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Glue

beobass

beobass

Nov 26, 2005
264
58
CT
#1
Hey everyone. When building a body for a bolt on neck, which glue do you recommend? I was thinking hide glue like I use on my upright but would like some input before I start building.
 
#2
Hide will work. But one must work fast. One of the main advantages to hide glue is that, not only is strong, but allows for relative ease in joint dis-assembly. That is not a requirement or even desirable quality in a glue to be used for solid guitar body construction.

Aliphatic (yellow glue) resin is generally as the glue of choice for this task. It is almost as strong as hide glue and has an open time of approximately five minutes at 70 degrees. That allows enough time to place the clamps and apply pressure. Of course, it pays to do a dry run or two against the clock to refine your technique.
 
#6
Olde Axeman said:
How does Tite-Bond compare with yellow or hide glue? I notice that it gets used a lot for cracked headstocks and just assumed it would be the choice for set necks.
Click to expand...

Titebond is just a good quality yellow glue. I have used it from the beginning, and I have no reason to use anything else.
 
#7
You'll find Titebond in 3 grades, BTW. Red: "strong", Blue: "very strong", & Green: "ultra strong". I prefer the Blue for headstock repairs, and think it'd be fine for a slab body. As an aside, I would also recommend your work environment be as dry (humidity free) as can be. (Don't do the work on a rainy day in you garage).
 
#8
Thanks guys. I talked with the shop teacher today (I'm a high school teacher) and he recommended tight bond as well. I measured up some wood tonight so I might be cutting and gluing soon. I'm working on building a jbass body that will get a warmoth neck. This being my first build I'm working slowly on a mock up demo now so I can make mistakes on oak and popular instead of bubinga flamed maple and ebony. I'm in no rush through the process. I just want to enjoy it!
 
#9
First Bass said:
You'll find Titebond in 3 grades, BTW. Red: "strong", Blue: "very strong", & Green: "ultra strong". I prefer the Blue for headstock repairs, and think it'd be fine for a slab body. As an aside, I would also recommend your work environment be as dry (humidity free) as can be. (Don't do the work on a rainy day in you garage).
Click to expand...

This is incorrect. The red label Titebond is the original, and it is designed for interior applications. Titebond II and III are designed for outdoor use and are moisture resistant.

Although all of them will work for a guitar repair, I prefer the original for repair jobs, because I have noticed that Titebond II has a tendency to expand, and the glue line can be seen through the finish sometimes with humidity changes. Original Titebond makes for better glue lines.

A humid environment may slow drying times, but there is no reason you can't use the glue when its not dry outside. I have often thinned the glue with water to wick it into cracks. It drys just fine.
 
#15
Original Titebond is nice and will be what I use when I build my next bass from scratch.

A few years ago, I successfully repaired a snapped treble horn on an Ibanez SA160 six string electric with Elmers Carpenters wood glue. The guitar is still together AFAIK. I gave it to a buddy from work when his kid wanted to learn to play.

Surface prep is more important than anything else IMHO. Make sure you have even mating surfaces and work the glue into every pore as much as you can. Foam rollers make the job of pushing glue in to pores really easy.

Prep the surface (on a slab, it won't take much)
spread on a healthy film of glue.
stick the pieces together and clamp.
wipe off squeeze out as it appears.

cheaters trick: For clamping against odd angles or curves, you can use a ratcheting tie strap to get more even pressure.
 
#16

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