Dobro glue etc.

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Patrick Thornhill
Posts: 109
Joined: 15 Jun 2012 9:17 am
Location: Austin Texas, USA

Dobro glue etc.

Post by Patrick Thornhill »

So as most everyone knows, Juszkiewicz-era Gibson bought out OMI sometime in the 90s and proceeded to run the name "Dobro" into the ground. The final insult was to move to Chinese manufacture under the Epiphone brand prior to bankruptcy and liquidation. Evidently the new(ish) ownership of Gibson was uninterested in continuing and the name and trademark are now owned by Bank of America, of all places (side note: we should take up a forum-wide collection to buy it of off them and gift it to Paul Beard).

Anyway, I just bought one of the aforementioned Chinese made "Hound Dog Deluxe" bodies off of ebay for $60 and plan to get a little artsy-fartsy with my rebuild of it:

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My question is, does anyone have any idea what kind of glues may have been used in the construction of these instruments? The neck is a little seperated at the heel, and I'm pondering the best strategy for repair:

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I'm sure there's no dovetail or anything attaching the neck, and the wood grain of the block inside makes me think it's not a block at all, but is in fact the end of the neck itself, with the body sides mortised into it or something:

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Any knowledge, suggestions, or educated guesses from y'all would be most appreciated.
Thanks!!
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Howard Parker
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Post by Howard Parker »

Just a few random thoughts/factoids:

"Dobro" used a neck stick/ attachment method. Weird but effective. This guitar was not built on a Dobro design. On this guitar...Who knows.

From the photo it looks like either the cutout for the soundwell or the soundwell itself is off center, perhaps in both directions. If so, mounting internals will be problematic. Actually, playing the guitar might be, "difficult". Feel free to ignore if you think it's the photo and you've confirmed placement with a long straight edge.

You're already aware of this guitar's reputation. Might make a fun project, or not.

Good luck!

hp
Howard Parker

03\' Carter D-10
70\'s Dekley D-10
52\' Fender Custom
Many guitars by Paul Beard
Jeff Highland
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Joined: 9 Jul 2019 7:33 am
Location: New South Wales, Australia

Post by Jeff Highland »

That does not look like a Spanish heel construction to me. The grain of the internal block is running from front to back.
I'd be inclined to put a couple of screws from the inside into the base of the neck. Either angle in via the existing soundwell holes or drill an extra access hole
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