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Glueing pao ferro

craigie

craigie

Guest
Nov 11, 2015
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calgary
#1
What do y’all use to glue pao ferro?

I’m making a double bass fingerboard and was planning to cut in a channel and glue in a steel beam using gorilla glue, and glue the fingerboard to the neck with hot hide glue. Any help would be appreciated!
 
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#5
Gorilla glue expands while it dries, so not a great one to use in many sensitive areas, or in instrument builds generally. :) I'm with @MPU , I'd use epoxy in this situation (the beam). If you're familiar with hide glue, then that's probably the way to go with the fingerboard attachment as well. :)

I'd love to see some pics of your project! :thumbsup:
 
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#6
I use Titebond Original for Pau Ferro and have no problem. I do wipe the gluing surface off using a rag lightly dampened with lacquer thinner.

If you're going to use solid bar neck reinforcement consider using 3/8" thick 2024-T4 bar. I use it often and it works well and doesn't add appreciably to neck weight.

The are no appropriate uses for "Gorilla Glue" in relation to musical instrument construction.
 
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#10
Beej said:
Gorilla glue expands while it dries, so not a great one to use in many sensitive areas, or in instrument builds generally. :) I'm with @MPU , I'd use epoxy in this situation (the beam). If you're familiar with hide glue, then that's probably the way to go with the fingerboard attachment as well. :)

I'd love to see some pics of your project! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I started a thread in Luthiers corner and will update it.
 
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#14
Steel beam?

Thought about a carbon fibre rods? Similar Youngs Modulus stiffness, fraction of the weight (about 5x lighter). Rebate and epoxy in two or three of those in a fingerboard and it will be half the weight and 3-4x stiffer than any steel.
 
#18
Agreed, but I suspect OP might not be at a confidence level or tooling ability where he's able to decouple the neck from body and plough it out. Or maybe he is. But there was Gorilla Glue proposed...

CF in the fingerboard at least will give a super stiff fingerboard, and if glued to the neck with a non-creeping adhesive like hide glue, will significantly add to overall assembly stiffness. And at least if you bork up a fingerboard, it's more easily recoverable or replaceable before you go gluing it to the bass. If it's just a case of the OP wanting to overbuild because it makes him feel better, then no harm.

I have an early 1900s Gibson mandolin. No truss rod or reinforcement. The remedy for a slightly bowed neck was to pop the fingerboard, heat and straighten the neck, and reglue the fingerboard so the parallel slip (or lack thereof) between the neck and fingerboard kept the neck straight.
 
#19
travisbrown said:
Steel beam?

Thought about a carbon fibre rods? Similar Youngs Modulus stiffness, fraction of the weight (about 5x lighter). Rebate and epoxy in two or three of those in a fingerboard and it will be half the weight and 3-4x stiffer than any steel.
Click to expand...

Steel was a fraction of the price, locally available and easily workable. I’m not going to be using a strap with this bass ;)
 

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