Official Luthiers Forum!

I use standard wood glue. there are many brands available but i like to use titebond. Holds well and dries fast. It has an open time of 5 min or so. This means you need to have it set the way you want it and in the clamps withing 5 min. Then i will let them stay in the clamps for at least 2 hours before i remove them, but if you dont need the clamps for a while i would leave them in the clamps overnight. Get your joints as tight as possible before you even put glue on the board. Clamps dont fix problems they wont pull a not so good joint together. I would even do some test runs before using glue, just to make sure you know how everything will work and there are no surprises. The better job you do gluing the boards together, the easier the next step will be. As always, attack everything with a get it right the first time attitude, and it will reduce the fixes you will need to do later.

Elmers glue.

...No really, I'm serious. Just as good as Titebond, and much cheaper. Heck, you could probably find some lying around for free.

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

Welcome Adam and good luck on your new adventure - I just finished what you are just starting (First guitar, but don't do what I did, they will lock you up in an asylum!))- I used Titebond and it hasn't come apart yet - let it sit for 24 hours after gluing. Keep us posted and take as many pics as possible (Post them too!)

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"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

Personally, I'm a big fan of Titebond, but do make sure you guys Titebond I, or "Original." The waterproof stuff sounds better, but for guys like us, the red bottle's where it's at. Also, don't go to a woodworking specialty store. Get it at the big box retailer to save some money. For me, the confidence of a proven glue is worth an extra couple of dollars when you consider its importance to the build as compared to the percentage of cost you're going to spend in the long run.

Welcome to OLF!

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David Morris

There are many glues you could take to joint your blank: Titebond, White glue (the LMI one), Hot Hide Glue, Fish glue, Epoxy resin...

I think that the easiest to work with, for you, and the easiest to find is the Titebond. Take the Original one, red bottle.
Less glue is better (but spread it fast, 'cause you don't want to let it begin to dry before assembling the pieces. Try to do it under 2 minutes.)

Epoxy is more expensive and harder to find. It is very strong and stable, and you have at least 15 minutes to spread it before it begins to cure.





Disagree.

The choice of glue is something important. Each glue have pros and cons for different steps of the building.
For me, the elmer's don't fit anywhere, or maybe to stick a paper template on a MDF.

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

Ahhhhh, let the glue wars begin. Betcha this point has never been argued before

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"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

I also disagree with the idea that elmers glue is as good as titebond. I heard this rumor about elmers glue a while back, so out of curiosity I decided to run some tests. I glued two small blocks of wood together with titebond 2 and two small blocks with elmers glue. After 24 hours to dry I was able to pull the blocks glues with elmers glue apart with absolutely no effort. I couldnt pull aprt the titebond 1 blocks. I then tried to chisel the titebond blocks apart at the glue joint. The wood directly next to/around the joint broke before the glue. I used titebond 3 on all parts of my guitar except for the fretboard. To glue down the fretboard, I used titbond 1 so I could remove it with heat and steam in the future if necessary.