Members 80sbuttrock Posted November 11, 2014 Members Share Posted November 11, 2014 The maker of my bridge caul suggested Titebond White, but that is hard to find. Suggestions appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted November 11, 2014 Members Share Posted November 11, 2014 There are two choices. If you guitar is vintage or you know that the original glue was hot hide, then hot hide is what you should use for repairs. Most modern guitars, however use the Original Titebond (yellow PVA) glue which is the other acceptable choice (or a similar glue like LMI white). I have never heard of Titebond White - do not use either TB II or III - they are water resistant or water proof which means that you will never be able to separate the joint in the future if you have to. If the bridge is slightly lifting or if you have a crack between pin holes it is possible to wick thin CA in, but do not use epoxies, gorilla glue or anything like that. When you take the bridge off if there are splinters of spruce that come up with it try to glue them back into the top before you put the bridge on. For some strange reason I have been doing a lot of bridge repairs lately. The best way is to completely remove the bridge using heat and a damp pallet knife. Get every bit of the old glue off of both the top and the bridge. You apparently have some sort of clamping caul - my home made ones have a couple of bolts that go thru the pin holes and helps position the bridge. It will want to skate around while you are clamping - put tape or something on the top so you can prevent that. I use a total of three deep clamps as well as the bolts thru the pin holes - you want to see even squeeze out all around the bridge. Clean up with warm water, drill and ream the pin holes and you should be good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted November 11, 2014 Members Share Posted November 11, 2014 Good thread from one of the lutherie forums http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=44528 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted November 11, 2014 Members Share Posted November 11, 2014 Elmer's Carpenter's glue works really well. It's pretty much PVA. I think the version made for outdoors is a bit more resistant to humidity. You can get it at any Home Depot. A glue I'm dying to try is the LMI "instrument maker's glue" but lately it's out of stock. I've read that it dries crystaline like hide glue without the mess and smell and difficulty with heat control that you get with hide glue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted November 11, 2014 Members Share Posted November 11, 2014 By the way, don't use any of the liquid hide glues (like Franklin) - they aren't the same as hot hide. I've heard people talk about "fish glue" but I don't know anything about it. You can get Titebond Original at any hardware store - yellow bottle with a red label. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 80sbuttrock Posted November 12, 2014 Author Members Share Posted November 12, 2014 What do you mean by "wick thin CA?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 80sbuttrock Posted November 12, 2014 Author Members Share Posted November 12, 2014 Bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted November 13, 2014 Members Share Posted November 13, 2014 80sbuttrock #2.1 80sbuttrock commented 11-12-2014, 04:55 PM What do you mean by "wick thin CA?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm not sure how to quote an imbedded comment. What I meant is that there are three different viscosities of cynoacrylic glue (CA, or "super glue") - thin, medium and gel. The thin glue will wick its way into small cracks - it is often used for fixing dehydration cracks in guitar tops and I just fixed a 12 string bridge that had a crack between each of the pin holes. The bridge was sound, I used a little pipette to put a tiny bit of thin CA (I get mine from StewMac, I'll put a link at the end of this) into the crack - it almost completely disappeared. I frequently use this for small areas of separated binding, cracks in the tops, around pickguards, etc. Under certain conditions it could be used for a bridge that is separating from the top but I would prefer to remove the bridge, clean the old glue off and use the right stuff (Titebond). Here is the link - go down and read the instruction tab or watch some of the vids. Good stuff, I would be lost without it http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Glues_and_Adhesives/Glues/StewMac_Super_Glues/StewMac_Super_Glue.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted November 13, 2014 Members Share Posted November 13, 2014 I couldn't get along at all without wicking thin cyanoacrylate glue into cracks, loose bindings, inlay work etc. They sell the stuff at most hobby stores. You know...the places that sell radio control airplanes and RC cars? or you can find it online: http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/hlc/hlc103.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted November 13, 2014 Members Share Posted November 13, 2014 Elmer's Carpenter's glue works really well. It's pretty much PVA. I think the version made for outdoors is a bit more resistant to humidity. You can get it at any Home Depot. A glue I'm dying to try is the LMI "instrument maker's glue" but lately it's out of stock. I've read that it dries crystaline like hide glue without the mess and smell and difficulty with heat control that you get with hide glue. Unfortunately it appears they've switched suppliers and formulation. I've got a small stash in the fridge, but it's getting close to being too old. I'm not happy. I'll have to blame Mitt Romney and Bain Capital for this one too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted November 14, 2014 Members Share Posted November 14, 2014 Yup. Red label Titebond I which is yellow AR glue. I tried mixing hide glue from flakes on my stove top and it felt like I was failing at cooking up meth in my kitchen. Just go to Home Depot and grab the smallest bottle you can find. They say after 6 months it 's no good anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted November 14, 2014 Members Share Posted November 14, 2014 Unfortunately it appears they've switched suppliers and formulation. I've got a small stash in the fridge, but it's getting close to being too old. I'm not happy. I'll have to blame Mitt Romney and Bain Capital for this one too. I hadn't heard that story. Luthiers were really praising the stuff. The main problem with hide glue is that I have trouble using it for large applications like gluing a back or top to the rim. The stuff cools down before everything is clamped in place. I know some luthiers heat the parts before gluing to help with this but it's still a problem for me. I was thinking this LMI stuff would be the perfect glue to use for that....and then hide glue for everything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted November 14, 2014 Members Share Posted November 14, 2014 Yup. Red label Titebond I which is yellow AR glue. I tried mixing hide glue from flakes on my stove top and it felt like I was failing at cooking up meth in my kitchen. Just go to Home Depot and grab the smallest bottle you can find. They say after 6 months it 's no good anymore. I use a microwave. Works great. Just toss some flakes in a small coffee cup with some water and wait a bit for everything to get a gelatin consistency. Then just nuke it for a few seconds and you're ready to go. When the stuff gets a "skin" over the top, just bring the cup back in and nuke it a few seconds and you are ready to go again. Add water if things get too viscous. Once you get the hang of it it works better than a glue pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted November 17, 2014 Members Share Posted November 17, 2014 I hadn't heard that story. Luthiers were really praising the stuff. The main problem with hide glue is that I have trouble using it for large applications like gluing a back or top to the rim. The stuff cools down before everything is clamped in place. I know some luthiers heat the parts before gluing to help with this but it's still a problem for me. I was thinking this LMI stuff would be the perfect glue to use for that....and then hide glue for everything else. Here's their comparison of the new LMI glue and the old stuff. It glows under black light! http://www.lmii.com/lmi-yellow-instrument-glue-fgx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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