glue

[suzuiq]

hi all
i am looking for some advice on glue for joining wood to make a guitar body.
i have a book printed in U.K that ses (yellow glue) or (Carpenters glue) is best. dose any body know what it is called in australia and possabley a brand that can be recomended thanks

[dayvo]

Titebond Original

[HOOKED.UP]

In my opinion, there is only one glue.

EPOXY. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

For a guitar body, A 200 ml pack of Selleys Super Araldite, should be more than enough.
Great product.

The worst company in the world to deal with.

Should be available at all good hardware stores. Will cost you an arm and a leg.

Paul.

[MICKYG]

Titebond original or Titebond 2


Both Great



Regards Mike

[Master Splinter]

WEST epoxy. Same stuff as araldite, but better and cheaper and they actually talk to their customers It holds boats together. Big boats. Or Techniglue from ATL Composites - same sort of thing as WEST (they have the Australian licence for WEST, I think). Or Bote Cote epoxy if you want to support a local business. The boaties on these forums seem quite happy with it.

You should be able to find at least one of these brands at a boating store or decent woodworking place or even fiberglass place.

Yellow glue is the generic name for a cross-linking PVA. Selleys call their version Aquahere Exterior...but Titebond is the market leader (you won't find it at Bunnies). Titebond has a pretty short open time (you have to work quickly with it).

I'd still go for the epoxy - I just find it more versatile to have around (it can be used as glue, filler, surface coating, fiberglass laminating resin, encapsulating resin and all that sort of thing).

[Sebastiaan56]

Please remeber that epoxies can cause severe allergic reactions. See this thread from the luthiers forum http://www.mcguitars.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1056

The problem with this kind of sensitivity is that you dont know when its going to hit you and there is no cure apart from removing the source of exposure.

[peterbrown]

The other thing to keep in mind is that titebond cleans up with water. Epoxy does not and can be messy. Also Titebond can be undone (to an extent) with heat ( which is both an advantage and disadvantage), where as epoxy cannot, which many luthiers regard is important for the ongoing servicability of the instrument. Both have their place and are suitable for different applications. I personally use titebond for just about everything. I have found that some timbers react to the moisure in the glue, which I think is mostly due to the oil in the timber. For these timbers I sometimes choose to use epoxy. However for timber to timber joints you can't go wrong with titebond.

Cheers,

Peter

[black_labb]

i use titebond original for most everything. havent had a problem with it yet.

[Rattrap]

Is it possible to extend the open time on titebond? I'm thinking along the lines of adding a bit of water to it. The reason is that i find the original formula has a really short open time especally on a hot day.

[mic-d]

Is it possible to extend the open time on titebond? I'm thinking along the lines of adding a bit of water to it. The reason is that i find the original formula has a really short open time especally on a hot day.

I found that wiping the glue joint over with a damp rag immediately before glue up increases the working time of PVA because the wood doesn't suck the moisture out of it so fast. I've done a few vacuum veneering jobs where this helped tremendously. I would do this in preference to adding water to the glue.

Cheers
Michael

[Rattrap]

Sounds a much better way to go Michael thanks for that.

[kiwigeo]

I use Titebond I (original) and LMI white glue in my shop. Epoxy gets used but generally only for inlay work.

[DarwinStrings]

Hi Suzuiq
I am assuming you want to join a solid body but am not sure.

Epoxy works great on a sloppy joint as it is an "adhesive" but even on a tight joint you will always see the glue.

Yellow glue is a "cohesive" and needs a very tight joint to be successful over time but it hides well and provided your joinery is good then, no worries.

Another alternative is Urea formaldehyde which is excellent for that job but a hassle to use unless you are tooled up to use it.

If you are a beginner, Epoxy is a good starting point for a first solid body guitar( Araldite 24 hour or others, I use Mega Poxy). Do not use Araldite 5 minute set as it is not made for this situation.

Jim

life is good when you are amongst the wood

[walcen]

Is PVA Glue not an option? Ive used it on all my tight furniture joints and have found it near indestructible. Any thoughts on this?
regards
Wal

[Andrew_B]

up to you mate
everyone has their own opinions,

everyone has their method of using it,

i go through lots of different glues.. at the moment im on a tub of PVA,
once its gone i will grab a tub of titebond,
after that.. who knows...
im sure there will be another glue to pop up in the woodworking world that everyone will start raving about