Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi All
I have been away from guitar building for a few years and I am just getting back into it. As a start, I am fixing a guitar that the fretboard was coming off the neck. I successfully removed it with a lot heat and it was clear that epoxy was used to glue it. In the past, I have used both titebond and West Epoxy for fretboards. What do most of you all use?

Any suggestions for what to use for the repair.

Thanks
Andy

_________________
Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

I've always used Tightbond our LMI white. I don't think it matters what you use for this repair so long as you scrape the old glue off to bare wood. Though I suppose the pours could be filled with epoxy so you may want to just stick (no pun intended) to epoxy.

+1 to this

I like tightbond but i agree that in this case it may be best to stick with whatever is already there.

I am a tite bond , HHG or Fish glue. No epoxy

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I've seen lots of folks recommend epoxy for fingerboards due to no moisture. The two boards I used epoxy on failed,think it was due to truss rod pressure. Perhaps I used the wrong glue or procedure. Before these failures and after I've used aliphatic resin glues such as Titebond. No failures with these.
Tom

_________________
A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Been using epoxy for this joint since around '98 or '99. No failures, and the ones I had to pull(bad truss rods; not the "Martin-style" ones I have used since) released as easily or easier and cleaner than with Titebond.

The one detail that must be followed with epoxy is to "tooth" the surfaces, especially ebony.

epoxy in last couple years but now thinking about PU-glue

If you use PU glue, there is no way to seperate it is there?

_________________
Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Mario: That answers the question about my failures. They were ebony boards but I did not tooth them. What do you use to tooth the boards? Do you do the neck also?
Tom

_________________
A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Seems to me that the minimal amount of water introduced into the wood via PVA glue would essentially come out anyway. So is there another reason to use epoxy there?

I use the end of a ground single-cut file....

The "little bit" of water in PVA glue is more than enough to cause movement in the neck, which doesn't go away when dried. Everyone compensates for it with cauls and such, but really, epoxy simply eliminates all the guesswork, and so far, I've found no downside to it.

All my tests with good polyurethane glues show that the wood will burn, not scorch, but -burn-, and the joint will still not separate. Bad idea for a joint that may require reversing in the future. Plus, you need to have some moisture present to "kick" the PU glue, so there goes any advantage.

Grumpy: Cross hatched, 1/4"spacing.................???
Tom

_________________
A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

See here:

http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php ... 359#p13299

Thanks..............now I've got it.
Tom

_________________
A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

+1 for epoxy. Removed 1 with no problem.

Fred

_________________
Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

I am also an epoxy user.

Just glued on an ebony fret board without any 'tooth.' Won't do it again after reading this thread. Thanks for all the helpful info.

_________________
Thank You and Best To All

Fish glue for me. I used to use hot hide glue, but large joints like that are quite tricky to get done before it gels, and without it slip-sliding around. Fish glue is pretty viscous and slippery too, but at least you have lots of time to scoot it around if it moves the first time you clamp it, unlike hide glue where it's all or nothing.

I used epoxy on some of my early guitars (per David Russell Young), but I soon switched to Titebond. I did not have any problems with epoxy, but Titebond is easier, and less toxic. The last dozen or so have been HHG.
With wood glue and a single action truss rod, I generally use a curved caul to avoid back-bowing of the neck, but I think it is probably overkill. Most of my necks are mahogany, which does not tend to back bow as much as a less stable wood like maple.

I use two locating brads to keep the fingerboard from slipping. The brads are inserted through the fret slots, and are pulled out when the glue dries. It is plenty fast to do HHG, particularly if the board is heated a little.

_________________
John

Thanks for all the input

_________________
Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com