some real time luthier help

plopswagon · Post by **plopswagon** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:42 am

okay, so like ten years ago one of our cats (Willie, and he's still around today, the wife's favorite...) broke the neck joint of my epiphone mandolin. should glue it back where it broke or should I take the whole thing apart and re-glue it.

The heel joint is totally separated but the fret board it still glued on. How? Why. What glue and any other advice?

thanks

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:50 am

i'd almost yank it out and re-glue. dunno what that would entail on something so small, but it can't be too much. can you move it?

DGNR8 · Post by **DGNR8** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:45 pm

I can't quite see what is happening with it. Depending on the break, you may want to take it apart. Guitars are glued using hide glue, which allows them to be heated and dismantled. If that sounds too hairy, you may want to just glue it.

holyCATS1415 · Post by **holyCATS1415** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:06 pm

it would be difficult to get the neck off because epiphones don't use hide glue making them extremely difficult to take apart without
destroying them. also im pretty sure they paint over glue joints.

plopswagon · Post by **plopswagon** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:05 pm

it definitely moves, I am going to try and heat it, if it pops off easily I will fix it that way if not its Dan Erlewine-ville (i.e. superglue)

cheers

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 4:35 am

hold up.
string it up, and over tune it, get that thing as open as you can.
get a glue syringe and use titebound III, or any titebound really, just make sure you are not using elmers, nor gorilla glue.
once you get that bastard filled, take off the strings and clamp it.
i know i have pics of how i have done this before but basically you need to make yourself a lil cull that will fit around the neck joint area.
if you can't make a cull, then use super spongy double stick tape, and put it all around the neck butt part... thing....
and use a piece of somewhat soft wood on top of that for the clamp to grip onto.
ALSO! its a good idea to use double stick tape on the clamp to help keep it in place.
its pretty simple to do, just do a dry run beforehand to make sure that everything will stay in place.

plopswagon · Post by **plopswagon** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:37 pm

got it fixed! syringed glue in and clamped it up.

Gavin · Post by **Gavin** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:42 pm

You should never have let a cat play the mandolin in the first place.

plopswagon · Post by **plopswagon** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 4:13 pm

well he's dead now, so I can't think of a more fitting tribute than to fix the damn thing.

I was able to Rock the Louven Brothers on it last night.