Double Bass anything stick to epoxy?

[kurt ratering]

so im elbow deep inside this old bass adressing oodles of previously but poorly repaired rib cracks when i see it... epoxy. ive got most of it scraped away and will soon be looking to reinforce this crack. now im proud to say that i have zero experience with epoxy. what glue can i use to reinforce this crack? if i cant see any more epoxy does that mean its gone? and lastly, why on earth would anyone go through the trouble of taking off the top only to screw the pooch like this?

 

[Matthew Tucker]

Well if you don't use hide glue for your repair, you'll just be passing the problem onto someone else ...
But hide glue won't stick to epoxy. i'd try wetting the surface you have scraped and look closely. if the water is absorbed into the wood, I'd say you've successfully removed the epoxy. If it beads on the surface, then there's still epoxy there and you have to keep scraping and cutting it away. If its IN a crack, then I suppose short of inletting a deep patch, you should leave it there, unless it has come away.

 

[kurt ratering]

thank god that the epox didnt get into the crack! i thought that it went without saying that hide glue would be used for the crack , just wasnt sure if epoxy contaminated just the surface or into the wood as well. wicked thin ribs, hate to remove any wood even if necessary, but hate the thought of someone cursing my name years from now even more. thanks. kurt

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Jeff Bollbach's disdain seems to....

 

[fdeck]

thank god that the epox didnt get into the crack! i thought that it went without saying that hide glue would be used for the crack , just wasnt sure if epoxy contaminated just the surface or into the wood as well. wicked thin ribs, hate to remove any wood even if necessary, but hate the thought of someone cursing my name years from now even more. thanks. kurt

In my view, you have no choice anyway, because epoxy sticks poorly to hardened epoxy.

Here's an experiment. Apply some epoxy to a piece of the same type of wood, and then try scraping it off, and see how much you have to remove. I am guessing that when it makes the transition from being difficult, to being easy to scrape, you are done. You might be pleasantly surprised.

I'm not a luthier, but I have had my dealings with epoxy in my day job.

 

[arnoldschnitzer]

I have removed some large and nasty top patches that were installed with epoxy (by a supposedly reputable shop). The problem is, under clamping pressure the stuff flows into the pores of the wood. Getting it all out required excavating about 1mm below the original surface. This then required fitting of even larger, deeper patches...

 

[kurt ratering]

arnold, you have just made me very very sad