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Do you use the same glue for the fingerboard extension on the body as you do for gluing the fingerboard to the neck? I plan on using West system epoxy for fingerboard to neck, but thought I should use LMI white on the extension.

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

Your plan is an excellent one.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

dang glued my down with white pva yesterday, and just used epoxy for the pore fill, whats the view of floating fretboard extensions?

Thanks

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

PVA can cause the neck to swell from the added moisture induced by the pva. epoxy is a better choice IMO on fretboards.

So Michael are you saying that I should go with epoxy for the entire fingerboard?

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

Gluing the fretboard to the neck with epoxy and the extension to the soundboard with PVA is what I do and what I've heard done by many pros as well.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

To attach FB to neck. I like pva at the extention to top for the ease in removal if repair is needed.

I use epoxy for fb to neck and elmor's white school glue for the extension. Takes less heat to soften the school glue versus titebond or LMI white.

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I use just a little bit of good old Elmer's goo for the fret board extension and West Systems epoxy for the fret board to the neck.

The Elmer's tip came from Mario. The idea is serviceability in the future and Elmer's releases easily, when you want it to, with some heat. Titebond and LMI white are also good choices for the extension.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

I have some West's 105 on hand. Some of you add a high density filler to it for the bond. Have you found this to be necessary?

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

Any concern for the Elmer's glue and dampening properties? I would guess it's not significant but with the length builders go to for tone I never know.

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Jeremy Douglas

Rich bro I don't add any filler to the West epoxy. I just butter up both sides, avoiding the truss rod, and am careful to not clamp to tightly and starve the joint.

Jeremy my friend I don't think that it's an issue and again a very small amount is all that is required.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

I use smith's all-wood epoxy to attach fretboard to neck. My last guitar had a bolt on fretboard extension which I really enjoyed doing and will stick with...

Justin

The West System web site is a treasure trove of information. Here's a link to instructions for bonding with epoxy:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/bonding-gluing-clamping/

I do the two step bonding process for gluing FBs to necks, thickening the epoxy with silica to a mayo consistency for the second step. If I were to do it in one step, I'd use the mayo-thick epoxy. I would not use unthickened epoxy alone on any joint on a guitar, except, perhaps, for gluing the head plate on.

Any old PVA glue will do for gluing the FB to the top.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Anyone use golf club shafting epoxy for fingerboards?
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I glued down the fretboard extensions on the first three acoustics I built, and now I wish I hadn't. I've been using floating extensions ever since. I make the fingerboards a little thicker than normal I think - maybe 5/16", and they seem to stay true for me. This way I can remove the neck at any time without hassles. Very happy with the results.

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---Steve

Golf club shafting epoxy is a high shear strength epoxy that requires a higher heat to release (180-220f) than a typical adhesion epoxy (100-140f). While through metal it is easy to transmit this higher temp quickly through wood it would take longer to transmit the required heat to release the bond. I am sure it would work fine but seems like over kill on shear strength plus the added heat is somewhat of an issue as well.

Thanks Michael.
TJK

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

For better or worse, I used West System epoxy with no filler on the fingerboard and LMI glue on the extension. Seems to have worked real well. Thanks for all the input!

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

Yep, that is all I have used for many years. It is a heck of a lot cheaper than the other well known "wood" epoxies. It reverses easily with some heat too. No glue line creep either.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

Thanks Tim. I use it for the tenon on my bolt down fretboard extension and it's worked great there.
TJK

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Very interesting! I've always wondered why fingerboards are glued to soundboards. On the rest of the soundboard, a lot of trouble is taken to ensure that it's free to move, but in this one place it's glued to a thick piece of wood that must restrain its movement. Does that restraint serve a structural purpose? When you use a floating extension, do you have to add extra wood to that part of the soundboard to make up for the restraint that a glued extension would provide?

Also: I noticed mention of a "hybrid walnut-bodied dreadnaught" on your web site. What is that? I usually see the term "hybrid" used for nylon-string guitars with narrow, radiused fingerboards, but I've never seen one of those with a dreadnought body style. If that's what it is, does it have the same X-bracing as most dreadnoughts, and 14 frets to the body? Does it sound like a classical guitar?

On the topic of floating fretboard extension, can someone provide a sound plan as to how it's done? I seen the one by Colin S but I think something more than pictures would be better.... Say if I build the heel block and route a neck pocket there and then make the neck just like a Fender's bolt on where it would be attached at that point as well or just glue in a heel block at the neck for attachment? Kinda getting confused here actually, would love to do a Big Baby Taylor attachment but it looks ugly!

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