Stolysmaster Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 I'm in the middle of my Explorer EC project and I have a problem. The twenty eight year old one piece mahogany body I'm using started to warp after it arrived here in Colorado after many years in a humid environment. That was about six-seven years ago. When I finally got around to starting this project it was so warped that I had to have it sanded down on the top side significantly. I wanted a finished thickness of 1 5/8" so I bought a very nice piece of 1/4" AAA flamed maple to put on the top. The original beveled edges around the top side of the mahogany had a very large radius, and the the guy doing the work thought it was more important to end up with my stated desired overall thinkness after the maple top was glued on, than to notice that the mahogany was not sanded down enough to totally remove the bevel. Well, now there is a gap around the sides of the guitar body (in some places, but not all the way around), between the mahogany and the maple! In some spots it seems to be at least 1/32" deep into the body. Now, I could try to sand the entire body down all around the edge to get rid of it, but that would make the body smaller and I might not be able to have it sanded uniformly all the way around, causing it to look slightly "off". My thoughts are that the simplest solution would be to fill the gaps with some sort of permanant wood filler that would remain hard and intact. I plan to use a transparent stain on the guitar, so if whatever filler I use does not take the stain the same as the mahogany does, I will just make it dark enough on the mahogany so it will not be noticed. What type of wood filler should I use to accomplish this? Any suggestions please?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stolysmaster Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 What about peanut butter? Should I try that? OK, I know...I just said that to try and generate some responses. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Gaps from the 2 pieces separating or is that how it was originally done? I would just use dust from the darker wood with a little CA glue whickered in. Sand flush and the gaps should disappear. But the border between the two woods might not be perfectly straight so maybe a little cosmetic work with a tinted marker can be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stolysmaster Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Gaps from the 2 pieces separating or is that how it was originally done? I would just use dust from the darker wood with a little CA glue whickered in. Sand flush and the gaps should disappear. But the border between the two woods might not be perfectly straight so maybe a little cosmetic work with a tinted marker can be done. No separating, just the remaining original bevel on the mahogany creating a gap when the flat maple piece was glued on top. Should I fill the gaps with sanding dust completely first, then try and get it to absorb the CA? Seems like I would need a lot of CA to absorb all the way into the dust and stick to the insides of the gap...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth guitars Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Can you roundover the edge which would blend the two together or cut a binding channel and install binding? Some pictures would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarter Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Filler that thick will most likely be noticeable., go with some binding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stolysmaster Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 (edited) Here is a link to two pictures showing the dried glue in the gap. The gap is not as wide as you might think on the first look, the dark streak in the mahogany is misleading. You can see that the gap is really only as wide as the glue that is visible. I don't want to rout a binding channel all the way around the guitar. I'm planning on having natural "faux" binding using the maple unstained. http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j34/Stol...1245_edited.jpg http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j34/Stol...44_edited-1.jpg Edited March 9, 2009 by Stolysmaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 I don't think you can fill that and make it look good with a natural finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Looks like a perfect opportunity to use some binding. No one would ever know it was there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Since you wanted the look of a binding, then yeah, it makes sense to go ahead and actually install binding. On the other hand, I like the larger rollover idea. That's what I did with this guitar (which was originally a solidbody, then I decided to hollow it and cap it): The larger rolled edge is also really comfortable. You could also look into installing a thin dark-colored strip into the gap-- it'd have the effect of pinstriping, and would look really nice as a contrast between the mahogany and the maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stolysmaster Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Since you wanted the look of a binding, then yeah, it makes sense to go ahead and actually install binding. On the other hand, I like the larger rollover idea. That's what I did with this guitar (which was originally a solidbody, then I decided to hollow it and cap it): The larger rolled edge is also really comfortable. You could also look into installing a thin dark-colored strip into the gap-- it'd have the effect of pinstriping, and would look really nice as a contrast between the mahogany and the maple. I like that rolled edge on your guitar, however, if I did a rolled edge like that I would have to start at least 3/8" down from the top, and I just don't think that is the look I'm after on this guitar. I do like the idea of a thin strip of black in the gap, but I would have to rout for it evenly all the way around, as my gap does not even exist all the way around. So, if I'm going to rout for binding of any sort, I might as well just bind it from the top of the side down to where the bevel starts on the mahogany. BUT, 3/8" is pretty wide binding! Even if I could find it, I''m not sure I would like the look. Maybe I'm back to routing for the black stripe between the maple and the mahogany. Or, just try sanding the sides down far enough to remove the bevel. I'm not sure what is the least amount of work, while maintaining an attractive outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Idea. Bevel the edge down about 1/4" and use 1/8 or so binding. Either that or get ready for a fun evening of sanding the sides back to get rid of the gap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotYou Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I vote for binding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 LMI has binding up to 1/2" thick. http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts....Plastic+Binding A couple other ideas would be a purfling strip (not easy to do, I'd think), or fill it and paint a pinstripe. Whatever you do, you're going to acquire skills in the repair. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stolysmaster Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) Thanks for all the ideas guys. In the end I decided to sand around the guitar with 60 grit, then 100 grit to remove enough wood and get rid of the gap. It worked, and the body looks fine. I will now be able to use my natural binding idea as originally planned. It took me three hours...then four ibuprofen and 4oz. of vodka mixed with cranberry juice for my right elbow! Thanks again for the suggestions, it gave me lots to think about. I will catalog those ideas for future projects. Now, if I can get someone to answer my question in another post about MOP veneer, and whether anyone has ever used it........... Edited March 10, 2009 by Stolysmaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.