Re-gluing headstock that has been glued up before..

[Steve Baker]

HI all.  I've been meaning to ask you your opinion on re-gluing headstocks that have been glued up before. Ive gotten a rash of them in the shop lately and I usually use epoxy but I had one that failed recently. I'm going to re-enforce this one after initial glue up but Im wondering your opinion on what type of glue to use. I'd prefer to use Hide glue for all repairs but when something has been glued up before what do you recommend? 

 

[Bob H Abernathy III]

Are you able to clean up the old glue really well? 

[Mark A. Kane]

I like Frank's "backstrap" method.

http://frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Structural/BrokenHead...

[Steve Baker]

I wasn't able to clean up the glue as good as I would like to due to the headstock isn't apart from the neck plus I have no idea what they used for glue. It almost looks like superglue. Anyway, I'm kind of asking this question for a general response on what kind of glue people out there use for already re-glued surfaces that cant be cleaned up 100%.  Doesn't have to be a headstock re-glue example. I ordered an epoxy called Oak and teak epoxy from a co. called Smith epoxies. Anyone have experience with this? 

[Gary Fried]

If there is good surface area I use a regular two part epoxy to re-glue. I always let it cure overnight and then try to force it apart with my hands. I've only had one failure and that was because the guitar fell of the strap again after the customer refused strap locks.  i'd love to back strap them, but it is hard sell for most. An added advantage of using the epoxy is that it can be tinted a bit and the squeeze out can be sanded back and buffed out.