Would suggest looking at UV resins, most of which can be tinted with acrylic paints or inks, and the ones used in dentistry are definitely stable over a long term. You can also add metal powders to them There are softer UV resins which I have used in model making (so you can cut them away with a blade), and although they seem dimensionally stable, on a nicely finished piece of wood with lacquer over it in several years would require some testing
To cover a few of the questions below... I have been using the system for around four years in my workshop. I don't have the top of the line Pro system that Ben has, I have the middle of the range PLUS Kit. It does exactly what it says on the box. The sticks are a polymide resin formulation, so not truly a hotmelt "glue". The adherence of the Thermelt resin to the wood is superb. You can sand it, plane it, rout it, polish it or carve it in 5-10 seconds after using the heatsink to cool the resin. It will not sink below or rise above the substrate surface over time, as it is microscopically flexible and bonds really well with the wood. Many woodturners and furniture makers use the system. It is also the go-to system for pro furniture manufacturers.
I have used this stuff to fill some knots and small cracks in an ash table I built a year ago. My intention was to have something that isn't such a big mess like epoxy. It is super easy to work with but also has its limitations. For holes and small cracks it's good. When the holes are too small and shallow adhesion isn't good enough. It needs something to grab onto. Penetration isn't very deep because the material solidifies while coming into contact with the cold wood. For slightly larger cracks I wouldn't use it again without reinforcement. I had one crack where the wood moved a little bit and the "glue" lost adhesion on one side. Sanding it works ok but with the oil finish I used you can see a difference compared to the wood when you pay attention. I also found it hard to get all sanding marks out of it because it's softer than wood.
My joy at seeing Crimson guitars back is slightly tempered by the pedant in me suffering pain at a British company spelling ‘revolutionise' with a 'z'.😉
I have 2 questions: How well does it work when applied _before_ an alcohol-based stain? One thing I know about hot glue (and their formula may well differ) is that it loses its grip when you apply denatured alcohol to it so it would be interesting to know how alcohol-based stains affect it. And 2: can you reuse those bits you shave off somehow? Seems a waste to cut off what seems to be most of the glue just to throw it away...
But how will that stuff hold up in the long run? It doesn't seem particularly hard, since you can slice it clean off with a chisel. Will it shrink over time, or will it interfere with the way the wood shrinks and expands? Will it leave witness lines in the lacquer after some years? Will it dent more easily than the surrounding wood? How will lacquer or other finishes adhere to it? Those are the kinds of questions that come to mind.
It looks wonderful and really follows the adage "work smarter, not harder". I foresee people using old smoking pipe "tappers" to squish glue on complex curved surfaces and hard-to-reach areas.
Wondering how well finish will stick to it...hopefully with the high solid content it will be fine... Also wondering if you could add some of the powders to it in a way it would show and not be either just in the cavity or carved away...
The "sticks" are not "glue" per se, they are a polymide resin. In my experience, the filled area does not shrink over time (years) and is fully sandable, planable and bonds incredibly well to the substrate wood.
I can't wait to see what utterly magical lunacy you come up with while using this tool! I'm also glad you took time off to protect your mental health. It's really important that you did some self care. Virtual man hugs to you.
Three things… 1. Good to see you back. Personal time is so important. 2. Will this magic take finish? 3. How much faff is it to change colours, particularly dark to light? Cool looking device though.
I wonder if that glue is able to be remolded, set and remelted - if so, small pot on a gas burner, couple of glue sticks in, copper powder in, pour it all into a greased metal tube.... Robert's your Mother's brother, you've got some copper filler sticks!
If I remember correctly the manufacturer sells you a silicone mould you can use to purge the rest of a stick into when you want to change colours. You can then use the purged material again later.
Wow!! I have absolutely used superglue to fill voids on some crazy figured bigleaf maple. This is a game changer! My favorite part of the video was when Ben licked the board 🤣🤣
i can see this being super useful for things like cottonwood and other very knotty veneers in builds in place of resin soaking. I bet more of the natural resonance on the wood would come through doing something like this in place of resin as well.
I feel like it may be worth doing an experiment with a temperature probe, like a cheap oven thermometer that you can afford to ruin. Place the probe in a recess or channel, glue around it and then come back with a heat gun and note down the melting point, if there is one. What I'd want to know is whether the substance you're using melts again after the initial setting (hot glue definitely does, but I can see from other people that this isn't just a regular glue stick). My biggest worry is that the temperature inside a hot car on a summer's day could bring it back to it's melted state underneath the finish, potentially leading to damage as parts of the surface under the finish become soft and gummy.
how would this stand up to getting hot? That would be my worry. I know it doesn't get soft in room temperature, but under lights or in the trunk of a car?
Looks very cool! I’m not totally sure if I’d find much need for it… maybe for a resin alternative or for fret markers or an inlay. I’d like to see more examples of how it looks and performs in larger cavities and what the various material/colors are like.
Also, there is an accessory for that tool that let's you melt the excess bits you cut into new glue tubes. For us the cheap bastards that saves all the tiny pieces of everything. 😅
Hi all at HQ, incase I don't catch the DGD livestream tomorrow, A query regarding people complaining on the extras channel about no build videos. How about changing the username? Since DGD is somewhat separated from Crimson and you don't post much of any Crimson content on there anymore, wouldn't it be better for branding? I'm afraid I wouldn't know how but I've seen Will Gelvin at Gelvin guitars (formally Wills easy guitar (then "and other stuff")) do it a few times, so I'm sure you'll know how. Something like "Daily Guitar Live" (or Streams), "DGD Live and extras" so Crimson content will still be valid?
Keep yourself healthy, Ben; we miss you on the guitar museum draws, but totally understand.. And the boys are doing a pretty good job in your stead. I would love to see your concept of the best fingerstyle SMALL Hollowbody electric...what would you build?
Oh how I wish that I worked with wood and needed something to fill holes in it, which would justify getting one of those! But all is not lost as I'm getting some new tools delivered today. Only wax carving tools, but new tools are new tools. On a different note, if wood from the tragically vandalised Hadrian's Wall sycamore (may the perpetrators rot in Hell) comes up for sale, would you be tempted?
Used this trick a few months ago to fill a worm hole in an old mallet. Not sure I'd rely on it for stabilizing a crack (in fact I definitely wouldn't), but for filling ones that aren't going to expand? Nothing beats colored hot glue or sealing wax for the time savings while keeping the surface stain-able.
GDay Ben, If you wanted a copper bars to hold 2 pieces apart, use stainless steel for the strength and then sleeve some copper tube over it. If you rebated (staged) the holes so the copper tube ended inside the timber, you would never know it wasn't solid copper from the outside.
Ben, you should investigate making your own glue sticks using sanding dust and melted plain glue sticks cast into a mold. then you can have perfectly matching colours for any wood, plain or stained.
So....., if it saves you guys several hours, does that mean that the people who ordered those custom guitars get a little discount? 😉 What a great discovery. This is one of the things that I come to this channel for, to learn tip and things.
