Official Luthiers Forum!

Anybody feel like posting pics of your steam setups for resetting dovetails?
I would surely appreciate it.
Thanx ahead of time!

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I use a pressure cooker and hooked up a hose by drilling an air house connector on the top. I use a hot plate . A 1/4 inch air hose and a ball inflation needle and I am golden

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I have no pictures, but I use the steam valve on an old coffee machine. A fuel hose is attached to the valve in one end, and a soccer ball needle in the other, both secured with little hose clamps. I have no complaints about its function, but the thing takes up a bit of room, of course.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

This might seem too obvious but for steam, I use water and heat it to 212 degrees F or 100 degrees C. I don't use any of the complicated gadgets these other folks mentioned. I don't even understand how a needle used for filling a soccer ball could be used to heat water. Fire. Fire heats water. That's my method. Water in pot + big fire = steam. It's science!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

I use a pressure cooker heated on a hot plate with a hose that runs into an Erlenmeyer flask to 'dry' the steam out before going to the end with a soccer ball pump needle.

Old espresso machine from goodwill - $5. Hose and needle from StewMac. Does the job.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Kewl. Thanx guys!

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I don't use this for anything to do with git building,
except get it done faster!!!!!!!!!

My wife uses this steamer for clothes. I was curious. Jammed the open end of the 1/4" fuel hose over the little nipple thingy on the end of the steamer's flex hose and it worked like a charm. Next time I might rig one of those Erlenmeyer flask setups. That's pretty cool.

George :-)

I use a cheap espresso machine with heat resistant silicone hose.

Not sure about the flask thing though... the reason water came out is because the steam cools as it travels through the hose. I try to keep the hose run as short as possible... but there's no avoiding water in your joint and it takes experience to know how much steam is needed. The less the better.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Kewl. Do you have to hold the button the whole time, or can you set it to steam constantly?

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Old growth, shmold growth!

water and heat.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Was it necessary to hold the beaker with a cam clamp?

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

What I am really concerned about is the steam somehow becomes overpressured and causing the glass container to shatter...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

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David Malicky

I cannot remember where I got that set up from it's been a good 15 years now. If I didn't use the cam clamp then it would want to fall over. I'm not sure I believe it 'drys' out the steam either but it may work as such, if some water inadvertently pulses up with the steam and heads down the hose then it will drop into the flask before heading on down the hose. As for pressure, the hose would push off before the glass breaks. Those flasks are designed for high heat and some vacuum pressure.

I don't know about other models, but the one we have requires you to hold the button down to release the flow of steam. It took maybe 4 or 5 applications for the hide glue to let go, each lasting about 5 seconds. It was much faster than I anticipated.

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George :-)

I use an old stove top milk steamer (for cappuccino).
-C

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Freeborn Guitars
and home of BeauGuard©

Maybe you could find one of those "Steam Sharks" I used to see advertised on TV at a local garage sale? That would be perfect.

I used to boil water and inject it with a syringe.... cleaning up was more involved.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I just made a steamer less than a week ago out of an espresso maker. 1/4 hose, and a needle used to pump up basket balls and some small hose clamps at each end. I spent yesterday and the day before using it to reattach the back of an old parlor guitar that I was repairing (idea came from one of the last GAL issues). Worked like a charm. I think the hole thing was around 5 bucks after getting the espresso maker free.

over the years i've used both a pressure cooker and many years lster later one of the domestic espresso machines.

both work, but there are tradeoffs with both.

the pressure cooker requires a separate hot plate, has a large footprint, but provides lots of steam.

the espresso machine is simple and unitized, but its steam production is limited by its small reservoir, which has always requiired refilling with difficult, stubborn necks, e.g., every gibson i've used it on.

i too used a ball inflation needle for many years until i saw sm's specialty needle. couldn't get one fast enough.

my swmbo is a chemistry teacher so the erlenmeyer flask, stopper and glass tubing was an obvious improvement. it greatly reduces water nin the joint and thus the blushing potential of the whole process.

finally, a bucket of cold water and rags to keep the temperature of the surrounding finish down also serves to minimize the blushing problem

+1! The only difference with mine was I made about 100 cups of espresso with it before I relegated it to steaming necks...

I use a Krupp espresso machine I picked up at the thrift store for $5. Plus some 1/4 auto radiator tubing and a basketball inflation needle...Mike

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Another day, another dollar.

I just read an artical in AL #102 by James Ham, "Activating Hide Glue with Steam". This is one of the types he uses(although George's would also work) :
http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Pressuri ... 397&sr=8-1
The artical is about how he uses it to reactivate separated hide glued joints and how he also uses it to to glue upright basses tops and backs with hide glue. In short he sizes the top and lining with HG and let's it dry then clamps it down and uses the 90 degree attachment and goes around the outside of the joint which activates the HG and glues it together. Interesting read which allows you time to set it all up and then glue. Reminds me of how I would tin the joint on my metal body resos first before soldering them together.

I am aware that that was how they glued larger bowed instruments together while still using hide glue. I think they can be done in steps too (necessary if you need to preserve certain alignment). I just thought they used a hot knife or something.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com