Wood Jacks To Repair Loose Braces
Source: Crack and Brace Repair
Repair Loose Braces With Wooden Jacks:
Tools and materials Required:
Assorted Wood Jack Sticks:
20 gage Hypodermic Needle:
Titebond III Glue
Mechanics Inspection Mirror
LED Work Light
Wooden Cam Clamps:
You have found a loose brace or loose braces and have clearly marked their locations. Now, the time has come for the repair process to stop the buzzing or to restore the strength back to the top or back plate.
Gluing the Brace:
Insert your LED Work Light and Mechanics Inspection Mirror inside the guitar after string removal.
Fill the Hyperdermic Needle with Titebond III Glue and stick the needle between the plate and the brace and squeeze a liberal amount of glue into the crack. Now press the brace into place with your fingers and with the inspection mirror make sure that there is glue squeeze out on both sides of the brace for the entire length of the separation.
Ultimate Guitar Building Tip: You can pick up a Hypodermic Needle at a drug store. Use a needle with an inner gage of 20 to 22 which will give adequate opening for the glue to flow. Other gages can be used if these are not available and you will need to find what works best for your use. They are very inexpensive so a variety of needle for different glues an be on hand.
Next sand the sharp tip off the needle so you don’t stab yourself.
Finally slip a section of electrical wire plastic insulation over all but about 1/4″ of the top of the needle and find a plug to fit into the tip so the glue does not dry.
Using Wooden Jack Sticks:
This is a great way to apply pressure to the brace being repaired. The only caution is that when the jacks are in position they should be almost vertical, other wise when external clamping pressure is applied, the jack could slip out of position.
Likes and Dislikes: What l don’t like about using the wooden jacks is that you need to go through some trial and error fitting and dry testing before you use it. What I like about using the wooden jacks is that they minimize damage and you have more of a hands-on approach to applying pressure to the brace. They are also very easy to work around bracing on the opposite plate from that being repaired. You can even craft them to sit on top of an opposite brace.
What I do is keep several sizes of these jacks around the shop in various configurations. I like to have the lengths in 1/4″ increments so that I always have one or two for the proper occasion. Also the top of the jack should be shaped to fit the brace being repaired. This can vary from plain flat-topped braces, round-topped braces, pointed or pyramid shaped top braces and elipitical topped braces.
Most times the bottom of the jack will rest on the guitar top or back plate. I find it advantageous to shim-up the brace jack with small wedges. This minimizes the number of jack lengths that you will need and it spreads the downward force over a greater area.
Applying the Pressure With Wooden Jacks:
With the use of Wooden Jacks – follow this procedure:
- After the glue in applied and the light and mirror are in place, fit the jack into position and “snug” it up to it is putting a slight mount of pressure on the brace and the opposite plate. You will find that if you have the jack sized correctly the top and or back will bow up very slightly to allow you to go “vertical” with the jack. It can be beneficial if you round the bottom of the jack slightly to allow for easier wedging action.
- Next Fit a Wooden Cam Clamp over the Guitar Plates, directly over the Wooden Jack location and snug the clamp up enough to it stays firmly in place. If you find you are depressing the plates slightly, remove the cam clamp and try a different length wooden jack.
- Now you should be able to apply more pressure on the cam clamp.
- Next take a small metal scraper and carefully clean the glue squeeze out from the guitar plate and the side of the brace.
- Follow up with a wet cloth.Set the guitar aside to dry overnight.Carefully remove the Wooden Cam Clamp and the Wooden Jack in reverse order.
Note: The other method of repairing a loose brace with with Metal Screw Jacks. Refer to the Article Repairing Loose Braces With Screw Jacks, for the methods using that tool.
Tags: how to repair guitar buzzes, repair braces, repair loose braces, repair loose braces with wooden jacks
