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Will I get staining on my spruce top from using titebond in the rosette channel? If so, should I use a sealer coat of shellac to prevent staining? Thanks for your help.

Ron M.

In my opinion, it never hurts to seal the top surface with shellac before cutting the rosette slots, that leaves it sealed for gluing. You are not likely to get stains, from TiteBond, but why take a chance. Sealing will make clean-up much easier. Do not seal inside the channels.

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

No - I always use Titebond on my rosettes and never seal and have not had a lick of staining.

In fact I glue in the rosette, wait 20-30 minutes, and pass it through the Performax and the uncured glue mixes with the dust and any gaps that existed prior are filled. But this is not what you asked - sorry I digressed......

Do be mindful that Titebond and LMI white will swell the wood in the channel a little, perhaps .002ish. So fit the rosette for a fit with light pressure. Once you butter up the channel you will have to press it in with slightly more pressure due to the swelling but this also seals any gaps. Weight it down or clamp and Bob's your uncle.

I've never had any discoloring of the spruce when using Titebond for this. Fish glue, not to mention CA on the other hand...

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Thanks Waddy and Hesh for your quick reply's. I already cut the channel. The dry fit is pretty tight. I hope the glue doesn't prevent the purfling from fitting in the channel. Thanks again guys.

Ron M.

I read in the archives about fish glue staining tops, so i knew not to use It for this purpose. however, I will consider It for other things. Thanks Arnt.

Wow Ron buddy you work fast!

If you use an artist's brush and move quickly the swelling is less and there is a bit of a lubricating effect too. Not unlike using glue for frets as Grumpy taught us.

Titebond is too thick and viscous to be wicked into the end grain and stain the surrounding wood. CA, on the other hand. will do just that. Since my rosettes are somtimes complex it can be a real joy to dry fit the pieces and then flood the seams with thin CA. Since i started sealing the end grain with shellac I have not had any problems with staining.

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It's not the miles ahead, it's the stone in your shoe


In Markham,Virginia

Hesh Wrote: Wow Ron buddy you work fast!

If you use an artist's brush and move quickly the swelling is less and there is a bit of a lubricating effect too. Not unlike using glue for frets as Grumpy taught us.

Hey Hesh,
Actually I started routing the channel last night. It was done with the Lmi hand rosette cutter and a 1/4" chisel. It took some time. I got the wood rosette inlay in, now i have to get It flush with the top. If i have a few gaps, can I water down some titebond and wick it in? Thanks everyone.

I actually watered my glue down a little when doing my rosette. It made it much easier to work. It keeps it from getting as gooey. I put some in a little cup and just sprayed a little distilled water into it and mixed it up. Worked great, and didn't seem to have any adverse effects.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Hey Hesh,

(Not to hijack the thread or anything....)

Don't you find that the Titebond ends up all over the sandpaper on your Performax
drum when you do that? I find that "glue gunking" is the main reason I need to
swap out the sandpaper on my P 16-32. In fact, that is one of the contributing
factors towards my getting on the HHG bandwagon with my current build.

Its been in the 90s here all week, so its been going well. Squeeze-out cleanup
is a dream, too, just as advertised (with Titebond, it seems like there is no "right
time" to clean the squeeze-out and I find that liberal use of that "De-Glue Goo"
product is pretty much mandatory.)

Eric

Eric buddy I have not had that problem.

After I press the rosette and purflings into place I do wipe off the excess and then cover with waxed paper and weight it down for 20-30 minutes or so. So when I pass it through the Performax the only wet glue is in the gaps if there are any. It's a very small amount and I do see some smearing on the first pass but when it gets down to flush it is all cleaned up and the Performax paper looks as good as new.

I have noticed only with red spruce that I get darkening along the top center seam if glued with AR glues. I doubt that it soaks in as far as the staining goes; my conjecture is that it's from the excess glue getting hot when going through the drum sander. Solution should be to scrape off excess before sanding, which is a good idea anyway because the excess glue clogs the sanding wrap. I'd recommend doing that if you use AR glue on the rosette.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Hmm, never got staining from fish glue with 3 rosettes and some binding jobs

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