Glue

March 31, 2019

Sometimes old school is better. Some twenty years ago, my son Matthew and I started building the wooden kayak that now hangs in my garage. We laid it out, wire-stitched the panels together, and epoxied it inside and out. Other than a few scrapes and scratches from an assortment of rocks and sand, it’s in as good shape as it was the day we finished it. That build taught me the wonder of epoxy, and I’ve used it to repair old furniture along with countless other projects. 

A couple years ago, I bought a 1936 King Moretone string bass. It’s a beautiful old instrument with stunning curly maple sides and back that project the sound far better than my much more recent Shen bass. Cosmetically, the Shen is nearly perfect; there are no cracks and only minor faults in the finish. The King however, has had its share of bumps and bruises along the way. When I first bought it, I took it to a specialist in Buffalo to check it all over to make sure everything was in tip top shape, but over time, changes in humidity and temperature take their toll. The lamination of tips of three of the bouts on the backside have broken off and disappeared, and along the edges it’s possible in places to slide a knife blade between the layers. When I play a high C, it buzzes like static on an old radio. Something needed to be done.

A local instrument repairman and music shop owner told me that the lamination repair was something I could do myself, but I balked at the prospect. I wanted anything done to it to be done right, and wasn’t sure I was up to it. But a few weeks ago, having decided it was time to take the plunge, I ordered some hide glue and some glue syringes, and started watching YouTube videos. I wish I had watched them first; I would have boiled up my own hide glue. Maybe next time. This evening, it was time to dive in. I soaked the glue pearls for a half hour, then heated the resulting gelatin in an improvised double boiler, and got to work with glue and clamps. Turns out, the stuff is easy to work with, lots of fun, and I can say I did it myself. The laminations are once again tight, and the buzzing is almost gone. Almost. 

The good news is, if I don’t like the finished product, unlike epoxy or PVA glue, a little heat liquifies it so the job can be redone. Old in this case is definitely better. 

It all makes me ponder. Our souls are like that old bass. Life tends to delaminate us, separate the various parts of our lives, so that the music we make is dissonant and harsh. But like the glue, with a little trouble and trial to heat things up, and the water of the Word flowing into our hearts, God reconstitutes us so we can play his melodies clearly and beautifully. THAT makes me very thankful tonight!