How to Easily Fix a Raised Fretboard Inlay

[@alexisdrosopoulos]

The capo trick is simple and yet so ingenious. Thanks to Paul Davids and you I've already found 2 other uses for my capos.

[@evmanbutts]

I saw Mac Demarco using his capo to hold a smoke whilr he was playing Boston is 2017 lmao there's another use for them

[@alexisdrosopoulos]

@@evmanbutts still prefer the clapton way between the tuners

[@cassius_eu5970]

What's the advice Paul Davids gave?

[@etherealessence]

@@cassius_eu5970 using it to hold your phone like a stand to get better video recordings

[@danold691]

Love the fact that you focused on the capo trick as a great DIY option despite the fact your business is selling the kit to do it properly! Thanks guys 👍

[@gregmartin1757]

Any video with Dan is worth watching.even it is a brief cameo appearance. Also nice to see some of the other great stew mac employees.

[@Colhogan06]

I get the feeling Dan is grooming the new generation of StewMac employees. I wouldnt be surprised if he just becomes an advisor only. He still does stuff but more and more he seems to be stepping aside and allowing the younger guys do the work. He's done his time in the trenches so I dont blame him.

[@GrimYak]

Gibson quality right there folks.

[@paulypisspants7340]

was just thinking the same thing...

[@zizoumonk10]

Play authentic!

[@jchristie254]

Authentic crap quality control lol

[@kingstumble]

I have just discovered I have the same problem with my 2017 Les Paul Tribute so I shall be trying this fix ASAP. I wouldn't necessarily blame Gibson per se. You should all know wood can shrink--hence the common problem of sharp fret ends--and I suspect this to be the reason.

[@mortensen1961]

@@zizoumonk10: Or else!!

[@alm000]

4:33 classic Ren and Stimpy sound effect, :)

[@PlaguePriest88]

ahahahaha

[@hankevans7890]

I did this to my les Paul inlay today. I pressed it with my finger for 10 minutes instead of using a capo or a clamp. It worked great. Thanks!

[@theflandersons]

I have a 2016 Les Paul. 2 inlays popped...Thanks Gibson.

[@Tone-Oz]

three and counting for me... For the price you pay, that's crazy.

[@Epitome63]

@@Tone-Oz I just fixed one on my $2500 Gibson. Fortunately it was simple. The exact repair as shown. I held it down with my thumb while the glue dried.

[@Tone-Oz]

@@Epitome63 Mine are going great now but it took a whole day or so to do it the way i wanted. i actually had a fourth inlay corner raising also. I actually scrapped and sanded the whole neck so it would have a similar finish over the whole thing. I used the 'stanley knife' (Oz) blades to scrape the plastic inlays and then used a couple of grades of sandpaper wet and dry (but only used when dry). As difficult as it is I went with the grain with tiny folded pieces of the sandpaper. Once it was all finished i used lemon oil that I bought online and treated the whole fretboard so it came up rich dark colour (tip: careful not to get the oil on any other surface like lacquer as it can damage those finishes). Results are smoother and better than from the factory. I wasn't sure how it would turn out at all and decided i was going to be happy with whatever it was because I knew if i sent it to Gibson it would cost alot to fix (the guitar would have just been out of warranty, I couldn't get in touch with anyone earlier because Gibson went under and I had now responses from anyone when i inquired anywhere). I also had read that your guitar can get damaged easily in transit to the Gibson repair centre so I thought I'm not risking anymore craziness - I'll do it myself. Happy that I've 'interacted' with the guitar and feel it is more 'my own' having had that interaction/input into the maintenance of the guitar - but really, I could have been playing it instead if it was solid from factory... I love it now though. Good luck anyone in the same boat. Take your time and do it with careful consideration. You'll probably think it's better than stock, like I have.

[@Epitome63]

@@Tone-Oz I bought a Les Paul. The frets were terrible. The tag said it was Plekd. The machine must have been broken. I finally got the courage to level the frets myself. It wasn’t too bad and they are level now. I took a few hours, but wasn’t hard. I am a fair luthier anymore. Like Jeep has made me a better mechanic, Gibson has made me a better luthier. My Fenders are really well put together. The necks were head and shoulders above Gibson.

[@Tone-Oz]

@@Epitome63 Yes I understand you when you say a better luthier, a better mechanic - That's funny! Nice of those companies to help in our self-development through life... There is a fair bit of stress taking the bull by the horns and having such an affect on one's guitar asset (or other) - one that we've spent good money on. I didn't want to spend any more $ on it and did it myself to prevent more spend/damage risk, etc. I was surprised the inlay dots remained pretty shiney still after my sanding. All I can say is now it's done and I have a beast LP that rocks. Rock on mate!

