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I have a few older bottles of Titebond 1 and was wondering if these can effectively be used for end grain sealant on B+S and top sets?
(EDIT) This is sealing end grain for storage in an unacclimatised shed.
(I'm running out of space in my workshop )

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Glue sizing is not consistent for me. 1lb Shellac takes a topcoat much better on Mahogany end grain (top of peghead)

(haha....I just saw your edit....I'll leave this up in case anyone finds it interesting)

I wouldn't presume to say anything too definitive since I'm right in the middle of some tests right now...but it looks like it...yes.

I mixed 80%/20% water/Titebond by weight and, using a brush, painted the exposed endgrain. The test panels prepared such that the end grain and surfaces with angular facings could be tested. I laid it down, let it dry, and laid it down again without sanding....three coats. I'll want to sand between coats on a guitar, and I'll test that on panels too but this was a rough test to see about a certain concept.

My problem on very light colored woods was that sealing end grain with epoxy was creating a wide variance in saturation, and therefore, color around the body edge of my electrics due to the 360 degree exposure of the grain. Using a shellac sealer only alleviated the problem a little. It still looked pretty bad. I use shellac...or straight epoxy on darker woods without a problem and prefer that because the color is nicer.

The idea was just to see the saturation characteristics of epoxy as it went down over bare wood and next to that, the epoxy as it went down over the glue sealed surface. The difference is quite stark. The glue sealed area completely blocked epoxy ingress and remain substantially lighter. The unsealed area allowed epoxy to soak in deep and that patch is much darker.

So...I need to check adhesion of epoxy to Titebond. It should be fine but I'll do that before I finish a guitar this way.

Assuming I'll have to sand between coats...an added benefit to using this concoction is that the process it will also raise the grain between coats. If you currently go through the process of raising the grain with water and sanding a few times before applying a sealer, you'll get both done at the same time.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

Sorry Tarhead and Zlurgh, didn't make the reason clear.
But the info is always usefull - be glad to hear the results of your tests Zlurgh.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Ok....I'd say yes.

Mix it maybe 60/40 water/Titbond and slather on three coats...it just takes a couple of minutes to dry.

But wax is still going to be easier.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

True, but I heard wax can be a problem with softwoods if the ambient temperature gets hot (which it will) - it can soak up the grain and get to places it shouldn't be.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Glue and water also soaks up in the grain, but at the time of application. Where ever you apply the glue/water mix it will soak into the wood fibers and when the water evaporates away it leaves the glue in the wood fiber.

We have used glue/water mix to end seal milled wood in Peru before wax was available. It works to seal but not as well as wax. On larger surfaces it only provides moderate protection. On thin slices that are already dry there is not really a need to end seal to store in your shed.

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Lance Peck

I have tops that have been stored for years and none of them have anything on the ends. The RH throughout the year varies between about 35% to close to 100% and I have never found a crack that I would attribute to this variation.
Backs and sides are stored as received,with a seal or without,and only one back set (EIR)developed a crack and that was sealed. The way the crack opened I think this was compression wood.
Large chunks of brace wood quite often come to me with a seal (wax) and I leave this on till I saw the billet.
As stated in another thread,I think the RH cycling is a good thing and not something to worry about.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!