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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Bending purfling- need advice

First time making purfling to match a repair. Problem: couldn’t get it to bend without delaminating and cracking. Veneer is 6 plies using 4 of SMs 0.023” and 2 maple at 0.025” cut to 1 1?2 inches wide. Glue up with Titebond Veneer glue, final stack at 0.140” thick. Let it dry 2 days, cut a few 0.090” strips, then used some super soft just at the waist and despite going very slowly the strip skewed, delaminated and started to break plies. W…

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Private member
I've never used titebond veneer glue before. But when I make purfling, I use a polyurethane glue, like gorilla glue (activated by moisture), so I can use steam to bend the purfling to the shape I need…
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Finish repair from mystery solvents

A customer brought this Gibson songwriter deluxe in, it’s approximately 20 years old to his recollection. It needs a few things done including fret work and a bridge re glue. At some point the guitar was lent out to a friend who dropped it then tried to fix the finish themselves. It looks like they used some kind of cleaner or something that didn’t get along with the lacquer at all. I’ll attach pictures but it’s kinda hard to get a pic…

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Ian Davlin
I agree with this. Just Novus probably wasn't going to be enough. It kind of looks like someone accidentally used alcohol instead of naptha. It's a very subtle boo boo. Use some 2000 grit sanding pape…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Gibson J-50 Broken Heel

Hello all, Hoping that someone can suggest a clean way to help remove the heel of this neck from the neck block. This guitar came to me with the heel broken almost all the way through and wouldn’t ya know, the last little bit of the wood separated before the dovetail joint. I’ve had foam cutters in the space behind joint with some moisture to try to loosen the glue, but without the leverage from the neck, the joint has proved super stubb…

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Private member
And possibly add more heat probes. You can add at least two more to the situation. Personally, I'd put six in since you can see exact placement. One each, at the four corners and two in the middle…
Private member Discussion3D Printing

PETG Glue

Just wondering what people are using for gluing PETG? I had the unfortunate realization that some parts I decided to print in PETG from makerworld needed to be glued. The super glues I have didn't work and then everything else close by basically said "not for use on pe". I found people saying PVC primer worked so I grabbed some at the hardware store and left some test parts clamped overnight. Rock solid this morning but it definitely ne…

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Private member
I usually try to design with mechanical connections for petg. If it requires something that needs to be glued, I use abs. ABS has more options for gluing and can be vapor smoothed.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

The Pick Guard Dilemma

New to the Looth Group forum so I hope I'm posting in the right place. I am also relatively new to the trade although I've been a woodworker for a long while. I have a general question for luthiers regarding the repair of a typical pick guard issue. I have 2 early 1970's Martin D35's in my shop with the usual pick guard curling and cracks associated with shrinkage. I've watched luthiers flatten and re-glue these back on the bare wood as…

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Private member
Ian thanks for the reply. So to be clear you would glue the celluloid to the bare wood area with Titebond? Or are you saying to seal the old area, maybe with lacquer, and contact adhere the new guard…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Buck Owens American overlay

I have a Buck here and miraculously the overlay is 100% intact, but it needs to be glued back on. Anyone have any experience with the best adhesive for this? Super glue will definitely melt it and make a mess out of it, but I seem to remember even epoxy reportedly reacting with the material. I’m thinking either celluloid glue like Martin used to use for pickguards or possibly even trying hide. Thoughts?

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Private member
Yessir. We used to have some actual Martin stuff but I just made my own by dissolving some old celluloid pg into acetone. The Martin stuff was lighted in color. I used a tortoise pg so mine is more th…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Definitive Collaborative List of All Things That Rattle

Hello looths worldwide ! I once heard on the Loothalong Grace talking (figuratively) about for a list of all the things thay may cause rattle in a guitar, and after fighting with a setup lately I'm in for starting this list, from the headstock down : - Old strings : replace the strings. - Loose tuners : tighten the ferrules, tighten the screws (on the buttons / on the axis). - Nut : create a funnel for the strings to ease the path to the t…

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Private member
I got the wrong idea about this forum. I thought we’d be talking about experiences that rattled us during our repair escapades! Since I’m way at the back of the pack, pretty much everything rattles me…