[@Captain-Nostromo]

I never miss a video when Dan is involved 😀

[@ClintE55]

Yes after watching him Im thinking about building my wife a uke with their kit. It would be fun. I play banjo and would like to learn more about repairing it as well wish they did more folks stuff

[@henryhunter5026]

Amazing! Just today I discovered a slightly raised inlay on the fingerboard of one of my Gibson Les Pauls . I just turned on KZbin and here was this video on my home page, I love the idea of using a capo as a clamp.

[@horustubes]

I've got 3 of these I need to fix on my 2013 LP Standard. How can you not glue these in effectively at the factory Gibson?

[@cornbobrimlove7892]

Thats an extra $500 at Gibson to glue in the plastic........

[@EcstasyJesus]

@@cornbobrimlove7892 And the Gibson is multiple thousands I'd waste so who would they be to complain?

[@CEnjoyer]

Exact same thing on my 2013 traditional. I live in australia so the climate is really hot. I just assumed all the 40c days melted the glue, but maybe 2013 was a dodgy year for inlays.

[@peterschmidt9942]

@@CEnjoyer I'm up in the snowys, so it gets -10 to 40 Deg. All my guitars sit out in the shed so get the climate changes a bit. Never had this problem in any Epiphone or a Chibson.

[@ihopethis1]

I absolutely love Dan’s shirt in this episode but also a great repair tip as always guys!

[@brianadams2161]

On my '57 Gibson Country Western (SJN) some inlays were missing or curling out, and most had shrunk as well. Quite a more extensive repair process. First I removed all the frets (needed new ones anyway) and straightened the neck with the truss adjustment. I used part of an old Ludwig snare drum celluloid "wrapper" of the same aged yellowed color as the inlays, and cut new ones from it. After gluing/clamping them in, and regluing the original inlays as shown here, I took fine rosewood sanding dust and packed some in around the perimeter of the shrunken inlays, soaked some thin CyA glue into the wood dust filler, sanded a bit with a radiused block, added more dust, added more glue and sanded etc. until the hardening filler, inlays, and surrounding board were dead level and smooth. Then I kept sanding with the radiused block to work down to some scratches and also took down most of the usual "hump" at the neck/body junction area. (You must guard against removing too much fretboard material, and also leaving the inlays too thin.) When finished it looks like new (except for some remaining deep cowboy divots!) and I dare you to point out which inlays were replaced! Amazing. After a good refret, the guitar plays better than new (being well-leveled) plus it actually sounds much better, since I tap/clamp in all frets with "cold" hide glue in the slots to augment the grab of the fret tang barbs.

[@vojtechgudyka4036]

Man, I saved up for so long for my Gibson SG, was never expecting this to happen to me hahah seems to be a more common issue than it should be

[@esmfotoz]

I have done this before on an Ibanez AM93QM using StewMac's Super Glue 10. I didn't do nearly as much prep/finish work as they did but it worked great. I put in the glue and just held the inlay in place by hand for about 30 seconds and it was stuck in place, never came back up! Cleaned up with steel wool.

[@masonianbund]

Same exact thing, same exact inlay position, happened on my 2016 Firebird after just 2 years. Thanks for the video!

[@Judas_1989]

Inlay pops out on a new guitar? Yep, it's a genuine Gibson.

[@izzysantiago978]

BOOM!!!!

[@onpsxmember]

Yep, better play authentic. :´)

[@kennydavis2276]

Pronounced genu-wine.

[@DaveGardnerMusic]

Let's scrape off some of the roughness on the fretboard that was left from the factory...

[@QVAZzzz]

@@DaveGardnerMusic lol I know I was thinking "are they trying to blame Gibson for some potential scrapes they might make to keep face, or was that a dig at Gibson's QC?" Haha

[@jkris2361]

Perfect timing ! I just purchased an LP guitar kit from stew mac (one of the last shipment and now all are sold out ) and one of the inlays was popping up a bit from the fretboard....I was bummed ! I did not think to try pushing it down..I thought the inlay hole was not deep enough ...I was thinking I would have to sand it down a bit...I just tried pushing it down and saw that it will go down flat ...I have superglue already but after watching this video I realize I need to get some wax before I start...and after seeing the photo of Jerry Garcia in the background I am no longer bummed and know it will all work out perfectly in the end !

[@trzesnk]

It's nice to see Blake with Dan now! Regards from Poland. Krzysztof.

[@dreamscuba]

An old video but I found it so helpful to address some inlays that had lifted on my Hagstrom Swede. Thank you guys.

