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Hello,

Today I had the pleasure of removing threaded rod from a ukulele neck that I had epoxied into place using System Three epoxy. (It's a long story but I botched the placement) I put a heating iron on the rod and let it sit for about 10 minutes. I then was able to basically "unscrew" the threaded rod.

I was surprised to see this white fluffy material in the hole. I don't know if the epoxy only partially set or if that is what it looks like after being heated up? Anyone have experience with that?



Brad

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Also, epoxy will stick to itself, correct? Or will I need to widen the hole, plug it and redrill it?


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I would hazard a guess that since you glued in the threaded rod it was a net fit with the epoxy, and as you unthreaded it (a whole lot of turns) it scraped the epoxy and the white fluff is "epoxy filings"
Mike

That's definitely the look of roasted epoxy. Probably has a smell like death on a stick, right? I don't think roasted epoxy is epoxy anymore.
Epoxy is all mechanical bond. I'd get that crap outa there. You need some surface roughness and/or penetration into surrounding wood.
A dowll is a perfect long grain fill so plugging and starting fresh would be tempting.

Perfect. Thanks for that! I will plug it. The hole is just a smidge too big for a 5/16" dowel so I'll go a step bigger and cut a Mahogany plug for it. Appreciate the help!!


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Brad, you need to enlarge the hole to make sure you will be "wood to wood". I would be wary of using epoxy to glue in a plug. I would absolutely use a mahogany plug and try to orient the grain in the same fashion as the hole. You can turn a plug on a drill press. I would glue it in with hide glue, but Elmer's woodworker's glue is also good. make sure the fitting is not REALLY tight, allow for the glue.
I have never had any use for epoxy except for inlay filler mixed with tempura powder or sanding dust...

Thanks! I did open up the hole to 3/8 and cut a plug for it out of Mahogany. I didn't do a great job aligning the grain though. I put it in with titebond.

But, here it is... all plugged up with some additional relief chiseled in. I'll do a little flossing tomorrow and then drill a new hole for the threaded rod. Here's to hoping I don't botch the placement again!!




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Looks good Brad...
Hopefully the new hole won't fall on the joint.

I've never built a ukelele, but that that looks good to me. Heck, I'd be confident about proceeding even if it were for a guitar.

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George :-)

Regarding epoxy sticking to itself.

According to this article, the ability diminishes the more cured the old epoxy is.

http://www.westsystem.com/instruction-2 ... -clamping/

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.