Official Luthiers Forum!

Kiwi.... What kind of BS nonsense was that?

[QUOTE=KiwiCraig]Air will penetrate through spruce 1/8" to 3/16 " or thinner and degenerate the glue over time

Cheers, Craig Lawrence[/QUOTE]



Given the top, back, and side thickness of stringed instruments, you
are maintaining that all of them will fall apart Real Soon Now?



I'm calling Bull puckie on you, bro!

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-donh-

Everything is a tone control!

Don't I need to be a yellow glue snob before I can become a HHG snob?

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Kurt Thomas

"There's a first time for everything even if you do it by mistake."

As a follow up, I took my Hold Heat Stew Mac pot apart and there is hex
post in there that allows you to adjust the temp. It only took about 5 deg
to drop the temp from 158 to 142.

Thats super interesting to know, Thanks Zach.

I've had problems with my HHG staying going to Jello VERY quickly, but I thought I was just working too slow. Then I read this thread. It never occurred to me that the glue inside the jar would be a lower temp than the water. Big palm to the forehead moment. I checked my actual glue temp and it was around 132. I kept notching up my hot pot and letting it acclimate until my glue was right about 143-145. To get my glue to that point, the water temp is about 155. That made a huge difference.
I glued a back to the rims last night and noticed a much longer open time. It was just enough time to get the back in place and start with the rods on the go bar deck.
Thanks for the discussion points here.
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

J...be careful...the glue will eventually achieve 155* using your technique.

My advice...use smaller amounts of hide glue so that it will reach temp sooner or allow the glue longer time to equilibrate to the 145* water.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Thats what I thought, but it sat it that bath for an hour and a half and never equalized to the water temp. There's only about an ounce to an ounce and a half of glue in the bottle with a stainless bolt and nuts anchor/heat sink, and a bed of dense stones in the bottom of the pot.
In any case, warning heeded...I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

Was the bottle capped? Was there moving air in the area?

No moving air to speak of. Basement with no heat vents in the vicinity and no fans. 64 degree room temp. The glue bottle is fairly protected in a rival hot pot with a hole cut in the top just big enough to fit the bottle through.
4 oz. capacity bottle filled 1/4 to 1/3 including the SS bolts. The tip was clipped just enough to get an opening when it was new, so I would guess its a 2 - 2.5mm opening in the tip. I did not have the cap on. I had problems in the past with bottles expanding and not being able to stand up straight, so I left it off.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

J...maybe you already addressed this, but is the level of the glue beneath the surface of the surrounding water level? If not, it may be losing heat from the top and never equilibrating.

I submerge my little squeeze bottles such that just about 1" or less of the tip is above water. I measure the water temp as well and have not seen premature gelling of the glue.

Another thing...64* RT seem to be a bit low for HHG usage...that in itself will contriblet to heat loss and quick gelling. Are you heating the wood substrate?

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Our house is around 68 and the basement is usually 3-4 degrees cooler. When I get some walls built for my shop later this winter that will take care of most of my climate control. RH is right around 40%, but the sudden thaw we've experienced over the weekend is pushing the dehumidifier to the limit. I may need another unit to keep up.
The glue level is about 1/2 to 3/4" submerged. I've got a wagner heat gun that I use to get the pieces warmed up. With small pieces like bridges, I use an old microwave.
After I tweaked the pot to get the glue at 145, I really have enjoyed my HHG experience a LOT more. My initial issues seemed to be stemming from too cool of a glue temp to begin with.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

Sounds like you found the solution, j. Good luck and enjoy your experience! I'd just keep an eye on the temp to make sure that it remains consistent and repeatable.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com