Hypodermic Needle Gluing Tool:
Source: Guitar Repair Tools & Jigs
Hypodermic Needle Gluing Tool:
This is a simple enough tool to make, but you need to be aware of certain modifications that will make it note only usable but safe to use.
Uses For This Tool Around The Shop:
- Repairing cracks in top and back plates
- Repairing cracks in sides
- Repairing loose plywood plys in top or back plates
- Gluing loose braces
- Injecting Glue into cracks that are not separated or detached, like a cracked headpiece
- Injecting Glue under a slightly lifted bridge that you won’t be resetting
- Injecting Glue into open bridge cracks
Purchasing the Needles:
Needles are available from your local Pharmacy, but you will likely be grilled as to what their use will be. I just find it a lot more hassle-free to purchase them on line and in large quanitities so you won’t run your supply out. Just click this link to purchase 20 gage Hypodermic Needle: to get them delivered to your home.
These are 20 gage needles which will permit an even flow of glue through the needle that is required.
Making the Needle Modifications:
The first thing you will want to do is sand off the sharp point of the needle to prevent it from damaging the repair area and even more importantly, sticking you in the fingers and hands all of the time.
Simply take a piece of 120 to 150 grit Silicone Carbide (wet\dry) sandpaper and sand the point off so the bevel on the needle is much severe. If you prefer to keep the bevel, just sand the sharpness off the metal tip itself to make the very tip blunt so it won’t poke you.
Installing Depth Control:
When you are repairing loose braces inside a guitar, you have all you can do to direct the gluing tool to the correct location without having to worry about how far you have inserted the needle into under the brace.
The easiest way to provide a depth gage on the needle is to slip a piece of electrical wiring insulation over the needle shaft. Cut the insulation to a length long enough to cover the entire needle shaft except for about the last 1/4″ or so of the end. I keep several needles in stock with depth stops at different lengths.
Installing An End Plug:
If you plan of doing quite a few repairs, you should keep these Needle Gluing Tools on hand and filled with glue, ready for use. If there will more than a few days to a few weeks between usage, these needles are cheap enough to just toss them. If you will be using the Needle Tool frequently , you should find a piece of copper wire that fits nicely into the needle opening. Short of that, just use a little masking tape to cover the opening to keep the glue from drying in the needle itself.
Tags: crack repair tools., guitar repair tools, hypodermic needle gluing tool
