freekhed Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 (edited) Hello all, Been lurking for a while and I most enjoy checking out your builds! I'm finally tackling my second 'guitar' build for my uncle and thought I'd share some progress pics and ask a couple questions for advice: Specs: Neck: indian rosewood w/pink ivory board, matching pink ivory headstock veneer (front) yellow cedar burl (back) Gold frets Body: Swamp ash chambered w/e. indian rosewood back Top: curly port orford cedar Binding: rosewood (herein lies a question) Tailpiece: wood, yet to be created Bridge: tone pros tuneomatic?? Gold or black Tuners: Gotoh 510 (gold/black) Pickups: HD z90's, black Indian rosewood pickup rings http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i137/dmt...se/IMG_0091.jpg http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i137/dmt...se/IMG_0093.jpg http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i137/dmt...se/IMG_0095.jpg http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i137/dmt...se/IMG_0082.jpg I have a question about installing wood binding, as I've never installed any kind of binding before. What glue would you recommend? Any tips/tricks you have learned with installing wood binding? I have the routing bit & bearing from StewMac already. I have the process down (I think), but my questions lie in which glue to use and how best to go about 'shaping' the binding before I glue it. SHould I just heat it up as I tape it around the body, essentially forming it to the body? SHould i get the binding wet first? (I've read NOT to do this)... Edited December 29, 2007 by Maiden69 One pic per post! Forum rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freekhed Posted December 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 I also just ran across this, and they look useful and intersting for those of us without any neck contour templates: http://cgi.ebay.com/Luthier-Instrument-Nec...1QQcmdZViewItem Click the PDF link for available templates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 that fretboard and headplate look great!! if you are doing wood bindings you need to look into wood bending. Last time i did wood binding i did it on a hot pipe which is one way acoustics side are done. So look into acoustic side construction for ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Wow that is a looks like a ton of routing, on that thick of a body. Bet you had a fair pile of sawdust after that. Look up bending acoustic sides as Wez mentioned, same basic process for wood binding. You want to prebend, don't try heating as your go. You need to get wood up to about 300 degrees for it to set a bend. I think the Pink Ivory looks pretty cool. This is a pic of an acoustic set from the stack I resawed earlier in 07' Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 And I shall be watching this intently. All who know me know I'm obsessed with Pink Ivory and am constantly wondering why it's not used more than it is. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Yeah, it is such a nice wood and so tough to pass on when you find pieces like those in this thread, just beautiful stuff. The project is looking great, can't wait to see how it all comes out. Best of luck and keep those progress pics coming! J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freekhed Posted December 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Thx for the replies guys. I've begun setting up a 'jig' for prebending the binding. I'll keep ya updated on the progress. It was definitely a chore hollowing out the body....My last guitar I did fully hollow and it feeds back like a mother-fu*ker, so on this one I left some wood in the middle to hopefully cut back on the feedback factor. I also counter-arched the bottom of the top, as seen in it's rough stages in the pic. I hope I do this binding justice! So, back to my original question, has anyone done wood binding? Which glue is best? Just plain 'ol Titebond I or II? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 titebond is fine as long as you have some way to hold it in place as the glue cures.... a nice long elastic band does the trick nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Titebond and binding tape would seem the most logical. Is there anything wrong with using binding tape for wood binding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 nah - i normally end up using a bit of tape.... but the elastic band (or even a bit of fine rope) do the trick much more effeciently once you have a bit of practice at it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Nice project! I also love the wood choices and enjoy the use of pink ivory. What is the tap tone like with this wood? About binding...yes you will have to bend the wood to fit. The way I do this is with a bending iron like this one from StewMac. Wet the binding with water from a sponge or rag and bend it a little at a time testing it to fit the guitar body. When it gets dry it will get brittle again and crack so keep it wet as you bend it. A trick I use if you have a tight bend or a difficult spot is to get it as close as you can, tape it in place, wet it again, then push it against the iron using the guitar body as a backer. It results in a perfect fit. Bend one side at a time and start the pieces at the tailpiece and end them in the neck pocket (which gets routed away. When I glue the binding in I use the tailpiece joint as my reference, put glue in the binding ledge, place the binding in, and tape it. Once it is taped pull it all tight with some twine. I start in the waist area and work back the cutaway first because the glue sets fast and the lower bout is usually pretty tight with just the tape. Last tip I have is to make sure everything fits perfectly during a dry run before you get out the glue. This is what it looks like after gluing: And after it's all cleaned up: ~David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freekhed Posted January 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Hi David, Boy, I hope my binding looks half as good as yours in that pic. Thanks for the replies...looks like I need to invest in a bending iron. This marks the inevitable road into the foray of a real archtop....which I've been wanting to try for a long time. Time to get that Benedetto book back out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Buy a pipe and a BBQ charcoal starter, bend it to fit in the pipe... put pipe in vice... tada, pipe for dirt cheap. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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