Brace Re-glue on Martin Acoustic Guitar

Now, now calm yourself.  This won't hurt a bit.

I'm going to inject some glue under the top brace where it's raised up.  I'm using regular Titebond to do this.  I don't think I'll have enough time to inject the glue and get the clamp into place if I use hide glue - it would start to gel before it was clamped up.

The Titebond's pretty thick and can be hard to pass though a small needle.  The Titebond people say you can thin it up to 5% with water.  I put a couple drops in, and I also warmed it up by holding the glue container under hot water.  It seems more viscous now.

 I have three sizes of needles for this hypodermic - .7mm, .9mm, and 1.2mm.  I'm using the 1.2 here.

Stick the hypo under the brace and squeeze away.

This is a shot via the mirror inside the guitar.  Crazy.

The glue started coming out the other side of the brace, so I knew I had enough in the joint.  It also started dripping down onto the mirror.

Cleaned up the excess glue as much as I could, then clamped the brace with a brace jack - basically a turnbuckle with cauls on the ends.  It's a pain to get right at first, but I discovered the technique- get it in place, then turn the turnbuckle itself to open it up.

The brace is tight against the soundboard now.



The Complete Martin Guitar Restoration Saga
Restoration begins
Repairing heel break
DIY chisel for bridge plate removal
DIY bridge plate removal iron, Pt.1
DIY bridge plate removal iron, Pt.2
Steam removal of bridge plate
Bridge plate removed
Tongue brace removal
Crack repair and brace scallop
New bridge plate Pt. 1
New bridge plate Pt. 2
Patching hole in top
Final fitting of top patch
Installing carbon fiber rod
Fret removal
Fingerboard crack repair, Pt. 1
Fingerboard crack repair, Pt. 2
DIY fret bender tool
Refretting Pt. 1
Refretting Pt. 2
Tuner shaft repair
Neck reset - dovetail fitting
Measuring neck set with DIY jig
Gluing the neck with hide glue
Tortoloid Pickguard
Fitting bridge pins
Brace reglue (This page)
Making bone saddle
Making a buffalo horn nut
Restoration completed