National D8 "loose" body sections fixable?
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Steven Welborn
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- Location: Ojai,CA USA
National D8 "loose" body sections fixable?
Just acquired an old National D8. I noticed the body sections were a bit loose and assumed there were accessable bolts or nuts under the center plate or something that would allow me to tighten the thing up but that doesnt seem to be the case. Can anyone clue me in on how these things were attached and can it be remedied? Thanks. This is the no legs, totem pole fret markers, cream, clear plastic fretboard covers model.
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Roy Ayres
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- Location: Riverview, Florida, USA, R.I.P.
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Steven,
I bought one of the first D8's National produced after WWII. I didn't like the idea of the front neck not being raised above the back neck, so I disassembled the 5 parts, added a 5/8 inch board under the front neck, and made a new front piece. The five pieces were just glued together. I can't recall whether or not there were dowel pins involved. I do recall that the biggest problem was getting the 5 pieces apart. So, if your parts are already loose, over half the battle is already won.
Good luck with the project.
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I bought one of the first D8's National produced after WWII. I didn't like the idea of the front neck not being raised above the back neck, so I disassembled the 5 parts, added a 5/8 inch board under the front neck, and made a new front piece. The five pieces were just glued together. I can't recall whether or not there were dowel pins involved. I do recall that the biggest problem was getting the 5 pieces apart. So, if your parts are already loose, over half the battle is already won.
Good luck with the project.
------------------
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Steven Welborn
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- Location: Ojai,CA USA
Roy, I'm able to pull or pry apart the sections
enough to see there are three big dowels attaching the sections. Aparantly the dowels were the only places that were glued originally to glue the sections together. Wich I guess is why they eventually work loose as the glue ages. I assume you only reglued the dowels and clamped when reglueing yours back together since the sections were painted on the inner mating surfaces as well, leaving only the dowel and respective bores as glueable areas (unless you remomoved paint on inbetween mating surfaces?). Seems to me the more solidly this thing is glued together the better the sound/ sustain etc.
enough to see there are three big dowels attaching the sections. Aparantly the dowels were the only places that were glued originally to glue the sections together. Wich I guess is why they eventually work loose as the glue ages. I assume you only reglued the dowels and clamped when reglueing yours back together since the sections were painted on the inner mating surfaces as well, leaving only the dowel and respective bores as glueable areas (unless you remomoved paint on inbetween mating surfaces?). Seems to me the more solidly this thing is glued together the better the sound/ sustain etc.
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Roy Ayres
- Posts: 3191
- Joined: 9 Oct 2002 12:01 am
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Steven,
I don't really recall that much detail, as the work I did was in about 1946 -- but I can't imagine having relied just on glued dowels to hold it together. I do recall, however, that I had to re-drill the dowel holes in the built-up front neck. My suggestion would be to strip the paint in the joined areas, sand it, and glue the entire areas using yellow carpenter's glue and bar clamps. The work I did was before the advent of yellow glue, and I think I used the old-fashioned hot glue. It's hard to beat the common yellow glue; that is what Fender bought by the 55 gallon drum and used on all glued parts when I worked there in about 1966. That was before the yellow glue became a common hardware-store product.
Wish I could be of more help.
------------------
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR=BLACK><P ALIGN=left>Visit my Web Site at RoysFootprints.com
Browse my Photo Album and be sure to sign my Guest Book.
I don't really recall that much detail, as the work I did was in about 1946 -- but I can't imagine having relied just on glued dowels to hold it together. I do recall, however, that I had to re-drill the dowel holes in the built-up front neck. My suggestion would be to strip the paint in the joined areas, sand it, and glue the entire areas using yellow carpenter's glue and bar clamps. The work I did was before the advent of yellow glue, and I think I used the old-fashioned hot glue. It's hard to beat the common yellow glue; that is what Fender bought by the 55 gallon drum and used on all glued parts when I worked there in about 1966. That was before the yellow glue became a common hardware-store product.
Wish I could be of more help.
------------------
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR=BLACK><P ALIGN=left>Visit my Web Site at RoysFootprints.com
Browse my Photo Album and be sure to sign my Guest Book.
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Steven Welborn
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- Location: Ojai,CA USA
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Brett Habben
- Posts: 59
- Joined: 2 Oct 1998 12:01 am
- Location: Spicewood TX USA
Steven,
Here's another angle. Don't glue the whole seam, and here's why.
Yes, the sections were just held together by dowels using hyde glue, just like furniture of the era. The good thing about hyde glue is that it is water soluble, allowing you to disassemble the instrument if necessary. When I got mine it was already 'disassembled' due to storage under a leaky roof. I refinished the individual pieces, and reglued it back together using hyde glue just on the dowels. Solid as a rock. Sounds great. And when I get sick of that color combo, I can just disassemble it again and redo all the pieces over again.
Adios,
Brett
Here's another angle. Don't glue the whole seam, and here's why.
Yes, the sections were just held together by dowels using hyde glue, just like furniture of the era. The good thing about hyde glue is that it is water soluble, allowing you to disassemble the instrument if necessary. When I got mine it was already 'disassembled' due to storage under a leaky roof. I refinished the individual pieces, and reglued it back together using hyde glue just on the dowels. Solid as a rock. Sounds great. And when I get sick of that color combo, I can just disassemble it again and redo all the pieces over again.
Adios,
Brett