7). Place the tang (the bottom stem) of the fret wire in the fret slot, and position the fret wire so that it extends evenly over both sides of the fret board.
- 8). Tap the fret wire firmly down into the fret slot using a fretting hammer or other small, soft-headed hammer. Drive the fret wire down so that the crown is sitting right down on the fret board on all sides. Immediately wipe away any hide glue that oozes from the slot.
- 9). Check that the fret wire is level with the frets above and below it by laying a metal ruler or straight edge across the three frets.
- 10
Trim the excess edges of the fret wire with the end nippers. Then file a smooth bevel on both ends of the fret wire with a needle file.
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