Martin LXM repair
Okay a friend picked up a damaged mini martin off of ebay made from HPL. High pressure laminate I believe thats what it stands for. I believe thats the generic name for Formica. He wanted to fix it for his kid but he's a mechanic and not a guitar builder. So he asked me to do it. The instrument from what I believe happened was that it was dropped on it's end pin causing the top and sides to separate somewhat about ten inches or so. No damage at all to the side and top. This stuff seems very flexible so it didn't crack at all like solid wood may have if you dropped it on the end pin. The kerfing is spruce I believe and it sheered off at the wood leaving a very thin layer on the top. If this was real wood I would know what glue to use for the repair but since this isn't anyone have a clue what Martin uses? In other trades they use a contact cement for this stuff. Would CA be a good choice? Right now I'm doing an experiment with some Formica pieces that I have and some wood scraps with various glues including Titebond regular, Gorilla white wood glue, CA and some new thing from Loctite called Go2. I'll post on thoughts after the experiment. Any suggestions. Mike
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Donald A. Fortune on
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Hi Michael-- do you have any pics of the box?? the only thing that I know of (from my counter building days)
is to use a glue that is made for bonding lam. to wood. It comes in a non toxic water base glue so the dangers of using it
are not like the type that is used in counter top shops.
good luck with your project..
Peace, Donald
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Permalink Reply by Michael Shaw on
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No I didn't take any pics because its not anything special. Its a clean break. It would be easy to take care of if it was wood but since its not I'm trying to figure out what glue martin uses. Most laminate type of glues are contact cements that give you a one time shot at assembly. That's not good for guitar repair. Sometimes you need a little working time with alignment. And contacts don't give you that. Mike
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I ended up using Titebond Melamine glue which is made for bonding wood to various laminates including HPL. Melamine glue is similar to roo glues clear that someone else recommend to me. It worked well. By the way I contacted Martin previous to this repair and finally got an answer today from them on what glue they use. A little late but good to know for future references. 3M Scotchweld epoxy....Mike
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