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What do y'all consider a good epoxy for glueing the fretboard onto the neck?

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

I don't like epoxy or CA glues for fingerboard attachment.
I'm a repair guy so I like easy to fix methods like hide glue or Titebond.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I did a couple then I had to take one off so I don't epoxy fret boards anymore.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I've been using System Three, General Purpose Resin and their medium hardener.

Many epoxies are too thick to flow and squeeze out uniformly to a thin glue line especially on larger flat surfaces like fingerboards and headplates where I use it.

The GP from System 3 is thinner and works well for the purpose.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

I've used Pacer 15-minute epoxies, they're readily available in small amounts. West Systems stuff is the gold standard, and you pay accordingly. No hardware-store stuff.

Dry runs are needed to get familiar with all the motions and clamping and cleanup needs. NEATNESS COUNTS! And a big empty work surface covered by a disposable barrier, like butcher paper. And disposable gloves, mixing beakers (one-ounce graduated pill cups), stirring sticks, application brushes, and aprons. And cleanup stuff, like lots of precut disposable rags and denatured alcohol. And plenty of time. And the fingerboard has to be pinned into place, it can't even threaten to move. Mask off anyplace you don't want epoxy.

After all that, it's plain sailing.

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Peter Havriluk

So when the OLF many years ago had a highly respected builder tell us they used epoxy for the fretboard I tried it as well. Must have done maybe ten that way and I used West Systems and System III. I preferred West only because it's a Michigan product and so am I

Then along comes my friend who is a master woodworker who even had his own woodworking TV show on the West Coast. He was here learning to build guitars and was a quick study.

My friend made the argument that epoxy is a bit like paint in so much as it never really, really fully cures and as such is a poor transmitter of vibration of all frequencies.

He went on to make the case that for HHG if you can't have clamps in place in the short open time there is no value that counters the risk of HHG's pitfalls meaning short open time. But he thought that Titebond Original was a good choice for fretboards.

I thought he made a great argument and I returned to using Titebond Original and I have to tell you it's much easier to use too than epoxy with clean-up being potentially a mess with epoxy.

The problem that epoxy was originally suggested to cure, pardon the pun was that water based glue when gluing on a fretboard can induce a bow of sorts in the neck. I had already been countering this by how I glued things with pressure in one direction from a stick going from the floor to the headstock with the neck clamped to a bench. The method works well, it's not mine, I read it somewhere. It also used to be described in the instructions for the Stew Mac Dread kit.

Anyway long story short the guys here citing the serviceability differences between epoxy and Titebond Original are spot on too. Much easier to get Titebond Original to release than epoxy when the mess comes alive again.

But if you must use epoxy Dave I vote for West Systems

I haven't used epoxy for fretboards, but here's an application tip for large surfaces in general: Cut a slice off of a swimming pool noodle and use it as a disposable paint roller. Dirt cheap and highly effective. I 3D printed my holder, but it would be easy to make out of wood or whatever.

I also tried epoxy years ago prompted as well by the famous builder on the forum. Then one day a defective truss rod broke and I had to take the fretboard off. Like prior posters said it was a huge mess.

I went back to tightbond extend. I clamp them straight from 48 hrs. Still a trace back bow sometimes but easy to deal with when leveling the fretboard.

When I did use epoxy I used Smith’s All Wood.

I have been gluing head blocks with Smiths. Figured you’d never want to remove one and there are bound to be little irregularities gluing two radiused surfaces so gap filling properties seem good.

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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 utilize epoxy, titebond introduces water into the neck and fretboard which is a hard no for me. I use West Systems and recently started using the Stew Mac as its easy and comes in small quantities

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Look at it this way - you know how those of us who work on our own cars hate engineers because they don't care about how hard it is to repair? You use epoxy and I work on your guitar later, I will curse you and your children.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Makes me wonder how much glue people are using, and how they’re being clamped.

I use just a thin thin layer of TB OG. I’ll run 4 1/16” beads down the board and then spread it out. Final layer is just sticky enough to leave a fingerprint. Clamp it against a flat caul and usually I will leave it overnight, but if I need to, I am comfortable unclamping at 45 minutes and moving on to neck carving. Have had no issues with backbow.

TB1, an aluminum caul and 8hrs - flawless every time. This is a shot from when I used to pre-fret my boards, hence the small clamp near the nut area. Remember to neutral the TR immediately after the glue up.

PS Index pins are your friend!

Tschüß, M

Wanted to add for those adverse to adding water into the joint back when all guitars were made mostly of HHG, Gibson, Martin, Washburn etc. they used HHG and HHG added water into the joint. As such some of the most valuable acoustic guitars ever made had a water based glue holding the fretboard on.....

Terry brings up a great related point. Those still fretting the board off the neck will have back bow in your fretted board and that is just as likely if not more so to result in a bowed neck when the neck is glued to the fretted board. You also don't have the ability to relevel the board after the board and neck are joined since the frets are now in the way and you have to live with whatever neck/board shape results.

With this said gluing a fretted board to a neck is a different process in my mind than gluing an unfretted board to a neck. Folks indicating their preference here should indicate if their boards are fretted or not prior to gluing because it's an important detail that skews things in its absence.

This is also a very good time to once again argue that learning to fret the board on the neck, neck on the guitar is a practice that provides the maker more options and results in a more serviceable instrument since you can control the fret plane shape.

With the advent of the two way truss rod, I secretly like backbow. Well, I used to secretly like it, now I just like it.