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Steve Mars
01-02-2017, 05:14 PM
What glue(s) do you recommend?

Why is it preferable to apply the finish to the body and neck separately?

Steve Mars

wokkaboy
01-02-2017, 05:45 PM
Hey Steve, use Titebond the standard red label for gluing the neck.
It's up to you if you finish the neck/body before or after gluing the neck.
Main reason most people do them separately is it's easier to work on and hang to cure the guitar in 2 pieces instead of one. The advantage of gluing the neck first is you will get a better finish transition on the neck join and won't risk glue squeeze touching the finish if you do it later

Simon Barden
01-02-2017, 06:00 PM
Standard/original Titebond is the preferred guitar building glue here, though hide glue (a bit more hassle to prepare) is supposed to be slightly better as it dries harder and is supposed to transmit vibrations better. Gibson use Titebond on their regular guitars but use hide glue on their expensive custom shop vintage replicas. I'll be using some Titebond liquid hide glue as a compromise.

It's a lot easier to manipulate and mask the body and neck separately for applying finishes. For bolt-on necks you'd always do them separately. Unless you have a nice large workshop with plenty of space, its a lot easier to move and hold the body and neck if they are not joined together. I'm spraying (not staining) my guitars, and am doing the body and neck separately for the colour coats, but will glue the neck on (and then touch-up any glue lines or gaps around the joins) before I apply my clear coats.

There are no 'musts' about doing the body and neck separately, quite a few people here have glued them on to start with and applied the finish later. Some have applied even the clear coats before gluing the neck on. It's just generally perceived to be easier to apply the majority (if not all) of the finish first before attaching the neck to the body. Certainly if you feel like doing any inlay work on the headstock, then do that before the neck is attached.

Steeley
13-02-2017, 08:07 AM
https://www.carbatec.com.au/joinery-and-adhesives/glues-and-applicators/wood-glue/titebond-liquid-hide-237ml-brown

Would this glue be the goods? Seems it's pre mixed Hyde glue!

Simon Barden
13-02-2017, 05:19 PM
That's what I'm planning to use, so I hope it is!

Simon Barden
13-02-2017, 07:37 PM
I was looking up whether standard Titebond was a PVA glue (it is, but with some extra resins in) and came across this site where someone had tried out a lot of wood glues, with some slightly surprising results.

http://shropshire-woodsmiths.co.uk/woodglue-test/

Note that the Titebond hide glue has a 1 year shelf life - so you the quicker you use it, the better.

Also note that the Titebond type II is pretty waterproof, so can be hard to steam apart if you ever need to part a joint, and Titebond type III is very waterproof (marine ply level) so would be be almost impossible to steam apart before you did serious damage to the rest of the guitar.

dingobass
22-02-2017, 08:28 PM
I have been using the titebond premixed hide glue for a while now.
It is the way to go.
Super strong like hot hide glue but as Simon pointed out, a lot less hassle involved as it gives you more working time.

I put it through the DB destruction test and it performed better than aliphatic resin.
The glue joint didn't break, it tore out timber either side of the join.

Gret thing is if you need to remove a neck or fingerboard glued with it all you need is a little bit of steam and off it comes.
Then simply sand back to bare timber and re glue.

corsair
23-02-2017, 05:42 AM
I was looking up whether standard Titebond was a PVA glue (it is, but with some extra resins in) and came across this site where someone had tried out a lot of wood glues, with some slightly surprising results.

http://shropshire-woodsmiths.co.uk/woodglue-test/

Note that the Titebond hide glue has a 1 year shelf life - so you the quicker you use it, the better.

Also note that the Titebond type II is pretty waterproof, so can be hard to steam apart if you ever need to part a joint, and Titebond type III is very waterproof (marine ply level) so would be be almost impossible to steam apart before you did serious damage to the rest of the guitar.

That's an interesting article, Simon; thanks for posting it up!! I used Cascamite when we lived in the UK to glue the broken halves of a guitar body back together on the recommendation of a chippie friend, who also donated said glue for the cause!! Fabulous stuff but as the article said - and as Andy was at pains to emphasise, it must be mixed exactly to manufacturers instructions.