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Another ? from the Newbie

If there is a small defect in the soundboard from chip out while cutting the
binding slot, how do you fix it. My defect is in cedar. It is very small but
noticable. I don't have the piece that chipped out, because it was very small.
I do have the left over cedar from when I cut out the top. I don't like putting
CA near a soundboard. Do you mix some cedar dust in epoxy???   What
works the best???

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Don't use dust in epoxy as that will dry darker and stand out like a toupe' with a chin strap.
Cut a small sliver from the scrap cedar you have and glue it in with tightbond or white glue. then chisel it to match the edge. You still might see it but the general public won't.

It's just to avoid such mishaps that I always use a gramil knife to cut round top and sides prior to routing the binding channel. In fact one of the most satisfying bits of luthery I've ever done is to cut a binding channel with just the gramil and chisel the old fashioned way, I'm seriously considering doing it again. LMI sell a really good Schneider gramil.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Thanks
Andy

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

While Paul's method is the way to go, I would probably use hyde glue instead, simply because I think it's a more invisible glue when dried. I could be wrong.

Hey Paul....the toupe' line....that's hysterical!

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

better yet use hide glue; and sometimes it is better to remove material up to a grain line and cut your patch to match so that the glue line is at the grain line, if that makes any sense.

as usual prevention is better than fixing; such chipouts almost never occur if you keep your router cuts going downhill.

and i rather liked the toupe one liner too.crazymanmichael38562.5762384259

sunburst

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

[QUOTE=John Mayes] sunburst[/QUOTE]

that is what I was thinking too.   

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

    When you do the routing next time start high , by this I mean to start at the apex of the bouts for about an inch or 2. this helps to control tear out.
    I build a number of guitars and it happens. If the tear out is very noticable I cut save the trims of the top and then splice it on and recut the channel. If it is small I have use dust and glue. I have used white elmers , yellow and early super glue and hide glue and dust.
   The best if wet elmers about 1/4 water to glue , then wick it into the tearout and sand with 120 paper and let the dust fill the void. It makes invisible repairs on spruce. Super glue yellows and hide glue left a spot under the lacquer as it aged.
   There are many techniques so try one that works for you. Epoxy and super glue are no no's unless you are going to color
good luck
john hall
Blues Creek Guitars

I use a dremel and a circle cutter. I start in the middle of the channel, work my way out very slowly. About a 1/4 the width of the bit or less. And of course down hill and all that good stuff already mentioned. Go slow!

I actually made a purfling cutter, following the pattern and directions in Sloane's book, Classic Guitar Construction.

I guess it takes a little practice to get the hang of using one. First time I tried using it, it decided to follow the grain lines. Kind of made a mess in a couple of spots. Those things aren't as easy to use as they look. But for precutting the soundboard before routing it for binding/purfling, it does a decent job.

More recently, I've just used a chisel to cut the soundboard edge flush with the sides, which I find also works quite well in preventing chip out when routing the binding channels. And something else I've discovered -- the larger the diameter of the router bit I use, the less chance of chipout. Still, making sure you're router is cutting downhill is probably still the most secure way to go, I'm thinking.

I got chip out once when cutting the soundhole in a redwood top. I did as others here have suggested and hand-fitted pieces of offcuts into the chip-out area. You'd have to look really hard to see where it happened.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

Hey Paul,
The Toupe' line.....I needed that tonight....thanks!!

John and Brock, isn't it amazing how some of the most beautiful things come from finding a way to fix a mistake.