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I messed up big time, as you can see in the pictures, and sanded through the binding.
I'm sure no one else here has ever done this.
I'm hoping for a good way to turn this mistake into something not so bad.
The back and sides are walnut and the binding is koa.
I would like to at least fix the binding so it looks continuous.
Should I rout it all of and start over or what? Thanks!







SteveS38819.6012847222

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

I'm guessing you did this to the side as well? I mean, if you created that big divot in the binding, is the side also sanded as such? If so, then you can't route off the binding without messing up the new channel, because you have a messed up side too, and the bearing will just follow the errantly sanded side. You will have to sand the side to a fair curve first, and then re-cut the channel for a new binding. You might want to consider doing all new bindings so they will match.

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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."

rout it all away, make a new channel that has the proper depth and rebind. You really want your binding to be the same thickness all the way around. Remember while you build guitars you also build character.

I really do not recommend using a power sander on the binding. I am assuming that is how that binding got away from you. Get you a good scraper, sharpen it well, and work carefully with that.

Anyway, that's how I do it.

Don's right (man I hate saying that ) You have to repair the divot in the side before you can re-route the channel. I'd be a little concerned about going too thin as it looks pretty deep. You might think about filling the void with epoxy and then leveling it. Then cut the channel and then fair out the side. That way, you aren't having to fair out the side twice and removing more wood than necessary.
Also, what John said about power tools. From the looks of things, it was a sanding drum chucked into a power drill. I wouldn't do that again if I were you. Even in the tight curves. You've got no control of the thing and mistakes like this will happen faster than you can think to stop them.

It was a 4" belt sander, I was on the end for some reason. I had very fine paper, was taking my time and -you know the rest.
This is the second guitar I used the sander on. The other one came out perfect.

Yes, the side next to the removed binding is sanded down pretty thin too. I'm a bit worried about sanding a larger section down that much, and if I don't and rout it off, the new channel will follow the divot.

I think the best thing to do, based on all your suggestions is to reshape the error, and redo all the binding. I hope the side isn't too thin.



I figure you should see the front also -

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

Steve, relax and go slow. You can fix this.

I would use some fine paper with a block to sand the side. You can also put a patch on the inside to reinforce that area for strength. Use a cut-off from the side or back for that. Just bend it enough to match the curve and glue it up in there.

Remember as John said, a sharp scraper is your best friend for leveling bindings.

The guitar is going to be very nice! Don't be discouraged, just learn from it.
Is that a cedar top?

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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."

OK if this is not a commission here is what I would do.

find some scrap side wood and shape to the form of the divot and glue in place. Sand the side profile at the divot glue up back to proper contour. Rout off the binding, re-rout the channel replace the binding

Sharpen your scraper

Another trick I have used used in the past to level bindings is to take 3 pieces of 14”long- 2” PVC pipe (well checked for trueness) and attach some 120,150 and 220p psa paper to them. This leaves 4 ?” in each side to hold like a spoke shave. Sand the binding flush as if you were working a spoke shave. It will go quicker than you think but it is still work. However it is safer than the Ros
MichaelP38819.6608912037

I'm with Michael....
don't worry, we all make mistakes and yours looks like one easy fix just a little more extra time thats all!
Maybe you should use a scraper next time and some sandpaper instead!
Good luck!

PS....good looking box!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

You can always do a beveled ribrest.
Cheers
Charliewood

Thanks guys! I think I'll reinforce it from the inside, sand to profile as best I can, re-rout and put on new bindings.

It is a cedar top. The picture of the top is just after I put on a coat of shellac.

The beveled rib rest is a thought - I bet it would be a first.

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

Unless you fill the divot in the side you are going to have issues re-routing the channel if you use a guide bearing system. You neeed to fill this divit soneme way or another. Looking at the pic I don't think you have enough side there to get away without filling the divot.

Steve, aren't these guys just great, not an expert here but i'm sure you can fix this, you got all my support, let us know how it goes for the fixln'!

Serge

Good Luck Steve.

I was thinking an armpit sound port myself...

Steve, I Just wanted to say I love that cutaway shape your proportions are excellent. Good luck with your fix.

[QUOTE=ATaylor]I was thinking an armpit sound port myself...[/QUOTE]
How about a side access panel?    Sorry, Steve.

Steve,

You should be able to measure whether the side is thick enough to sand the divot out. I would definitely measure before trying to sand a new contour.

If there isn't enough thickness (and it looks like there isn't from your pictures), any insolvable problem can be fixed with a little inlay/marquetry. A custom nameplate can fix a lot of problems.   

I also really like that cutaway Steve,She's going to be a beauty.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Many, many options...ever consider a good 7-8 lb mallet?
Just kidding...everything is fixable. all good suggestions. How about a side sound portal? if you went too deepinto the side(hard to tell if the side got it too). if the side didn't get sanded, you could just miter a new secton of Koa binding in (assuming the guitar is for you). If carefully done you would barely see it. I bet you use a scraper next time!

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

I started sanding because my first 3 guitars all had flamed maple bindings. Scraping flamed maple did not seem to work - the result was very uneven. So I saw that some of you guys used a bench top belt sander. John Mayes even shows it in his videos. I tried it and it worked great for 2 guitars.

Can you scrape flamed maple binding?

My first thought was the mallet.

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

Sharp scraper works fine. your scraper need to be making curls not dust. StewMac has a desent explanation on sharpening scrapers and turnin the hook. Check it out

Ifind that using a scraper on any curled/flamed wood seems to make it pop even more. you have to check/watch the direction of the grain. Scrapers are the best!

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"