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Can anyone give me some tips on tools (home made or otherwise) and techniques for removing set up waterbased glue on hard to reach areas inside the body of a guitar/ukulele?
I can see a blob of glue on the tail block and adjacent bindings through the soundport, but don't have a clue how to get to it.
Thanks.
Bill

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Formerly know as Mandodiddle.

Leave it alone. See if next time it works out better.

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Peter Havriluk

I'm with Peter. Leave it be.

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

I'm a 'leave it be' person too. I really don't understand how this got to be such a thing. Some of the nicest guitars I have, one of which by an accomplished luthier, the others classic vintage have visible squeeze out in many places... But I digress and opinions are just opinions.

De-Glue Goo might just do the trick for you. I have used it on the edge of a fretboard, a place where you definitely don't want to see it, and it worked quite well. I have not used it on unfinished wood so you should probably test it to see if it stains.

I'm with everyone else that you should leave it alone. All I can offer is a prevention tip. The obvious prevention method is to be careful about the amount of glue you use to put on the last plate (back or top, whichever is last). But my tip is that you can run a continuous strip of 2" gaffer tape on the sides, right along the edge to be glued, about 1/32" away from the edge. Make the tail of the tape easy to reach through the soundhole. Once the glue is set well enough to remove the clamps, pull out the gaffer tape. The reason I recommend gaffer tape is that, unlike masking tape or packing tape, it won't break or rip from normal pulling; it will stay together for you to pull it out through the soundhole. This removes most of the obvious runs of glue down the sides, leaving a little glue ledge right at the seam. It's not perfect, but it's better than a big glob of glue. Don't leave it inside the guitar for days and days! Some brands of gaffer tape can leave adhesive residue if it stays on too long.

Is it as messy as this Greg Smallman classical, whose guitars sell for >$20k?
Don’t worry - slap a bit more epoxy and CF around inside and make it your signature look.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=idit9C8esUk

Hesh called it 'tone snot.' LOL

Glue the back on first.

When you glue on the top put the guitar face down while the glue dries, so any runs don't go down the sides where people can see them through the hole.

I remember seeing a slide show once of CAT scans of old guitars. You can see everything inside, and since glue is especially dense it shows up well in X-rays. When he got to a slide of a Gibson the presenter quipped: "Only a Gibson is glued enough!"; a parody of their old advertising. There were big glue drips and runs all over the place.

Bill - That's a tough one. If it's a blob or drip separate from a glued joint, I'd probably try pressing a slightly damp piece of paper shop towel against the glue for a few minutes and then use a chisel to try and pry/scrape it loose. If the trouble is up against joined surfaces, I'd leave it be.

One thing you can do to reduce any cleanup is to overlap longish strips of blue painter's tape along the sides, just below the edge of the linings; the idea is to catch any runs on the tape. Then, when all is said and done, you can reach in the sound hole and pull off the tape. I did it this way early on, before getting a handle on squeeze out, and it helped keep things nice and tidy.

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George :-)

Some of the most iconic guitars ever built had lots of "tone snot" showing and saw marks on the braces, etc. It is what it is and it is ver much part of the character of that instrument. I'd leave it too.

By the way back in the day here Lance and I had an informal competition to see who could be wrapped too tight in respect to how clean the insides of our boxes were. We both spent hours scraping and sanding and chiseling excess glue and getting scratches out. I remember going to 400 grit.

Totally useless and a waste of energy. Mario P. came along one day and told us what I said in my first sentence about some of the best guitars ever built being sloppy inside and that was the end of that.

Or...... you could enlist someone with a very small arm. I have had my second vaccination now and have a third, little arm growing out of my head that might be able to reach it.

I also glue the back on first so the most easily seen squeeze out can be cleaned, especially around the head block.
Reverse kerf lining helps contain glue to some degree as well.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Another who glues the back on first. When gluing the top work on learning exactly how much glue you need minimize squeeze out. I find it helps to wet both surfaces with glue before clamping.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Lots of good ideas here, gaffers tape, who new, but I like it.

Big arms and small sound holes are a problem -- either you can see the issue or feel it but not both. I bought a little USB "microscope" for about $100 I can slip in the sound hole and aim at the problem and get my arm the hole past the wire and see what I'm doing on a laptop or tablet. I wouldn't be without it. Nice diagnostic tool for evaluating internal problems.

My wood mechanics started in custom furniture and excess glue squeeze-out was a waste of supplies and a significant labor trap cleaning it up. Dulled tools and clogged sandpaper... Clean work was a priority.

I forgive older instruments figuring those builders were standing at a bench for probably 10 hrs a day with a quota and procedures set by a bean counter.

It is really pretty easy to judge the width of a glue joint and the width of a bead of glue and match it with adequate spread. You can figure that out with wood scraps and glue in an hour.

Does clean work make for better sound? No.

I'd probably be considered obsessive compulsive but aiming for perfection even in the hidden improves my skill set every single day. And I really love getting better, the build is the joy.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Note: It's painter's tape, not gaffer's tape. The idea is to have it release easily, not stick like mad.

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George :-)

I was wondering about that. We use gaffer's tape on stage and it's stickier than duct tape!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Understood George, Don mentioned gaffers tape earlier in the thread and since I'd never heard of it looked it up and apparently it has a fabric in it. Seemed appealing since regular painters tape has a tendency to tear on removal especially along a glue line and might be more hassle than not. Especially through a sound hole.

I didn't know gaffers tape was so sticky (and expensive). Thanks for pointing that out.

My main suggestion was to avoid the mess in the first place.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

I do what SteveSmith does. A good 'high solids' standard glue has enough open time to wet both surfaces before clamping. I tend to use a lot of hide glue as well, and even if one side has dried, the second will reactivate it. This really limits the amount of squeeze-out.