Removing headstock overlay

[herickson]

Hi,

Well the mistakes just keep on coming for my #1 (looks like that's the *only* way I learn). I took what should have been an easy operation and turned it into a mess. In addition to spliting the wood while trying to rough out the headstock overlay (the coping saw got bound up), I got an uneven attachment from glueing. The wood curled up in a couple of spots around the edges. I guess I should have used a clamping caul to get even pressure, but I never seem to think of these things ahead of time.

So my question is: what's the best way to fix this? Would heating things up with a heat gun, or iron soften the glue enough to remove it, or reclamp it? Should I try to take the whole thing off or just fix up the two spots where its not level? Thanks for any suggestions. Hopefully I'm learning from my mistakes and #2 will go a lot smoother.

[sunburst]

What kind of glue is in there? If it's titebond (or similar) an iron will get it off of there, but you might be able to "iron" it down. If you have your clamping caul ready while the glue is still hot, it's worth a try to see if it will clamp flat and stay. If it doesn't, you can take it off and start over.

If you used hide glue, it'll take a lot of heat to get it off, but should still work.

[herickson]

Hi sunburst,

Thanks for the reply. Yes its titebond. I'm guessing I should put a damp cloth between the iron and the wood to prevent scorching and maybe for the steam to help with the softening? Also, if I have to take the whole thing off I should just sand the old glue off?
I'll tell you what, for every mistake I make (and I've made a lot of them) I get a better appreciation for guys like you who can put together such nice looking instruments. Thanks again for the reply.

- Herb

[sunburst]

I don't think you'll need steam, and in fact you might cause problems with warping. Titebond will just plain melt with heat. If you have to take it off, scraping and sanding will remove the old glue.

I'll let you in on a little "secret". Part of the reason some of #us can put together such nice looking instruments is because we've gotten good at hiding our mistakes. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[herickson]

If recovering from mistakes gets me on the road to making nice mandos, then I must be on the *fast* track #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif . Thanks for the advice and words of encouragement.

-- Herb

[tope]

LOL, hang in there herickson, it only gets better