[@Hipsters_N_Hippies]

👏🏻 Now this is what we need. Things that dont cost us alot or any money at all. Throw more of these videos in the mix of your content please. I might actually buy some of your 10 thin super glue just because I am that pleased with you giving us some more of this low cost/free advice. And I want to see more.

[@davidtaylor7485]

I followed these exact steps and perfectly reseated a raised inlay in my Les Paul. Thanks for posting this!

[@NeMaAn]

Les paul 2018 standard, inlay popped out.. unbelievable.

[@coopertrooper8256]

My 2014 Les Paul Studio Pro now has this issue on a couple frets. My older Fenders (American and Korean) have never had this happen!

[@guitartec]

Thank you Stew Mac for keeping me busy!

[@ScottieMacPro]

Very helpful video! Would anyone know what kind of wax he is using to prevent the glue from drying directly to the board? Thanks!

[@stewmac]

Johnson's Paste Wax! 1001 uses and counting.

[@JIMJAMSC]

I have became really good at this. The worst was a Gib ES Les Paul. 3rd fret popped up after 2 weeks and the dealer glued it down. I watched him do it and glad I did because the 5th and 7th lifted within a year. A dry run is critical because that glue is thinner than water and can really make a mess.

[@nickagervasi]

Using the tips in this video I just did this as well. Mine isn't "perfect" because I didn't want to take off too much material of the inlay or the fretboard with the razor, but BARELY noticeable with strings off, so with strings on and being played more again I presume this will stay down this time. Thanks for the great video.

[@stewmac]

Hi Nick! Glad you were able to use this video to fix your guitar! Always great to hear when folks are successful with these tips!

[@danielkelleyhoward]

Did you use wax?

[@nickagervasi]

@@danielkelleyhoward yes I did. I followed the example exactly as they did. I used wax around the inlay before gluing. And wax paper with a capo. Worked great for me.

[@edge13429]

This helped me with the same Gibson Studio lifted inlay 7th fret. Thank you!

[@drew2dee2]

Perfect! I have a popped up inlay on my les paul and this is just the tip i needed

[@hawsshaw]

Thanks guys i was trying to pluck out my LesPaul marker good thing i watch ur video..... 👍

[@clemfandango2749]

Great video. I am sure many will use it to repair their Gibsons, given Gibson’s poor quality. Worked great on my Les Paul.

[@98JamesNixon]

I have like 3 on my 2016 starting to stick out slightly, can’t really see them only feel them with your bare finger. Will try this if they start to pop up more

[@danielkelleyhoward]

Same here on a 2017 standard. Did you ever try it?

[@treborretlaw]

I love this video. Hope I soon have a raised inlay!

[@PushSueAside]

Can this be done on a gloss maple fretbord.? Is the clean up different

[@guitardave]

How do you fix a dot inlay that has sunken down in to the fretboard?

[@foghornnosehorn8383]

I just recently did this repair on my 1965 Hagstrom II. I got some clay dot inlays from Stew Mac and then drilled out the sunken inlay. I sanded one dot pretty thin and glued it in then put another clay dot on it and glued it in. It just takes a lot of trial & error to find the right thickness of the one underneath. Good luck!

[@mojo-hand4539]

What type of MinWax product is that please? And what are some alternatives? Thx.

[@powerchord6110]

Great video. Fixed my les paul and very pleased with it.

[@orMung]

Classic Gibson craftsmanship!

[@firewalker6712]

One of the many joys of owning a Gibson

[@benboyce8792]

what wax shall i use to clean the fretboard and inlay?

[@henkkman]

Best content on KZbin. Thanks for the videos!

[@GerryBlue]

Quality problems with a Gibson? Nah, can't be

[@PuckettCigarBoxGuitar]

This is some good practical information!! Thank you

[@benplayssongs8849]

What kind of wax is best to use to make the glue not stick to the fretboard?

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

Johnson's paste wax.

[@Colhogan06]

Awesome! I suppose they could have rehearsed that a little better. I have never heard the word awesome used so much. Lol. I was a little surprised they had to ask the dude if he had a capo, of course since they are all Stewmac employees, the capo thing was probably just part of the script. Although I would bet the use of the word "awsome" so much, was probably just him being nervous. I always enjoy Dan's video's.

[@bumpyroad3251]

Although raised dot this guitar is a work of art.

[@ticker607]

Cool video. Is there a specific wax to use that is safe for this application. Also, is there any other recommended cleaner I can use other than Naptha? Thx

[@plectrumsoul]

I had 60s firebird! How do you get the matching crème fret ends on a refret?

[@jswm92]

Thank you guys so much

[@Modern_Patriot]

I inherited a Les Paul with sunken (approx 1/6") markers exactly like the firebird's. How do I go about fixing those?

