re-gluing brace

[phynie]

I have an old Lyon and Healy C style mandolin. It is basically an oval hole A style. It has a lateral brace/tone bar placed less than an inch below the soundhole. I just took a look inside the mandolin with a little mirror and was that one end of the brace is separated from the top. I do not see any visible signs of the top sinking and the separation is quite small.
My question is, can I just put some carpenters glue on a toothpick and glue the brace back to the top? I would plan on clamping the brace to the top once the glue is between it and the top. Would this be a good fix or should I just take it in to my repair shop?

[Rroyd]

I have used a small (2 cc) disposable syringe and small needle with a gradual curve bent into it to inject glue into the type of separation you have described. It's easier to get the glue where you need it, and into smaller cracks than you can manage with a toothpick. From your description, I see no reason why you can't repair it yourself. I just use old syringes that were used for vaccinating horses; any horse people you might know should have some if you have trouble obtaining one. The needles are small enough and long enough to work very well for this type of repair.

[Michael Lewis]

This instrument will have been assembled with hot hide glue at the factory, and should be re glued with the same. The problem with just aplying yellow glue and clamping is that it may not stick very well to the old hide glue, and becomes more of an obsticle toward future repairs. Hide glue can reconstitute with hot water if it isn't too thick, but fresh glue will be stronger. I would try to clean out as much old glue as possible before proceeding.

How you gonna clamp it? Get your clamping arrangement organized and try it dry before applying any glue. After clamping you should clean up as much glue squeeze out as possible. It cleans up very easily when wet, but if you let it dry you will have a real problem with clean up.

[sunburst]

Here's (http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Mandolin/Structural/MandoBrace/mandobrace.html) what Frank Ford has to say about a similar repair.

[phynie]

thanks for the link, that looks much easier than a toothpick. I love that site. Frank has a ton of info there. So helpful. Thanks for the replies. I am really interested in repairs, I am just reluctant to use my instrument as the test subject. But, I guess it's time to bite the bullet. Better a loose brace than a cracked top, eh? Thanks again guys!