Some advice on glues for a large break?

[Mario Cardenas]

Ok, i'm a hide glue and cianoacrylate guy. Use them all the time with the best results. But i think neither of these would make a good glue in this case cause its a large (haha) break and don't think i'm fast enough to apply the glue and clamp it on time. I've never glued something this large and i think open time will be very important this time. 

This guitar's been broken for around 10 months. 

I don't want to alter the break surface in any way (just remove small ships or splinters that could keep me from getting a good joint).

I think the break surfaces on both pieces are very clean and match really well.

I know i can use aliphatic glue but there are other glues i've been considering. I've been making a lot of reading and research which led me to think this would be my top options. 

According to your experience, between epoxy, urethane glue and aliphatic glue what would be the best choice in this particular case? It's a big really noticeable brake, so any mistakes will be as big and noticeable. 

Thank you for your answers, i promise to have fun with this job!

[Paul Verticchio]

Hi Mario. :)

Titebond Original is all you need. That's what used to glue 2/3/or more piece bodies at the factory.

You, luckily, have a very clean break to work with.

Apply as usual, clamp & clean up squeeze out, clamp for 24 hours, clean up any residue & you're done, unless the customer wants a finish touch-up.  After seeing the beautiful job you did on that P.Blue SG, I can assure other forum members that you need NO additional tutoring on finishes & finishing.

If the owner is a heavy handed basher or plays in a punk band, a couple of reinforcement dowels may be appropriate. It's your call.

And hey, all Butterscotch Tele's need a few character marks. :)

Just out of professional curiosity... How did THAT happen?

Good luck. I'm sure it'll turn out great :)

[Mario Cardenas]

Hi Paul! 

Thanks for your reply and for the compliments. I'm about to start a limed mahogany finish on another SG. I'll post it when its done. 

Back to bussines, i guess i'll buy a new bottle of aliphatic cause my titebond is almost two years old! And i think this is a good opportunity to buy and try those stewmac's new aluminum bar clamps. 

I'm new to complex joinery so using dowels kinda scares the heck out of me but i'll give it a thought :)

Yes, i think this one's gonna have some cool scars :)

My customer told me the guitar from a stage about 6 feet tall. The guitar was on a stand over the stage and someone passed running, hits the guitar... boom! I think it hit the floor with the back lower bout. Its amazing the neck is almost intact thou!

Thanks again Paul, mi posting it when's done! :)

Thanks again Paul

[Robbie Collins]

I wonder if a plate joiner (aka biscuit cutter) would work here.

[Jelle van Tilburg]

Hello Mario, 

Since the guitar has been like this for 10 months, I would vote for Titebond as well. (being careful to clean of the squeeze out)

If you are planning to use bar clamps (I haven't inspected/tried the Stew Mac one's myself yet) keep in mind they can give a lot of pressure (but if there is any slop in the jaws, there's also a chance they won't give good parallel pressure to the joint. Causing the joint to distort) (I had to modify my own Stanley Pony clamps in the past)

So (probably needles to say) make sure you have the proper cauls and check things in a dry run. Specially since Titebond can be quite slippery.

Good luck!

[Andrew]

I thought pva type glues were also intended to be used on fresh wood surfaces? Might be worth looking into.

[Mario Cardenas]

Thanks Andrew, i'll pay special attention to it . I'll let you know how it turns out and how the clamps work. 

[Jelle van Tilburg]

Hello Andrew, 

I love working with hide glue, but I would definitely be worried about using it in this case (not knowing where/what the guitar has been through over the last 10 months, and what possible contamination might have occured etc)

I agree that in a perfect world pva type glues (and probably all other glues) would benefit from careful preparation of the surfaces to be glued. 

But in this "repair" scenario I still believe Titebond is your best bet, specially if you want to be able to clean things/squeeze out (I also read good things about LMII white, but haven't tried that one myself).

There's probably glues out there that can handle contamination better, but I would be worried about getting a clean result/being able to clean things up.

(as for possible contamination and Titebond, Titebond instructions suggest a quick wipe with acetone to remove any contamination. Not that I have ever done that)

[Murray MacLeod]

I wouldn't use a plate joiner in this situation, not that it would do any harm, but the real advantage of the joiner is that it prevents (or at least minimizes) any vertical movement in a normal edge to edge joint, In this case, the minute irregularities of the break will automatically realign, so there is no danger of any vertical movement. Leastways I surmise . . .

Wiping with acetone is an excellent idea. A wipe with alcohol couldn't do any harm either. 

[Alex Glasser]

i would think you could use epoxy as well.  i have a jazz bass here with a similar problem and was going to use epoxy.  i did one of these a year or two ago, an angry drunk threw the bass across the room, and i used Titebond, because i didnt think i could be fast enough with hide glue.  it worked great. I'm going to use epoxy on the new one just to see if its needed, but i agree, titebond should be AOK.  easy to use.   you cant really use biscuits because the pieces need to be flat to use the biscuit cutter, from my recollection.

[Mario Cardenas]

Well, if i was to make any kind of reinforcement i think i'd go with something like this. I don't know what you guys think? The only thing worries me with aliphatic glue is creeping. But i think if proper care is taken by the owner there'll be no problema. 

By the way, is there a jig or something i could make for the channel? in case i decide to go with it?

[Andrew]

I dont think you need anything to reinforce that joint. Also, theres not much risk of creep with a pva glue in this situation since the joint wont be under a constant load, because the bridge and strings span both sides of the break.

If you really want to reinforce it, id glue it up first as is, then rout the pickup cavities a little deeper, say 1/4 or 3/8", and glue in new wood there with the grain perpendicular to the break. That gives you lots of new surface area without making for a complicated setup.

[Mario Cardenas]

That is actually an interesting idea. I'll see how the project goes (money speaking) and see if is posible to do that. Thanks Andrew