The joint needs to be cleaned of old glue & be open. You can't wick hide glue into a closed joint
The joint needs to be cleaned of old glue & be open. You can't wick hide glue into a closed joint
I used hide glue for more than 30 years making guitars. It is the best glue for guitar, it does not interfere with the sound production. However, it is subject to change in the weather. In hot times, or if you leave your guitar in the trunk of your car in the summer it will melt. Luthiers like me love this glue because it allow us to disassembly a guitar and repair it and put it back again easily. IT requires to be melted at high temperature (usually in a copper container -- see photo) and used immediately (10 secs or so.) It needs strong clamping, and the surfaces of the wood have to be sanded to bare wood. Surfaces need to be perfectly matching. This glue has existed since the Roman Empire. I would recommend using Gorilla glue. But without seeing it, I will not be able to recommend anything else.
Voigtlander NOKTON 35mm f1.2 ASPH II by Palenquero Photography, on Flickr
Why would you recommend Gorilla glue when the OP reported in post #16 that hide glue worked perfectly?
Again, take my advice with a grain of salt, without seeing the piece, I take my recommendation back. Hide glue needs to be used properly, and it takes some time and practice to learn that. The risk of a bad use will be seen later, when the joint will get loose again. See my comments on post 23. Gorilla or the new technology glues are fool proof and or have been studied for use by non-experts.
Let me rephrase my answer: This post/advice will be for future readers who run with the same problem. Hide glue has been the best for centuries because there were no new technologies like now. I said, it is preferred for luthiers because it dries so solid that it does not interfere with the sound conductivity, like some new glues would. That being said, hide glue is subject to the effect of temperature and humidity (fungus, etc.). It melts with high temperatures, etc. That is exactly why it came loose in the first place. It will work fine, until the same conditions of temperature or humidity affect the joint. If the joint were made with Gorilla glue for example 100 years ago, it would have not failed. That is why I am saying. Future readers may explore the benefit of the new technologies too. Simple, free advice.
My repair on the 8x10 rails is holding strong, but I don't leave wood of any kind that hasn't been impregnated with marine epoxy sitting in steamy bathrooms and car trunks so YMMV
In any case, part of my interest in fixing an older camera instead of just buying a new one is historical and learning about the glue and using it in practice is its own reward as far as I'm concerned.
Glad that this post is helping other people with updates and new options to pick and choose from in their own projects!
Thanks for your understanding Patrick. I live in south O.C. and visit HB frequently. I keep track of relative humidity in O.C., most of the time is ideal for instrument making: 50%. However, with the Santa Ana winds, it can go down to 20%. In those days, the wood cracks sometimes due to the stress caused by low relative humidity. Recently, after so much rain, I have measured 80% RH, my dehumidifier is working overtime in my shop. Hide glue is beautiful, and when I referred to learning how to use it, I referred to using it in instrument making, when the joint is not supposed to show. If you see a guitar well made, you are not supposed to distinguish where the glue line is. It may not be so demanding when gluing a camera that clearly shows the join line. I agree that to preserve the authenticity of a piece, the original material is always better. That said, I like to contribute for future generations, I have learned a lot by reading posts made 15 years ago in this forum.
Mine was different.
Last edited by pchaplo; 14-May-2018 at 08:50. Reason: NA
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Well, Gorilla Glue is certainly not foolproof. It needs to be reasonably fresh. Once air gets into the bottle it can go bad quickly. That's because it's moisture-activated. Thus under low humidity conditions the wood needs to be wetted a bit. Tropical woods need scrubbing prior to gluing to remove natural oils so the glue can bond to the wood fiber itself. Oversanding can actually smear oils and resins like a glaze over the surface, esp if you are using the wrong kind of abrasive, which is generally what one encounters. Then there are different kinds of urethane glue. Gorilla glue tends to spread laterally, while the imitation brands tend to mushroom. Either way you need tight clamping.
I hope you washed out the old glue well. My experience is that a surface that's soaked with hide glue (probably that was the original glue) will not stick well if glued with Titebond.
Thanks, but I'd rather just watch:
Large format: http://flickr.com/michaeldarnton
Mostly 35mm: http://flickr.com/mdarnton
You want digital, color, etc?: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stradofear
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