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Double Bass Busted seam help!!!

#101
GretschWretch said:
Ur wlcm. Of course I know it's a clamp; context alone would tell me that. I am curious as to how long it took you to make one and how many of them you have. I doubt I would have the patience.

As to the clamp's personal hygiene



You did say stinkin'. :)
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Hi Gretsch - I have 6 clamps. Did not take me very long to make all 6 with a few hand tools (drill motor, hacksaw, felt, scissors, and esp. a hole saw.)
Pardon my sense of humor! It's not for everyone.
Thanks for your interest.
 
#105
Don Kasper said:
Hi Gretsch - I have 6 clamps. Did not take me very long to make all 6 with a few hand tools (drill motor, hacksaw, felt, scissors, and esp. a hole saw.)
Pardon my sense of humor! It's not for everyone.
Thanks for your interest.
Click to expand...

It's okay, Don; I know you're one of the good guys. Plus, I spent the evening listening to early Holy Modal Rounders, so my equilibrium probably was off a bit by the time I replied to you, anyways.

I have six or eight spool clamps, bought as a batch off an eBay auction. And I have some really old stuff as well, with threaded wooden dowels.
 
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#107
Don Kasper said:
I didn't know that I knew them!
(Is this their "hit"? Please advise.)
Thanks, Gretsch.
Click to expand...


If it's not their hit, online sources indicate it was as close as they ever came to having one. I became acquainted with them through this, back when my testosterone was bullish



I would characterize their music as asylum psychedelic folk. They somehow took this



and this



and mashed them up to create this

 
#108
GretschWretch said:
If it's not their hit, online sources indicate it was as close as they ever came to having one. I became acquainted with them through this, back when my testosterone was bullish



I would characterize their music as asylum psychedelic folk. They somehow took this



and this



and mashed them up to create this

Click to expand...

Yes! I remember hearing "Boobs A Lot" as a teenager! (I never forget a face...)
"Psycheldelic Folk" is spot on.
Thanks for reminding me just how OLD I am!
 
#109
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Thanks for the replies, everybody. I think after reading all of this I will start with some cheap clamps from Harbor freight or whatever, and some Knox gelatin and see what happens. I am still able to play the bass without any buzzing, so I think there’s a little time to make this repair. If it doesn’t work, then I’m right back where I started. At that point I can either up the game to hide glue, or take it to the local High school instrument repair guy.
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This week coming up is spring break. I have 4 quick release clamps I bought from Lowe’s and a box of gelatin (though it isn’t Knox brand, which I couldn’t find anywhere in town, also no hide glue of any kind at the hardware stores around here).

I have a school visit on Monday morning and plan to try to glue the seam after that. I will have access to hot water at the office, but that’s it. So what is the procedure for using gelatin as glue? How much water to mix? Apply hot and clamp, or….? Would love to hear from folks who have gone this route.
 
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#110
I use an old yeast jar for my glue, and an old potpourri heater for heating it.

With the heater OFF, but with water in it, and the yeast jar cold, I add a tablespoonful of the glue/gelatin and just enough cold water to cover.

I allow the glue granules to completely absorb the water, add just a little more water, and finally turn on the heat.

You want about 140-145 deg Fahrenheit, and (usually) syrupy glue consistency… but much thinner for seams.

Make sure the old glue is cleaned out, and that the seam closes smoothly and correctly when clamped.

Slip the glue into the seam, using a thin palette knife, clamp up, and use a warm, wet cloth to remove any squeeze-out.

Give it overnight maximum, to dry, and yer all done!
 
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#114
Gelatin (the unflavored, non-sweetened variety) IS ungraded hide glue, (collagen) prepared specifically for human consumption.

It may or may not be the same strength you hoped for, but the seams specifically need the weakest bond anyway, so that a seam will pop, preferentially, as opposed to a plate or rib cracking.

Make the mix a little thinner, and be ready with the hair dryer. If the article above is accurate, you will not have a lot of working time.
 
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#115
And once everything is glued in place, don't screw those clamps down the the max and thereby squeeze out all the glue. I would say tighten down just a little past the point where the surfaces to be glued are touching. Hide glue for some reason draws the surfaces together in the hardening process. When you remove the clamps they should be looser than from when you tightened them.

And have a damp cloth alongside that hair dryer. Squeeze out needs to be cleaned away *before* the glue sets up.
 
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#117
Chris Fitzgerald said:
I don't understand why you would add cold water and then heat it. Doesn't it make more sense just to use hot water? I can figure out how to heat water to 150 degrees, but not a little tub of gelatin.
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Depends, I suppose. In all the posts I've read on using hot hide glue, I have yet to read one that suggests starting with hot water; it's always cold water and then mix/heat the glue until it is the proper consistency. It may be the hot water would be too hot, or it may be that the hot water isn't hot enough. But it's all a case-to-case basis: how much glue, how much water, how much heat -- all these variables over which some control must be exercised. And hot water will cool off. There's a reason why people usually use a source of variable heat, a stove top or hot plate or something, to bring the whole mixture up to what is right for the particular job.
 
#118
That's it, exactly. I do not claim to understand the organic chemistry involved, but two things happen if you add dry glue to hot water (or vice versa): The stuff clumps badly, and takes quite a while to ease-up and turn into a homogenous syrup. The other (in my experience) is there seem to be stubborn bits that want to stay solid. If you allow it all to simply absorb the water, then each granule turns into a semi-transparent bit of jelly, and they all melt together smoothly, when the heat is on.
It will eventually work, starting with hot water, but it works better beginning with the cold.

Put the small glass tub into a larger pot of water. Heat the water bath to the required 145 maximum temperature, so that the glue absorbs the heat through the glass jar. (I suppose stainless would work, too... but I have occasionally heated up the previously reconstituted glue in the glass jar, in a microwave for about 12 seconds, in a pinch…which you can’t do with metal.)
 
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