Fret replacement - chips under the crown

[robert_oregon]

This is the first time I've attempted replacing frets. My guinea pig is an old Hohner strat with a rosewood fingerboard. Any mistakes are not a big loss, and it's really just an experiment to get some practice.

I used a fret puller and heated with a soldering iron, and though I had one small "visible" chip, there are many small chips from the tang barbs that are covered by the fret crowns. This concerns me that there is insufficient material left for the new frets to hold on to.

The discussions online discuss chip repair in detail - but they are focused on chips that extend out beyond the crown. Is it common practice to fill these small chips under the crowns? It seems obvious to me, but I haven't found a discussion of it online.

IMG_1437.jpg

[tippie53]

Can you post pics
Of these can be a pain. I will dampen the board with water and use the iron. As the heat softens the wood to release the fret tang it is not uncommon for chipping. Water helps also tape along the side of the frets can help. The next step is to sand the fretboard if you can.
As for tang slot depth you can check with some paper and bottom it out and mark with a pencil and compare it to the tang on the frets you are using. Sometimes it is easier to file off the fret tang a few thou if you need to , especially on bound boards. If you can reslot only take as much as you need.
as for the chips , if you have them you can take wax paper and a razor blade , set that into the slot and use a small pin or needle to position the chips and just a drop of CA to get them set , then sand level.
When you start to refret be aware of where the old tangs were and true to stay out of that mark.