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I'm to the point of installing frets in my OM kit and having some troubling issues. I'm not sure if it's me or the materials. Looking for advice.

So far I've installed 14 frets. Some went in well and others...not so well. So you know, the fret wire furnished with the kit is pre-bent so it seems like it should be a piece of cake. It's not. Some of the frets went in well and seem to be seated all the way across. Others seat in the middle but seem to be up a bit on both sides of the neck regardless of how much or hard I tap them.

Two of the frets wouldn't seat for much of their length and I had to remove them which, of course, caused tearout at each of the barbs. Using CA glue, ebony dust and a fretsaw I was able to make a somewhat decent repair, but I'm not at all happy. Still not firmly seated on the ends.

I'm wondering if I have the correct material. The tangs of the fretwire is less than 1/2 the depth of the slot and this seems to me to be at least part of the problem. Shouldn't the tang reach further down into the slot? On the problem frets, I tap the fret down and it just pops back out, leaving tearout at the barbs.

I'm even considering starting over with a new fretboard and frets. Thanks in advance for any comments?

how are you installing them?
I know many over hammer them
I use tite bond as this lubes then acts as a filler to help secure them
did you see my video on fretting? the depth of the slot is not that important the width is.
Also I am betting you are fretting off the neck? this allows the board to bounce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52rsYtL5rxI&t=8s
If you over hit you chase the metal and that distorts the metal making it bend the other way pulling the metal out of the slot.
jh

I'm installing them before glueing the fretboard to the neck as suggested by StewMac.

I've used both a deadblow hammer and a SM fretting hammer. The brass end of the hammer seems to dent or distort the frets so I went back to the plastic hammer face.

When I tap the frets, I hold the fretboard firmly down on a flat slab of granite so I'm getting no bounce at all.

On my next go-round, I'll use the glue method shown in your video, John. Thanks for that. I should have done more homework before starting the job. Just got a little overconfident with what seemed like a pretty straightforward job.

did you watch the video?
I fret on the neck , watch the video that will help
if your board back bows and it will they bounce and that makes fretting impossible

An update on my fretwire installation:

I sent an email to StewMac describing the problem I was having installing frets. Their response was terrific. They sent me a new fretboard and fretwire. Except this time, the tang of the fretwire was about 1/2 again as tall as the wire furnished with the kit, and the fret slots were about 2/3 the depth as those in the original fretboard.

Other than installing the frets, the only new thing I had to contend with was bending the fretwire. The wire with the kit came pre-bent. I watched several videos of making a bender and came up with my own version, which, after a couple modifications, worked perfectly.

John, I used the method you describe in one of your videos...bedding the frets in Titebond. This time, they went in and stayed there. Only had to tap one down after the fact. The whole operation took about 10 minutes.

An update on my fretwire installation:

I sent an email to StewMac describing the problem I was having installing frets. Their response was terrific. They sent me a new fretboard and fretwire. Except this time, the tang of the fretwire was about 1/2 again as tall as the wire furnished with the kit, and the fret slots were about 2/3 the depth as those in the original fretboard.

Other than installing the frets, the only new thing I had to contend with was bending the fretwire. The wire with the kit came pre-bent. I watched several videos of making a bender and came up with my own version, which, after a couple modifications, worked perfectly.

John, I used the method you describe in one of your videos...bedding the frets in Titebond. This time, they went in and stayed there. Only had to tap one down after the fact. The whole operation took about 10 minutes.

Using a little titebond with wet fingers, and spreading it over the slot before installing the fret helps immediately. They'll go right in, then stay in for you. It also helps to start at one end and hammer across. My choice of tool is a 1 pound orange plastic dead blow hammer from Harbor freight. I think John uses a chasing hammer. Any hammer works, just don't over beat them.