Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi,
just thought i'd share a mini-tip that saves me time in the repair shop.
when using med/ thick CA to glue frets in, getting it in the slot perfectly can be tricky from the bottle.
Try the local chemist for insulin hypodermic needles, pull out the plunger and drip in your glue from the bottle. It just about allows itself to be pushed through the needle.
Makes it really easy to get a full amount of glue in the slot with approx 5 seconds clean for the whole neck - if any.
Not exactly going to revolutionize the trade, but when i've sanded a board down before installing frets it never quite looks 100% if you have to scrape glue off.
appologies to all those who've been doing this for years - i've just not seen these little needles used before. I have the larger glue syringes and teflon pippets but these are great for getting CA under frets, into neck splits etc etc . they cost very little too, disposable in fact.
pics:




love having no clean up!
all the best,
steve

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www.theguitarrepairworkshop.com

They may look at you a little funny when you ask, but pharmacies have these
syringes and needles for about $0.25 each.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

i do believe there are some states where one has to have to have a medical practitioner's prescription to buy them; the war on drugs and so forth.

I suppose that makes sense, though it seems not to be the case in Michigan.
The downside is that largest syringes pharmacies typically stock here are
3-5ml, with needles usually around 22 gauge and smaller. For many
applications I would prefer a larger capacity with a heavier needle, but I
suppose I should be looking to farm veterinarians for those.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

David--

This is a shot of a large vet's syringe that I obtained from eBay ($5.00). I use it with a flattened 3/16" brass tube that has been drilled through both sides perpendicular to the bore prior to flattening. The tip is then soldered and filed fairly sharp. Works wonders getting under loose braces. Its an Erlewine tip.

The bay has syringes of all shapes and sizes.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

farm supply stores often carry syringes and needles in larger sizes.

the situation for diabetic needs is ridiculous. in some states you can get the syringes without a prescription but you need one to buy insulin. in other states you need a prescription to get the syringes but not for the insulin. and i suppose there might also be states where one needs a script for both or neither.

Not needing a prescription for insulin strikes me as madness. It's potentially lethal if used incorrectly.

Not the insulin Mattia, just the syringes.

I also use syringes for a number of things mainly for getting small drops of oil into mechanisms.

One other thing I get from the pharmacy that I use is the small eye dropper bottles. I use them for my French polishing, to hold Shellac, Alcohol, and Walnut oil. They allow very controlled application to the pad.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Colin: Michael's post seemed to indicate both situations exist, which I find hard to fathom.

I get my syringes from my workplace, usually. Ahem.