Bass bar trouble

Bit of misery here.. my old King Mortone is buzzing. I'm convinced it's the bass bar.

Seams are good, bridge is snug, post is tight. I've checked wires, pickups, tailpiece etc.

The sound is coming from inside, loudest at E-side f-hole.

Light pressure on the top, right over the bass-bar, stops the buzz. Light pressure elsewhere doesn't .. though of course heavy pressure stops it wherever applied.


So, before I send it off to the luthier and kiss goodbye to a couple hundred quid ... anyone any magical tips / techniques for firming up a loose bass bar?


Not expecting anything but worth a try...

 

That's what I have to do. Thanks .. yeah surprising how the sound can deceive you. I'm convinced it is coming from inside but you're right, I need to check.

There IS a slightly loose seam ... though I'm convinced it's not that...

Cheers!

 

OK maybe it is a seam, upper corner of E side C bout.

So, any DIY tips?
Step 1 is Get some granular hide glue I know.
Then ... hot knife the corner open enough to squeeze in some glue? Do I need a syringe or something?

 

Thanks all.
Cleaned it all out nicely with hot knife, buzz gone immediately.
Off to get a clamp now, granular glue on the way.

PVA yeah, that's the right stuff...?

 

Cheers . yeah I'll check on proportions. I've read top glue should be thinner than elsewhere, to facilitate later popping.


PS HPF Pre gets big thumbs up from the guys over at DBC.com

 

I ballsed up the glueing. So here, tell me what I did wrong. Was the glue not hot enough? Not long enough to set?

Followed instructions to melt it, diluted about 50/50 or maybe slightly more. Consistency was like gooey honey. Looked good. Not boiling water in the jacket, but pretty hot to touch.

Used warmed knife to slide glue into seam, then clamped it shut and wiped off exceess. Took quite a bit of bending to pull the seam closed ... I've a feeling the space was simply filled with glue before.

Result. After 2 hours I checked it. Glue wasn't properly set so seam pulled open. Quickly clamped shut again.

4 hrs, removed clamp (had a gig to go to). Seam was closed, but the laminating started to open up. The ply must be under a lot of tension...
Plus, when I played, the buzz was as bad as ever. So, the hot knife went back in, opened up the seam and played the gig with it open, but at least quiet.

The glue left in the pot has cooled to a very firm rubbery texture, like a bouncy ball.
Should it be rock solid?
Did I need to heat the glue more first?
Should I try again but fill the gap with glue and not clamp the corner so tightly closed?

 

Ta Matthew.

 

Precious words Jake, ta.