Maple Cap Separating from Body- Why, How, What to Do?

[jonny]

I actually use Lepage yellow glue for everything else besides guitars. Darn, I need to go back and do some reading on glues now.

 

[emoney]

I imagine that yellow glue you mentioned is pretty on par with Titebond I. I use I or II for gluing tops as I hope to never need to separate the two. The only difference is II is "water proof", making it more permanent. Lately I've been using Gorilla Glue's "new and improved" wood glue and I've been quite pleased.

I don't know much about Fish Glue, other than what I've read where it's used a lot in flooding fret slots. Seems only logical that if it's used for frets it's only a "temporary" hold, for lack of a better word. The note inside the body is definitely a bit of foreshadowing, lol.

Oh, and in the past 24 hours, we've gone from 60% humidity to 98% humidity. WHich is pretty much a normal summer day, lol.

 

['59_Standard]

I've never seen it in any hardware store or anything around here. Even Lee Valley only has III.

Titebond has a sellers locator tool.

 

['59_Standard]

Back to the glue topic... Why do you all hate fish glue so much? I use it a fair bit and have never had a problem with it. It does have many of the same characteristics as hide glue, and it is supper easy to work with. It has been used by instrument makers for ages. I've also seen it used by several frequent builders on this very forum.

Maybe this is a bad batch or something, I don't know. I still trust in my fish glue though.

Nobody said they hated it. I think its more about the application.

Me. I've no intention of ever removing a Maple Cap so why use a glue thats easier for disassembly on a non-disembling joint - I wouldn't even use Hide Glue, there...

What major companies building solid body guitars use it for gluing their caps on. None. None at all. The frequent builders here, thats their choice to - not sure who's gluing caps on with it, though.

 

[74_Custom]

While I know humidity is a factor in wood movement, I would like to point out that it's never below 90% humidity in sunny ole' Florida and we continue to build. Just putting that out there.

That's weird, because the whether network says its 65% humidity in Florida right now.

 

[TKOjams]

I think the fact that its consistent is as much a factor as the actual level of humidity.

Anyhoo, no sense waiting around.

I used a spray bottle, heat gun and putty knife to slowly work the top off. Unfortunately it did split in two. I'll save it to test finishes on. Then I gave the body a quick run through the planer to clean it up a bit.

I guess I was feeling witty before I glued the top on. What would you cal

l this? Irony, foreshadowing?

Yep!!! ya have to laugh it off, learn, and proceed onward

 

[jimi55lp]

You should consider chambering it just to lighten it a bit while the tops off?

 

[Pokerstar]

Or, if you are going to sell it, but a few ball bearings inside before you glue the new top on, just to drive the new owner crazy.

 

[jonny]

Or, if you are going to sell it, but a few ball bearings inside before you glue the new top on, just to drive the new owner crazy.

I don't think she'd sell if I did that!

I think I'll toss a $5 bill in there

Just for the record, I went to Rona, Home Depot, Canadian Tire and Home Hardware today and none of them had Titebond brand. But it seems that it and my Lepage glues are both aliphatic resin glues, so I'll just stick with what's available. For some reason I thought TB was something special/different.

 

[evolved_insanity]

We sell Titebond I,II, and III as well as the II Dark Glue and their liquid hide glue and polyurethane glue. If you need any of them, just PM me.

Titebond II is NOT waterproof. Titebond III is waterproof. II is water resistant though. I use Titebond II for everything but fretboards.​

 

[DRF]

Just for the record, I went to Rona, Home Depot, Canadian Tire and Home Hardware today and none of them had Titebond brand.

WTF, really?. . Rona used to be a decent place for paints and hobby-ish type stuff but they switched to a different new store style and seemingly raised their prices waay to high.

 

[fatdaddypreacher]

the first fretboard i installed i used hide glue and had to take it off. i used an iron and a damp towel to heat the board and a metal putty knife to coax it up. I cleaned up both surfaces and reinstalled with tite bond original (one). forgot why, but had to remove it also. i used the same process and can't say that i noticed titebond being any harder to remove than hide glue. i installed it yet a third time with tite bond again and it has been said that it plays remarkably well. it is two years old now and is fine.

i have come to use titebond on everything, but may well regret it if i ever have to pull a neck, but i understand that it starts to melt at apx the same range as hide glue, so except for vintage work, I really can't see the differance, and those that have played my builds have no complaints about tone or sustain.

any body pull a neck that was glued with tite bond.

sorry for the hi-jack, but thought this may just add to the info gathering.

don't sweat the snafu on your top. suck it up, learn from it, and move on. You done good.

 

[jonny]

the first fretboard i installed i used hide glue and had to take it off. i used an iron and a damp towel to heat the board and a metal putty knife to coax it up. I cleaned up both surfaces and reinstalled with tite bond original (one). forgot why, but had to remove it also. i used the same process and can't say that i noticed titebond being any harder to remove than hide glue. i installed it yet a third time with tite bond again and it has been said that it plays remarkably well. it is two years old now and is fine.

i have come to use titebond on everything, but may well regret it if i ever have to pull a neck, but i understand that it starts to melt at apx the same range as hide glue, so except for vintage work, I really can't see the differance, and those that have played my builds have no complaints about tone or sustain.

any body pull a neck that was glued with tite bond.

sorry for the hi-jack, but thought this may just add to the info gathering.

don't sweat the snafu on your top. suck it up, learn from it, and move on. You done good.

That's some good stuff to know FDP, thanks!

In the end, this was a good excuse to go buy some more maple 9 boardfeet