How To Fix Small Gaps Underneath Binding?

[thebuch]

Hi,

I'm currently working on my first refinishing project, and I hope I'm not the first to ask this question on here. Anyhow, when you are looking at the guitar from the side, you can clearly see areas where there is not a good tight joint between the wood (alder) and the plastic binding. These are due to an unevenly routed binding ledge. I tried to file down the "bumps" in the ledge before gluing the binding in, but obviously did not do a good enough job, as these gaps are still evident. They aren't very wide, but they are still very noticeable. Is there any way to fill these gaps? I just want a good looking joint between the binding and the wood. Some ideas I am pondering, are they legit, or just asking for trouble?

- slip small amount of Weld-On 16 into gap with razor blade, press binding down with c clamp until dry

- attempt to fill gap with small amount of binding "melted" with acetone

- pack with wood filler/putty (might be too thick)

The next step for me would be sealing the body and applying grain filler. Might the grain filler also be enough to fill/mask the gaps? Please help out a woodworking newbie who's in over his head. Thanks!

-A.B.

[RFR]

Hi,

I'm currently working on my first refinishing project, and I hope I'm not the first to ask this question on here. Anyhow, when you are looking at the guitar from the side, you can clearly see areas where there is not a good tight joint between the wood (alder) and the plastic binding. These are due to an unevenly routed binding ledge. I tried to file down the "bumps" in the ledge before gluing the binding in, but obviously did not do a good enough job, as these gaps are still evident. They aren't very wide, but they are still very noticeable. Is there any way to fill these gaps? I just want a good looking joint between the binding and the wood. Some ideas I am pondering, are they legit, or just asking for trouble?

- slip small amount of Weld-On 16 into gap with razor blade, press binding down with c clamp until dry

- attempt to fill gap with small amount of binding "melted" with acetone

- pack with wood filler/putty (might be too thick)

The next step for me would be sealing the body and applying grain filler. Might the grain filler also be enough to fill/mask the gaps? Please help out a woodworking newbie who's in over his head. Thanks!

-A.B.

I would just use some natural wood filler, it should match the alder pretty well.

Roman

[fryovanni]

A picture would help a lot. It is hard to gauge how much gap you are talking about. Depending on the type of wood, how wide the gaps are will give an idea as to the best way to proceed. If the gaps are very large and filling is likely to be a poor match, you may want to redo the route with an improved router jig that will index better. Very small gaps can be fixed with relative ease as long as the wood can be matched well(darker woods are usually easier to match). If your route is allready the full depth of the binding(1/4" if that is the size of the binding you are using). You can always add a fine line accent strip to build the height(say .010-.020" black accent). FWIW, getting a really good binding route is a HUGE challenge, the right jig is just the ticket. Getting a good look is well worth the effort.

Rich

[Prostheta]

+1 on all of that.

Melted binding will make the binding look uneven on it's edge, and may make it look "dirty" if any contamination gets into the melted gear or comes off the workpiece. Filler will take finish differently to the adjacent materials, and may not adhere to the binding side of the fill as well as the wood side potentially causing cracks, especially on a neck as they flex under tension when in use unlike a body. You may be able to splint in a sliver of alder if the gap is short, although the glue used to secure that splint will again take finish differently to the surrounding material. If it's more than an inch in length I would start the binding again from the channel upwards. You can work with more guarantees then.

Sorry I have nothing more to add than what Rich and Roman have already said. Good luck buddy.