[@southamericanrocker]

how to easily fix skunk stripe popping out on a strat?

[@JohnHorneGuitar]

Charlie Ramone You’re gonna need a bigger capo.

[@ilpatongi]

You can't unfortunately. I had the same problem on my jazz bass, you need to sand it down

[@ilpatongi]

@RDE Lutherie Oh come on just shut up, stop being so pretentious and go bust other people's balls. Unless it's on a vintage fender that thing is not worth fixing, a brand new neck is 250 dollars. Where did I even ever claimed to be a luthier or someone who knows how to repair instruments? I bet there's a reason you're salty as hell

[@kingstumble]

Just tried this fix on a guitar which had three inlays which were lifting quite badly, and hey presto it works! So thank you guys. By the way it was a Gibson too. Are they particularly prone to this problem more than other brands?

[@dandan0o0]

Gibsons are known to have absolute dogshit quality control

[@ivanbartolelli]

Need to do this on my Jackson! The Jarktooth inlays are a little lifted

[@thomask4935]

Did not work and now it is stuck in the upward position @StewMac, what should I do? File it? Take it to a place?

[@charleskinsey2141]

what if you buy a used Les Paul and the 7th and 9th trapezoid inlay is higher than the fretboard but not loose . The one at the 7th isn't too bad but my string and finger have caught on it bending up the higher strings .

[@richcrawford6123]

Just ordered the stewmac super glue but I'm confused about the wax... What kind of wax? Where do I get it?

[@annrhoads6808]

Wish Stew mac would take calls on the phone so I can buy parts !

[@tinotedescobasses9569]

The Jaws Fret Press also works great as a clamp for similar jobs ...

[@jordanritkes]

what kind of wax? That seems important but quickly looked over. Thanks

[@stewmac]

It's just regular paste wax.

[@creationinspired200]

Thank you sir another one fixed

[@cfcnotbummerful]

The Mike Ehrmantraut of fixing guitars

[@stewmac]

ha ha.. :)

[@mozzfan714]

I failed..prepped, practiced, but was still too slow in applying the pressure. Should’ve just held down fast on raised corner and would’ve been done. Now, I’m stuck and fear messing up what I messed up. It dried and held almost immediately. Any ideas if there’s a way to dissolve that stuff? I’ve heard hot water, steam, mineral spirit, etc. Haven’t tried any.

[@thomask4935]

did you figure anything out yet? bc i had the same problem

[@mozzfan714]

@@thomask4935 hey…yes I did. Found out a very close friend knew a luthier and the dude made it like brand new for cheap

[@thomask4935]

@@mozzfan714 thanks, ive been doing some inlay filing with blue tape on the fretboard, the rosewood is not being damaged and there is no more catch when bending a string. I will say that while the clamp did not press the inlay down adequately, the glue did help to secure it in place. Perhaps i should find a luthier in my city tho

[@michaellitton4380]

Well I tried, I guess I did not have enough down pressure after the glue, now my inlay is stuck sticking up, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[@thomask4935]

having the same exact problem, if you got it fixed by now, what did you do?

[@MuscleDad420]

This guy sounds like every client I have so I must be doing something right. Thanks for the content to kill time, StewMac.

[@PaulMcCaffreyfmac]

I wish I'd had a sensible Firebird case like that...Hahahahaha

[@paintsplatta99]

Does anyone know of cheaper wax alternative for the pre-glue step? The stuff he's using comes in a huge can which is way overkill for 1 job and I'm not finding any fretboard specific waxes for this purpose.

[@ToneNerdPickups]

What type of wax was used for protecting?

[@stewmac]

Paste wax, same as you can find at any hardware store.

[@jean-claudefillion6500]

not just gibson , have a barracuda les paul copy , 6 of the 9 inlays lifted on one edge . just gotta find some thin crazy glue

[@novikandrey]

Великое изобритение этот супер клей! Без него теперь никуда.

[@noahitman985]

What kind of wax do I use?

[@philtaylor5053]

A cape-o is what Batman-o wears, guitarists use a cap-o :o)

[@leodeozguitar]

thank you so much

[@skydelatorre1178]

What kind of wax do you use?

[@stewmac]

Any paste wax will do the trick. SC Johnson, Minwax, etc.

[@skydelatorre1178]

@@stewmac got it thanks!

[@zepp3lin]

Wow, I'm lucky I didn't own any Gibson.

[@OrionHellraiser]

Dan!! :'D it's always great to see you!!

