Glues
Used To Repair & Build Guitars and other Musical Instruments
What kind of glue is used to repair and assemble musical instruments?
Hide Glue - Hide glue is one the oldest and most useful glues used in instrument making and repair.
This glue is sometimes frowned upon because it is a little high maintenance. Hide glue is purchased in a dry form, mixed with water and then heated before use. It must be kept hot to prevent it from gelling and this requires a glue pot or other means to produce the heat necessary. It's a little stinky and has far less working time than aliphatic. But regardless, I still find it indispensable. It offers a wonderful "grab" that is essential when gluing fingerboards and bridges as they try and slide out of position when clamping. It will stick to itself should regluing be necessary, it is water soluble, and does not creep like aliphatic glue. In my opinion, just a really great glue.
Oh yes, there is an instant Hide Glue available as well but I steer clear of that.
 | Titebond® Glue
The cabinetmaker's standard. A ready-to-use aliphatic resin adhesive with outstanding strength. We also have Titebond Dark Wood glue for dark woods...Titebond® Glue |
Aliphatic Resin Glue - This is woodworkers glue, Titebond Type 1 (original formula, not the stuff for outdoors that is waterproof glue) and various other brands (LMI, Garrett Wade etc.) which are available in both white and yellow.
This is the glue most factories use to assemble and repair instruments and it is easy to work with. Unlike Hide glue, it is ready to use straight from the bottle. Woodworkers glue is water soluble, has longer working times than Hide, softens with heat and is very strong.
I use Hide or Aliphatic glue for nearly all wood to wood repairs including gluing bridges, bridge plates, braces, necks, most cracks and fingerboards. For the novice or do-it-youselfer this is going to be the glue of choice.
| On instruments most glue joint failures are hardly ever, related to the glues strength. The most common culprit is insufficient glue, heat exposure or poor surface to surface contact. Glue is not a filler and should not be considered a fix for a poorly fitting joint. When repairing loose braces or bridges there is no need to seek a stronger adhesive as Hide glue and Carpenters glue are more than ample. |
 | Quick-Set Glue
Quick-Set CA (Cyanoacrylate) adhesive has a clear, fast cure and strong bond for a variety of materials, including wood, metal, glass, rubber, ceramics and plastic. Choose a viscocity that does not ab..Quick-Set Glue |
Super Glue - (Cyanoacrylate) Now here is where I really have to plug a disclaimer, so don't say I didn't warn you. 
Super glue happens to be an indispensable tool in this trade and it is also a very dangerous one, both to you and the instrument.
I use super glue primarily when repairing things other than glue joints...in other words super glue is never ever used on loose braces, bridges (when they're wood gluing to wood), fingerboards, end pins, open seams, pickguards etc. It's most popular use is fingerboard cracks, bridge cracks, inlay repair and the like. It can be colored and used in many applications but because it is permanent it is not suitable for wood to wood glue joints.
Another dangerous but wonderful use for super glue is finish chip repair on some of the newer finishes. Because we are dealing with many new finishes that do not accept overspray or make touch up easy, super glue provides us with an alternative to doing nothing. It is clear, dries hard, shrinks very little and is sandable....so you can see why it has come in so handy. A bit more about that can be found on my Finish FAQ page.
Repairs to instruments often require disassembly in one form or another, that is why the use of proper adhesives is so important. Using permanent adhesives on seams and joints would be destructive should the instrument need repair.
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Epoxy Most of the warnings that come with super glue apply to epoxy. It's a permanent adhesive, you must sand it to remove any hardened squeeze out and it too should never be used on joints.
I do come across instruments that have been glued together with epoxy or other adhesives that do not promote disassembling. I come across necks and bridges epoxied in place, bridge plates superglued to the top and the list goes on. In some cases this means more damage will be done when correction is made. Personally, I am very cosmetically oriented and am often faced with trying to reverse the repairs of a novice...while structurally sound perhaps they have done costly and sometimes irreversible damage to the instrument.
