Official Luthiers Forum!

In the past, I've used the nail method of attaching to mandolins. I have a couple of ideas rolling around in my head using wedges or cams. I'd love to see some pics of your methods.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I bind the fingerboard after slotting/radius, but before attaching to the neck. I just tape it in place to remove any gaps. Slightly proud on the back of the fingerboard. A dab of thin CA from the back side here and there, trying to avoid the fret slots. I do it from the back side so the CA does not pool in the fret slot. Remove the tape and touch up with another dab of CA wherever needed. Scrape the binding flat on the back and to match the fb radius on the top.

I've tried wedges, nails, jigs, etc. And find this to be the most efficient and consistent method for me to avoid gaps and CA in the fret slots.

_________________
Tony Thatcher
Bozeman, Montana

Thank you Tony. I think you just saved me a bunch of work.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I slot and radius the board, then taper the sides to the final width minus the binding. Put a piece of waxed paper on my bench and clamp two straight pieces of wood along the sides of the f/b - they will form a wedge. Fit the binding and any purfling, put it in the wedge and tap from the wide end - it very effectively clamps the binding to the board. I used to use wood glue for wood binding and Ducco for plastic but now I do all my binding with thin CA - I just wick it in after everything is clamped and aligned. Do whatever miter is needed at the wide end, scrape and sand the binding back to the board, do the inlay and fretting.

I do put the CA on from the top, then run a full bead from the back. I also make really sure the binding is down flush with the back of the board - when I get everything clamped I go along with a block of wood and a hammer and tap it down.

Do you miter the ends before gluing or after?

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

Hutch,
I use tape to hold the binding on the fretboard while the glue dries. For perfling inside the binding I also use tape but this is, obviously, a separate step done before the binding. I have a whole series of photos and descriptions showing each step if you care to see how the binding in the picture below was done. Click on this link to see all the steps for my approach. Click on each picture one at a time to see the written descriptions.

http://s456.photobucket.com/user/SUGARL ... oard/story

Before gluing. The advantage of wicking the CA into the seam is that you can fiddle as long as it takes to get it perfect, then tack it down with some CA. I use the same approach on any binding that I'm doing - body, head, pick guard, f-holes. Get the binding perfect dry, clamp or tape or whatever to hold it, tack it in place with drops of CA, then wick CA in the entire seam.

My method has been just like Freeman said, using a wedge effect, flat on the bench, over waxproof paper. I have been using Titebond 1, but you guys might be convincing me to switch to thin CA.

Hutch,
I'll try and help with some detailed instructions in case you need it.

There are 3 pieces of binding the fretboard in the picture above I showed. The first piece to fit is the short end piece at the fat end of the board.

- Take a short end piece that is slightly to long.
- Set the table to a disc sander, or leave the table level and set the miter gage, to the angle you want (45 degrees will work).
- Touch one end of the short binding to the spinning sander disc and you'll have a perfectly clean angle on the end.
- Tape the short piece to the end of the fretboard so the corner of the fretboard and the inside edge of the binding piece meet EXACTLY.
- Now mark the other end of the binding a pencil lead length too long from the other corner of the fretboard.
- Untape the binding piece and cut it off so it is still a little too long and then take it to the same disc sander and touch the end to the spinning disc so that is still a hair too long.
- Take the binding back to the fretboard and match one end EXACTLY to one corner and look at how long/close it is to the opposite corner.
- Take it back to the disc sander and "sneak" up on the length so that both ends now exactly match the two corners of the fretboard.
- Tape the short binding to the end of the fretboard EXACTLY in place.
- Take a long piece of binding at least 2" to long and use the disc by eye (the 45 degree setting will not work) and sand an angle on it. You can also cut the end with a razor at an angle.
- Take the side piece and try and see if it fits to the short mitered piece. It will not fit. But eye what is wrong.
- Take it back to the disc sander or use a razor and recut the angle.
- Keep doing this until you have a perfect fit.
- Now take the remaining long side piece of binding and fit it just like you did the other side.
- Now you have 3 perfectly fitting binding pieces and you have not used any glue at all, especially CA glue and CA kicker. (I use nasty CA glue, but avoid it everywhere possible. It is easy to avoid it with fretboard bindings.)
- First, glue and tape the short end piece of binding in place securely slightly proud on the bottom (about .006" is what I use) The top of the binding should be well proud of the fretboard.
- Glue and tape each side piece of binding in place, like the end piece, slight proud on the bottom.

If you don't have a disc sander you can buy a tiny one at Harbor Freight for peanuts that will do bindings easily. I can use a razor, but have found the sander very fast and easy too, especially for beginners.

I wish I had waited for your detailed instructions. I did the miters after the long pieces were glued on and then tried to fit the end piece. I used CA for the long pieces and SM binding glue for the end piece hoping it might fill any gaps. We'll see tomorrow when I remove the tape and do some clean up. I have plenty of material if I have to do it over again.

Next time I'll follow these instructions. Hey I've got to get some work done you know, live and learn.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I think you'll find it nice to know you have a perfect fit without even starting with the glue or needing to fill any seams/cracks. I l

I don't radius the fretboard until the binding is done. I use, and most people use, a radius sanding block to sand in the fretboard radius. So I'm sanding down the the bindings and fretboard simultaneously in one step. I don't see how separating this into two steps helps anything, but is more work since you would need to do the same sanding set up twice instead of once. If you look at the link above and study the simple setup to do the sanding it might help you. (The sanding block rides along a fence so that the centerline of the block and the centerline of the fretboard are one and the same, and the block can't move off of that centerline unless you remove the fence. And the fretboard can't move either since it is double-stick tapped down securely. Therefore you can't accidently sand too much on one side of the fretboard and bindings. Another no-brainer method.)