fill gap in ebony glue line

Questions and answers for beginners. If you have a question, so do most other people.
Post Reply
msloescher
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2015 12:41 pm

fill gap in ebony glue line

Post by msloescher »

It's a long story, but I returned to my first build of long ago, which i like, but during which i made many errors. To resolve a neck block alignment problem— i managed to glue it in wrong on all three dimensions— I was forced to make an ebony shim under a new fingerboard tongue and the top, which was far from flat. I then had to shave with with a razor blade along its length from top to sound hole and fit it by hand. This is because the neck/headblock is slightly rotated toward the treble, and i couldn't fix it every millimeter of it unless i was prepared to fill the mortise and re-cut, which is beyond my tool set. It worked, and there's good angle and action now.

However, when i glued the new fingerboard down, however, there was a small gap on the outer edge of the bass side toward the sound hole between the fingerboard and the ebony shim. The tongue is down well, i just need to fill this outer edge of about an ⅛ high and 3/8 long and about ⅛ deep for cosmetic reasons.

I'm looking to fill that gap with ebony dust— and what? Superglue runs too much, and always shines. I just want a gap fill, not a superglued tongue. I have two choices: A) mix the dust with some kind of glue— probably Franklin's Liquid Hide Glue and use a dental tool to fill, or B) use a pliable epoxy for the same thing. I lean toward the former. Bearing in mind, this is no guitar to put in a show, but sounds great, anyone have a thought?
OK Work, Fairly Soon
ACME Guitars
tippie53
Posts: 7011
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Hegins, Pa
Contact:

Re: fill gap in ebony glue line

Post by tippie53 »

before you do anything , can you post some pics?
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: fill gap in ebony glue line

Post by MaineGeezer »

FWIW, Bruce Petros uses epoxy mixed with black powdered pigment to fill his Purflex bindings. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_8lfDP2dCk starting at about 9:00.
I'm not sure you want to use epoxy for your application. You might be able to use that same coloring pigment, however, and mix it with liquid hide glue or similar to make your filler material.

But let us see some pictures of the problem.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
msloescher
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2015 12:41 pm

Re: fill gap in ebony glue line

Post by msloescher »

you guys are the best, thanks for taking the time. You can see the treble sat down well, but on the bass side it proved impossible for me to get the shim perfectly flat and so there are gaps on the edges-- but not deep. If i could get it smooth by filling and then sanding, that would be great
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
OK Work, Fairly Soon
ACME Guitars
msloescher
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2015 12:41 pm

Re: fill gap in ebony glue line

Post by msloescher »

I watched Bruce Petros in the you tube spritz with accelerator. This guitar making business must take skill, i guess. whenever i use accelerator, unless i shellac a lot, i get a mess on the top.
OK Work, Fairly Soon
ACME Guitars
Post Reply