Official Luthiers Forum!

I noticed from the instruction of stewmac guitar kit as well as various other sources that says before closing the box, you thin down the brace to around 1mm right? Then you file a notch in the side through the side and kerfed lining. Therefore not having a binding would be out of the question since you'd have the bracing sticking out of the side near the top or back, which would be covered by the binding. I seen some guitars out there without binding and I was wondering how do they do that? can I just thin down the brace to nothing once it reaches the kerfed lining, and only file a notch through the kerfed lining to make space for the braces?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Take this for what it's worth, considering I've not completed my first build, but you only need to carve out the kerfed lining so that the kerfing sits on top of the brace. The brace need not go through the sides.

Darrin

The way to do it is to notch the linings to accept the end of the braces without going through the sides. When you mark you braces locations on the rim take a short pencil and also mark the outside of the rim on each brace (you can also mark on the inside). Then trim each brace at the line, adding a hair more than the side thickness. If marking on the inside, add a hair less than the thickness of the linings, and erase you pencil marks.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I don't inlet the braces through the guitar sides either.

A number of OLFers were in a Guitar Center yesterday and we were commenting on the Martins on display with no binding. The universally shared opinion that we had was that guitars with no binding can be butt ugly.........

Guitars without bindings!? What's next? No headstocks?!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Similar thought here

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=18792

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

a guitar without binding may look a bit plain, but if your on your first build, it would make the job a bit easier , as long as you plan ahead ( as it seems you are)and are carefull about routing the edges of the plates. that was my plan for my first solo build, but as fate would have it ( and a dull router bit) a chip out has me applying herring bone purfling and rose wood bindings. so I couldnt continue untill I had the router, bits,, routing jig, carriage to hold the box at the correct angle,purfling and binding materials, I am glad now i added the edging but it has slowed the project a bit. jody ....

Yeah, but those are the cheapies. I have seen no binding on very high end guitars and it can look very classy... very minimalist.

It just has to be done right...

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I thought about no binding because I did see a Martin with no binding and I thought it doesn't really look that bad. I mean that was a cheap Martin but still... I just thought that I wanted to simplify things a little and the binding I got with my kit just looks too white. I should have ordered cream colored binding instead. Sometimes I like a minimalist approach and there are such a thing as too much of a good thing. For example there is another luthier in Taiwan who sells really good acoustic guitar at a decent price, but it was covered in inlays and it looked too busy. Sometimes I prefer just something simple that sounds decent.

Here's one of his auction... (its in chinese but you can see what he's selling)

http://tw.f4.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/d31289018?u=taisamlu

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Tai, go with what you feel, aesthetics are subjective and a matter of opinion, what looks rich to one person may look gaudy to another, what looks plain to one person may appear classy to another .. follow your spirit ! I am sure you can buy some cream biniding somewhere if you want ,i set aside and replaced many parts of my kit . Jody

I wouldn't build a guitar without bindings. I think the bindings are a big part of the beauty
of an acoustic. But if you think it will work for your guitar, by all means ,go with it.
I think it's also a good idea to cut your brace slot through the linings only and not through the sides.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755