Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi guys. I'm going to try my first laminate neck on my next build and am curious what type of glue luthiers use? Up until now i've been using Elmer's version of Gorilla glue for everything... from scarf joints to inlays... because that's what i have. However, i'm getting more serious about things now. What glues work best for you?

_________________

Hand crafted instruments made from your old crap.. Jugtones.com

Some use epoxy, some the polyurethane glues, to eliminate the water in the glue factor that for some cause warpage ... Since I glue up blanks in oversize (ie not precarved), I prefer good ole Titebond .... been used on almost 100 guitars so far, not one neck lam failure. Its stronger than the wood, what else do you need ??? Good fitting joints are a must.

_________________
Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I use Titebond as Tony has stated. I also make them oversized to allow for subsequent milling. I typically make up my neck blanks 6 months prior to cutting out the necks. Milling after that length of time gives the wood time to do what it's going to do and then I square them up prior to use.

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

I've tried cascamite

_________________
Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

Cascamite is sold here as Weldwood (urea formaldehyde), it's a great glue but takes forever to cure and glue lines appear as dark lines, which could be disastrous with maple laminates. Titebond is better suited, or epoxy if you don't mind the mess.

_________________
Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Barnacle glue.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Don;
I have a reply to that but it would get me kicked off the forum!

Mike

_________________
Mike Collins

Hey Mike, I said "Barnacle Glue", not "Barncle Bill".....

I'm just wondering how many folks go back far enough to remember this...

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

That would be Barnacle Bill, the Sailor!

OOPS! Official Old now!!!

_________________
Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Really? Titebond is the way to go? I actually have some of that already that i used to repair my bed. I thought about using it on my instruments, but it says on the label "It's sensitivity to moisture allows for the easy disassembly of parts." That scared me away..

_________________

Hand crafted instruments made from your old crap.. Jugtones.com

It's only me I'm home from the sea. Said Barncle Bill the sailor.

Is that whos knocking at my door?

_________________
Say what you do, Do what you say.

I've used titebond, polyurethane glues, and epoxy. They all work fine, and all have far beyond the mechanical properties needed in this application (think of the size of the gluing surface). I've been wanting to try hide glue, but have been too busy to build the necessary machinery (by my count, I've got about ten seconds to get the laminates clamped up and under full force once I apply the glue)

_________________
Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

How about fish glue? Im not recommending but asking. Is there anywhere on a guitar where its low water resistance is an issue?

Warren.

I typically like to use LMI white as well as it's easy to use and cures clear and hard.

As far as the use of Original Titebond, the folks on Sycamore Street use it for almost all applications...They seem to have a good reputation
I've also seen little bottles of Elmer's white in use in their inlay department.

_________________
Guitar Building = Continuous Improvement Process

I use now use fish glue, and I have also used Titebond. I am sure polyurethane works great too. The reason I'm using FG is it has higher heat resistance than Titebond (in case the fingerboard needs to come off and heat will be used, don't really know if it would be an issue), it doesn't "creep" and there is no sunken glue line like you sometimes see with Titebond. I normally only laminate two pieces for necks, so after the truss rod slot is routed there is really not much glue line left in the neck shaft.

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Rick turner had a fantastic post some time back about all the different types of glue he uses. Hopefully this link works for that: http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=15254&p=217939&hilit=glue#p217939
I have followed most of his uses on my last two builds. That is a trusted list.
-j.

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

Here is my thoughts. 99.999% of all laminations we do we never will need to seam seprate for any repair reason. In fact we don't want them to ever seprate. So with this train of though use a glue that gives a comfortable workable time to insure the allignment after clamping, gives a good mechanical bond, leaves the least noticable joint line and is enviromentally tough. For me Epoxy fits that bill well.