I make up my hide glue in little squares that I keep in the freezer. When I want to use some I pop a few squares into a small squeeze bottle. Boil the kettle and then fill a large jar with boiling water. Wat a couple of minutes, then drop the squeeze bottle into the water bath. It takes about 5 minutes to fully melt the glue and get it to a nice runny state. I use to put the thermometer in the glue to check it, but don't bother now. By the time it is melted and looks right its at the 135-140 degrees.
If the glue up is going to take a long time, say putting a bunch of braces on a back or top, then I'll drop the thermometer in the water bath and top up with hot water when it's cooled down too much.
BTW, I've got a fret pressing arbor in the mail from Stewmac. I'll hunt for the arbor press locally, if I can't get one then its the ebay option.
Dumb Adhesives questions
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Jim Howell
- Wandoo
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Taffy Evans
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Hi All
Very interesting topic, I have not much to add as it all seems to be covered, just a couple of comments. I can't recall problems with backbowing any of necks I have glued with Titebond over many years, either when building or repairing instruments, so I found the issue interesting. I have had back bowed necks when putting frets into a slot that the tang had to force its way into, its also a way of taking an upward bow out of a neck that has no rod. Epoxy glue: I agree with previous comments about disasembly issues, this story comes to mind. Some 10-11 years ago a rosewood dready I built for a customer in the NT came back to me for repair. The lady had found it floating in the Katherine floods some years ago and wanted it repaired. She did not want a new one even tho insurance was paying, this was her baby. To cut the story short [too late] I did the repairs that entailed removing the back replacing the top tranfering the original soundhole rosette to the new top, removing the fingerboard and bridge and so on. I'm glad I did not use Epoxy. Lastly, I have a chart hanging beside my bench its the Glue Properties for Traditional Acoustic Guitar Repair, its by Frank Ford and available from the Frets web site. I also use hide glue but up until now only for orchestral instrument repairs, I'll be expanding its use from now on.
Very interesting topic, I have not much to add as it all seems to be covered, just a couple of comments. I can't recall problems with backbowing any of necks I have glued with Titebond over many years, either when building or repairing instruments, so I found the issue interesting. I have had back bowed necks when putting frets into a slot that the tang had to force its way into, its also a way of taking an upward bow out of a neck that has no rod. Epoxy glue: I agree with previous comments about disasembly issues, this story comes to mind. Some 10-11 years ago a rosewood dready I built for a customer in the NT came back to me for repair. The lady had found it floating in the Katherine floods some years ago and wanted it repaired. She did not want a new one even tho insurance was paying, this was her baby. To cut the story short [too late] I did the repairs that entailed removing the back replacing the top tranfering the original soundhole rosette to the new top, removing the fingerboard and bridge and so on. I'm glad I did not use Epoxy. Lastly, I have a chart hanging beside my bench its the Glue Properties for Traditional Acoustic Guitar Repair, its by Frank Ford and available from the Frets web site. I also use hide glue but up until now only for orchestral instrument repairs, I'll be expanding its use from now on.
Taff
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sebastiaan56
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Taffy Evans
- Blackwood
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- Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:54 pm
- Location: Charters Towers North Queensland
Sabastiaan
On a job I had like that I had to plane the bridge off down to the glue line and scrape off the glue down to the top and fit a new bridge. I always look for the reason a bridge lifts off in the first place as that problem may have to be fixed before fitting a new bridge, more cost. The client has really got love the guitar and pay the higher labour cost for a job like that. Its usually a cheeper range of guitar that gets this epoxy fix by the next door neighbour, if the customer bulks at the estimate.....tell [suggest tactfully] them to hang the guitar on the wall and buy a new one.
On a job I had like that I had to plane the bridge off down to the glue line and scrape off the glue down to the top and fit a new bridge. I always look for the reason a bridge lifts off in the first place as that problem may have to be fixed before fitting a new bridge, more cost. The client has really got love the guitar and pay the higher labour cost for a job like that. Its usually a cheeper range of guitar that gets this epoxy fix by the next door neighbour, if the customer bulks at the estimate.....tell [suggest tactfully] them to hang the guitar on the wall and buy a new one.
Taff
Sebastian,sebastiaan56 wrote:Seven months on and Im still learning as I reread this topic!
One instrument Ive built requires the bridge to be moved about 3.5mm. You guessed it, I epoxied it on. It was before this topic BTW. I'd love some suggestions for how to loosen it,
thx
Sebastiaan
There is lots of different mixes of epoxy in the market place, some are near indestructible tis true but most others while they may appear so are in fact quite readily released with heat.
You are in the fortunate position of knowing exactly which brand/type of epoxy you used to glue the bridge on. If it were me, I would ring the manufacturer or better still, look on the net to see if I could download a specs sheet on the product used.
A lot of epoxy will release at temps under that required to release HHG. (Another reason to use hide glue, it gives the best buffer against hot car guitar destruction syndrome and won't creep as easy with the heat, it's more inclined to just let go)
You may well get lucky, with a bit of heat applied through a thick alloy block the size of the bridge, a pallet knife, and patience, a lot of patience, it may lift easier than you now picture in your mind. What have you to loose? If it won't let go, then you can look at breaking out the plane and scraper.
Just one caution, remember that you have braces glued under the top and you don't want to release them. Try to concentrate the heat directly to the bridge only, two blocks of alloy work well, heat one with a hot air gun while the other is sitting on the bridge cooking and keep swapping them around. Be patient before digging to hard with the pallet knife, you should FEEL the glue soften, keep up the heat and work steady, steady. If she lifts OK, have a single edged razor blade to use as a scraper to clean up the footprint.
Maybe Rick Turner will drop in with some better advice, but what ever, good luck.
Cheers
Kim
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