Trick for Using Hot Hide Glue

[Diane Kauffmds]

I love not hide glue, but hate the fast working time. I've had problems closing the box and getting it clamped within the working time. I know that the pieces being glued can be heated, but the the entire rim of the guitar won't stay hot enough for this to work. The glue can be diluted a bit to increase working time (which can affect the strength of the hold), but i still had problems.

I had to "unglue" a couple of pieces, so I used a small hairdryer. It dawned on me that I could heat the already glued pieces, after all of the clamps were in place, to reactivate the glue. So, using the hairdryer, I heated the entire rim of the back/sides.

It worked like a charm. The entire rim is strong.

PicsArt_11-13-02.34.35.jpg

[Danl8]

I will give it a try. Thanks for the idea!

[music143]

Really its a very good idea

[banjopicks]

That's how I so it. I don't worry about the time ar all. I recently used this method but I got the center lines off so I had to take it apart. Believe me, it was glued on tight.

[Diane Kauffmds]

It's very effective.

[tippie53]

Diane did you try a heat lamp? They work great also. I like HHG but use fish for so much as it has a longer open time.
HHG is tricky but worth the effort to learn

[Rag Thumb]

John,

I watched you glue on a bridge with fish glue when at your shop, and it sounds like you use it for a variety of situations. Are there any aspects of a build you would NOT use fish glue for?

Looking around the internet on the subject I find a person that says you shouldn't use it for bridges and another that says don't use it for fingerboard extensions, but that contradicts what I've seen in your shop, at least as far as the bridge is concerned.

Thanks,

[tippie53]

I stopped using fish glue on bridges , I had to take one off and it was a bear so I do use HHG for bridges .
I ended up routing it off.

[Diane Kauffmds]

Diane did you try a heat lamp? They work great also. I like HHG but use fish for so much as it has a longer open time.
HHG is tricky but worth the effort to learn

No John, I don't have a heat lamp, but I'll see about getting a bulb. Thanks for the tip.

[JLT]

John,


Looking around the internet on the subject I find a person that says you shouldn't use it for bridges and another that says don't use it for fingerboard extensions, but that contradicts what I've seen in your shop, at least as far as the bridge is concerned.

Thanks,

I can only say that I just had my first bridge failure, where the bridge started to part company with the soundboard. This was on a five-year-old guitar. I used fish glue initially. Having scraped all the glue off, I'll re-glue it with hot hide glue, and hope that it will be completely dried in two days, when a friend of mine wants to use it.

I really don't see what the issue is with fingerboard extensions, though, since they see only a fraction of the load that a bridge sees.