Official Luthiers Forum!

I just did my first work with wood bindings and I'll never go back to plastics. I cut my own strips from some maple I had left over from a furniture project, thicknessed them on my drum sander, and bent them on my home made Fox style bender.

I'm wondering now what is the best and most economical (may not get both) way to get binding material. Do you buy side sets and cut them into strips? Maybe billets of wood? Buy strips from LMI, etc.?

Thanks,
Chuck

Go to your local lumberyard that stocks domestic and exotic woods…

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

I always seem to be able to get at least one set of bindings from the cutoffs from a B&S set that I put away for future use. Also,I'm always on the lookout for 36" long hardwood boards that have a lot of figure but are otherwise too narrow for B&S sets. The easiest, but most expensive option, is to buy bindings from our great suppliers...and sometimes the only option to get that special Snakewood, etc. binding that you would otherwise never be able to find on your own.

Once you go with wood bindings it will be tough to ever use plastic again.

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Lots of ways to look at this!!!!

It is pretty easy to fab your own from lumber. But on the other hand if you cost in the labor at your labor rate it is cheaper to buy them pre made from a supplier dependent on quantity usage, but then you loose some control of the product. It all depends on your outlook for the value of your time. It is probably more of a factor to small shops than to larger production shops as a larger production shop ill likely have an overhead rate that easily absorb the labor to cut and thickness bindings.

Many small shoppers and part timers don't really factor in labor for things like this and many just prefer to have the control of making their own.

So when deciding what is the least expensive way of procuring bindings you have to look at what your priorities are.

You are spot on Mike!

It is time consuming to make bindings!
Side cut-offs are an easy way to get some for sure!
But I do buy stock just for binding purposes!
I set the bandsaw with a fine tooth blade and cut them 6mm tall
and 3mm thick!
Them I run them through the sander to get a 5mm tall and 2.3mm thickness with 120 grit that gets them ready for bending & leaves a great square glue joint on all 4 sides!
I make as many as I can at one time !
I use Curly Koa ,Bubinga,Coco,Brazilian, Indian,Maple,Myrtle,Walnut!!
There are not to many I will not cut !
I always find uses for them!

Mike

_________________
Mike Collins

Hey Mikey,

How is Bubinga to bend? Any issues? I have a whole bunch of highly figured sets that I might pick a couple out of and build with.

JJ, you got to do something about that dog Man.....he's scaring the carp (can't use four letter words ...besides a carp is a course fish!) out of me!

Shane

_________________
Canada

On thing that can save some time is starting out with a 2-3" wide piece that is the finished height and gluing on the veneer that will become side purfling. Then rip to width.

_________________
http://www.chassonguitars.com

Shane;
You made it back !

Bubinga is easy to bend!
The highly figured pieces will have high & low spots -if get what I mean!
Use a bending machine -sprits the wood only!
Go slow with the crank-make sure there is constant pressure from the bottom sheet of steel against the sides or bindings!
Like Quilted woods!
I thin those to .085 (2.1+mm)

It looks great for bindings on all woods except itself!!
iIhave just aquired a guitar i made in 1987 -Spiderweb chocolate Brazilian!!
With Bubinga bindings!!!
It's a killer combo!!!!!
I use it all the time !
I've made many a guitar also of Bubinga!!!!!
It's a great wood!!!

Mikey

_________________
Mike Collins

Thanks for the feedback, guys. And you're right, I'll never (never say never, right?) go back to plastic binding.!

Chuck

_________________
"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong"
- Joseph Chilton Pearce

The avatar was a gift and I really have gotten close to the little feller. Don't worry...he just puts on a grumpy exterior!

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

One of the advantages of milling your own, besides the cost and wood choice (beauty, grain orientation etc.), is to bookmatch the bindings as well.
Some expensive wood billets, like snakewood or ebony, might not be worth purchasing for a couple of guitars though, so buying the bindings from a supplier makes sense in that case.
Also as Kent points out if the board is milled to the correct height (and purfling veneers glued to the bottom if desired) it's a breeze to set up the bandsaw and then go to the sander for finished thickness.

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

All of the pre made stuff I've seen have dyed wood side fillets, so, if you want natural veneer colors you need to make your own.
Easy enough though as described above to cut slats, laminate layers of veneer to the bottom and strip out.
I've had particularly good luck buying odd pieces of wood on ebay for binding stock, as well as natural veneer.

I enjoy making binding myself (actually I really love the whole re-sawing/ milling process, it is almost a hobby in and of itself for me), so it is well worth it to me to make them. I have purchased bindings because I did not have ready cut pieces for a specific project (just wanted them quicker, didn't want to track down wood and mill a bunch up at that point). So I guess buying or making your own makes sense, depending on what you feel like doing at the time.

Since most relatively common bindings cost is based mostly on time to make them, you can certainly make them a lot cheaper yourself. When I do make bindings, I make a LOT of them at one time. This is the most sensable way to go about it to me, because you can set everything up one time and it can be very efficient and consistent. Makeing 500 bindings only takes a little more time than 100 after you get rolling along. So I have a shelf where I stock up wood for making bindings. Then when I feel like it, I just grab everything on the shelf and have at it. I put together a group of drawing tubes(one end open, one sealed) and place all the bindings in the tubes for storage (keeps them protected, and nicely organized).

Peace,Rich