Installing binding on custom made resonator.
The curved maple dome back that is pulled down to the sidewall glue joint has failed in a couple of places.
Can pull down with strong clamps.
Please only answer if you have success repairing a similar problem as wood is under quite a bit of pressure.
Will super glue hold down? Kind of afraid of reg. wood glue.
I would clean the wood to remove as much old glue as possible. I would use shark skin abrasive for that. I would then warm the parts and glue with hot hide glue applied with a stainless steel palette knife, clamp for several hours, preferably about 24 hours. I would not use superglue.
There may be other experienced repair people who would use different glue and different techniques, but I would expect success using the stated method.
I don't have John's experience with hide glue. I am sure that his idea would be the best way to go if you have the know-how to use it like he does. Since I don't, I would use Elmer's Yellow Wood Glue or Tite Bond Original, clamped for the same length of time he recommends.
With the wood being under pressure, I would not use Super Glue. While it has enormous bonding power, it has no shear strength. One little bump and the glue joint will break. You have seen ads showing how one drop will hold a battle tank, but it won't hold a broken door handle on a car. As soon as any pressure is put against it, the joint fails.
Thanks for the advice.
I have hide glue crystals, Elmer's and Titebond on hand.
Mixing and keeping hide glue and parts warm is probably more than I want to do on a relatively small area.
Think I'll use the wood glue clamped down for 24 hours and use superglue to install binding which will cover joint and help hold.
I have always found Duco Cement to be the go-to glue for binding. It is made for gluing plastic because it has a solvent which adheres the plastic to a surface.
Stewart MacDonald sells a glue especially for binding, but it goes for an obscene price. A $2 tube of Duco Cement from Dollar General will do the same job.
Duco has been my go-to for celluloid bindings forever, but it is not much good for some other plastics like ABS.
Some years ago, when I was working "at the factory", we started having trouble with gaps at the bindings. I started mixing a little acetone with my Duco and that helped the problem. Turns out, Duco changed the formula and that was responsible for the problem. I still mix Duco with acetone, but I only use it on celluloid bindings. When I must use some other plastic bindings i find that Weld-On cement (in a tube) works well. For wooden bindings I use Titebond.