[@MrTonitrum]

@stewmac My guitar has a maple fingerboard and Black Delrin (POM - polyoxymethylene) Inlays, i know that cyanoacrylate based glues melts most of the plastics (PU, PS, PP, PE, PET etc.). I want to fix my raised inlay but is there any safer alternatives to Cyanoacrylate based glues for this repair. Thanks...

[@karu6111]

That’s a beautiful guitar

[@petascalecomputing]

Great update!

[@ItzhakWoolf]

It seems that Gibson Firebirds always have these problem. My Firebird also had a raised inlay and interestingly the same fret as the one in the video. I glued it back then. Any Firebird users here have other issues? I name another one first: FRETBUZZ on low E string.

[@EmopunkDr]

Me, and from the other side of the world (Italy). Firebird is a genuine Gibson.

[@Ramo_Baramia]

ok ill attempt this on my beloved Jackson RR5FR

[@samuelcarter8238]

How did it work? My dk2m has this issue

[@Ricovette]

Thank you so much for this upload! Thumbs up from me... Stay safe... Rico

[@Yhil_nn]

hey all. hope someone could shed some light. newb question. is a twisted guitar neck gonna be a major problem? it's twisted 20-30 deg to the left (i may be inaccurately eyeballing lol). i mean, it's still playable. i haven't had it checked at my nearest repair shop. i don't know if it has direct connection as to why i can't lower the string action as low as possible by adjusting it through the bridge saddle without buzzing. i don't know if that twist is gonna mess up the truss rod/relief adjustment. i've never done this kind of setup before so i have no idea. i wanted to try to do these adjustments myself as much as i possibly could because the nearest legit guitar repair shop ain't that near at all to my place.

[@Daizenzetsu]

A twisted neck if its still playable isnt an issue for the player at the moment, but it can get worse over time and further ruin the action, not only that but it kills resale value, as its nearly impossible to fix without replacing the neck completely

[@alexeykozakevich5643]

Where is Danny? I started wathing this channel beceuse of him! Is he ok?

[@overdrivemejimmy6847]

Thank you ❤️

[@ssn0651]

Tape the shim to the wax paper

[@VICTORINO19JC]

Wonderful ❤

[@thisbrainhasamindofitsown7059]

1:02 guys response cracked me up.

[@QVAZzzz]

Lol guy seems like he has way too much money and only has his high end trophy guitars to hang in his pool room and barely knows how to play. And the only reason he took it in to get this fixed was when some friend was over messing around with it and noticed the string catch. I mean, he took it into a shop for them to demo a DIY solution for him and probably all he was thinking in that reaction was something like "oh jeez I sure don't want to pay top dollar to fix anything else so I can feel cool about how awesome my guitar I have and show I have money to pay for professional upkeep of my expensive toys!"

[@djforcefield]

Not as easy as they make it seem. I got the Stewmac No. 10 Thin Super Glue to deal with this issue on the 3rd fret inlay of a 2 year old SG and followed this method precisely. What I got was not good. I now have to shave down the part that is glued in but still sticks up! Very sad...

[@mateuszkaczmarczyk3645]

This video has such an infomercial vibe XD.

[@ShawnTBell]

Nice photo of Jerry

[@danielbrown8556]

StewMac scripts are funny af

[@zizoumonk10]

I would like to speak with the script supervisor for this video.

[@chrispile3878]

Both guys were chewing up the scenery.

[@karatekid951]

If a raised inlay is what it means to 'Play Authentic', then I'll just continue to play counterfeit.

[@evmanbutts]

This makes me more than happy with my Epiphone Les Paul 100. Sure it doesn't have the best tone but at least my inlays are fine after a few years.

[@cydonia9342]

@@evmanbutts my epi has Gibson USA '57 classic and super humbuckers so I've basically got the real deal :)

[@Jointlock]

gotta love Dan the Man!

[@90lxfox3]

ive never noticed that picture of jerry in the back @ 1:57

[@MobileDecay]

I have nothing but cheap guitars and have never had this happen. Lol.

[@JR-io8kw]

only a gibson is good enough...

[@paulypisspants7340]

i have a cheap guitar with a damn chinese dragon inlaid on the fretboard and have never had this happen...

[@stewmac]

@@JR-io8kw Do you remember Epiphone's response to that ad way back in the day? ;) Look it up. It is great.

[@SharpestBulbs]

Very informative. Stay in acting school, boys. You'll get it.

[@yansho2000]

The video is a little misleading. The capo trick would work if the inlay moves easily. Our SG inlay was very tight, and the pressure from the capo wasn't nearly enough. I improvised by using a clamp over the capo to add enough pressure to push the inlay into position.

[@ShivjotRangi]

4:34 - ASMR

[@SeasonedSalmon]

The acting lmao