I have a '95 acoustic Guild D4. A little while ago I noticed that an acrylic end piece at the base of the neck popped off (shown in image bellow, hopefully it’s not too big). Is it possible the glue is degrading all around and I need a luthier to check out the body? (The inside looks ok to me, but I don’t know what to look for.) If it’s not really a concern, can I glue it back on with superglue? Some other glue?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or info you can provide!!!
I’ve seen some bad home made repairs over the years that should have been done by someone experienced (luthier) and tend to lean towards saying always go to a luthier. In this case, it sure looks safe for you to do this on your own. It shouldn’t need much glue either.
My guess is the acrylic doesn’t hold the wood glue as well as wood. There is no reason the rest of the guitar would have an issue, unless you hear rattling braces or something.
If you want it to stay put, maybe try some superglue rather than wood glue.
Hi Jenny,
I had a similar issue with an old Classical guitar that was dried out & the bridge came off. I removed the strings & glued it back on with superglue (I’m a bit embarrassed to admit) & it was fine for at least a couple of years till I gave it away. I did re-humidify it… your guitar might need to be humidified…
The heel should be fine to glue back!
Hi Jenny,
I can’t really see it well, but to me it has a structure as if it was wood and not acrylic?
Like the others I also don’t think that there might be a problem elsewhere, but it’s a good moment to check. Any slits that shouldn’t be there, or if you can (carefully) slip your fingernail or maybe better a bit of paper under the back of the bridge?
And the heel cap should hold better after a careful tiny bit of sanding in the glueing area.
Good luck,
Dominique
PS. If I recommend sanding carefully, I mean making sure you don’t scratch any other part.
Hi Jenny,
I am a luthier. I build acoustic guitars for Fritz Brothers Guitars in Alabama. Also a certified Taylor repair tech.
Yes, definitely check for other possible issues. There likely won’t be many (or any), but it never hurts to look. And, yes, keep humidity under control. The D’Addario Humidipak is effective and easy to use.
From the looks of it, your heel cap is an easy diy fix. Don’t use superglue; it’s easy but causes its own problems and never, ever, use gorilla glue. What most all builders use for gluing ABS or other plastic bindings, heel caps, etc… to wood is Sigment contact cement (not Duco) or Weld-On 16 Acrylic cement. Both cheap, available on amazon, and sold by the major luthier supply companies, under their own brand name for 5x the price. Martin, Fender, Collings, Gibson, Bourgeois, SCGC, order weld-on by the 55 gal drum.
If not too late, don’t sand anything. Wood, still on the plastic part, will help bond the end cap to the wood of the neck heel. The wood bits also help aligning the cap to the heel; kinda like clicking it into place. Not critical, smooth surfaces work well, too. After gluing and positioning, you will need to apply pressure while it cures. A clamp is best, but most folks don’t have one, so just place a small piece of wood, wrapped in wax paper on top or the end cap and balance a can of tomato paste on top of the wood. That should do it. Oh, yeah, clean up the squeeze out (excess glue) right away, Aaannd…that’s it. Your guitar will love you for it and respond joyfully to that kind of attention.
@Catman62 how would I be able to tell if there was a humidity issue, and how would I go about re-humidifying? The first thing I think of, and maybe too silly, is to put in the bathroom, lol.
Thank you for sharing so much of your knowledge @jwalter! How would I tell if there was a humidity issue, either too much or too little? I live in a damp cool climate (NW Washington, USA), and my guitar is usually on a stand, but I also have a soft case.
Also, as for glues, I have E6000 craft glue and some PVA rubber cement for shoe repair and leather work. Would either of these be better than superglue? I’m just a little hesitant to purchase a new adhesive that will probably (hopefully) only get used once, but I wanna take care of her right!
Hi Jenny. PVA rubber cement is not good. The E6000 might be ok, but it’s only good on certain plastics because of the solvent. Without knowing what your heel cap is made of, I can’t really say. It’s also pretty thick stuff, so hard to get a really thin layer out of it. Under the circumstances, sounds like your best bet is a dinky tube of gel super glue. Spread a thin layer on either surface with a small ratty craft brush, #0 or #1. Don’t forget to put a little weight on it for clamping pressure. That should work out ok.
I wouldn’t recommend the bathroom… too much humidity is pretty much as bad as too little. I don’t have one, but you can purchase a hygrometer to measure humidity… also, D’Addario sells HumidiPaks or a small device that slips between the strings (into the sound hole) that you put water into… keeping a properly humidified guitar in the case helps as well…
There are a bunch of videos such as this one (it’s an ad for a product line but has good info):
