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Is anyone gluing up their neck laminations with fish glue? Or HHG?

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

I've used fish glue for several neck lams and head plates. It worked fine. I use small metal pins to index the head plates so they don't slide around when I clamp it. When I do neck lams I usually only put a sheet of contrasting veneer in the center.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I use fish glue for this all the time.

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

I used HHG for all part... it worked fine

How many laminations are we talking about ? If It's more than two and you want to glue up everything all one time, I'd say fish glue.
If you saw the Robbie O'Brien videos with Jose Romanillos, he glued a block of wood to his floor a number of years ago, and it's still well
secured.

Just wondering. Anything wrong with using Titebond for this sort of stuff?

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

I've had some minor cold creep with AR/PVA laminated necks and was hoping I could avoid that with fish glue.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

I would guess that HHG would work well as long as you could get it clamped up fast enough. I like to use PU glue since this is a joint that I don't ever expect to have to reverse. It can be a bit messy, but since at that point it is just a rough neck blank it is no big deal.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I've used Titebond to laminate necks for years, the first is over ten years old & holding fine.
Not sayin' it's the best, just what I've used successfully.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

Thanks Ken and Rodger.

I've laminated four necks recently for 3 classicals and one flamenco. I was starting to wonder if I might have shot myself in the foot with using Titebond!

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

I have laminated a number with LMI White without issue.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Hi Ken, how did that creep show up? I would have thought that, since the glue lines are perpendicular to the stress, there would be little reason for creep. Maybe I'm missing the question.

Millions of scarf joints have been made with AR/PVA glue.

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http://www.chassonguitars.com

I'd be a little surprised to see that joint creep, too. Did it happen on multiple necks?
Could it possibly be that the glue line was a tad on the thick side and you're just seeing finish sink at the glue line?

The creep showed in the finish on glue lines in the heel. No structural failure just something I don't like to see.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

I did have creep once with titebond. I use a bolt-on neck with a five piece lamination.

The bolt insert was in the three center laminates and since I slope the shoulders of the neck 5 degrees, the bearing surface of the neck is the outer edges of the neck. I think I over tightened this one. When I did, it popped. The laminates, just in the heel cap area moved.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I used fish now hide for this. Hide is easy to clamp by using the gobar deck. I glue one piece at a time, I feel there is less chance for tensions building up if each face is jointed very well each time. I can't really be sure i can could sand or plane a thin strip truly flat, but of course it works once it is attached to the solid outer piece.

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Build log

Two questions. Wouldn't epoxy be a natural for neck laminating?

Secondly, and I hope this will fit within this thread, what is the simple science of laminating for a neck? I have some 3/4+ walnut stock and love the idea of making a walnut neck to go with the walnut back and sides but really don't understand the best grain strategy for lamination. Is Walnut stable enough to simply laminate 2 or three pieces ina way that looks good or should grain be reversed, quartered etc.? I'll see if i can post a pic of the walnut i thinking about using for the neck.

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Thank You and Best To All

I build a sort of hybrid laminated/scarf joint neck, it works great for starting with 3/4" boards.
Here's some photos of how I do it.







So that's my mini-tutorial on laminated necks.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

Thank you so much for taking the time Roger. A bit more complex than my skills and tools will allow but I will definitely take something from your tutorial.

I've seen one piece Hog necks all the time but one piece Walnut? With the stock I have? I'll probably lam 3 pieces with the grain running opposite to each other to add to the stability. Don't want to end with a neck that wants to move for sure.

Epoxy anyone?

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Thank You and Best To All

Actually it's not that difficult and requires very few tools, the only cuts that require any precision are the scarf angles on the outside pieces, the rest you can use the already finished faces of your 3/4" board. A bandsaw is nice, but you could just as easily use a sabre saw.
It's a little more complicated than a regular scarf joint, but not any more difficult to build.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon