Installing binding. Wood vs. man made.

[tippie53]

It is an individual choice. CA can and does work , It can be messy so have a good pipette . Not all woods like CA. As Ken points out seal your wood . CA can turn spruce Yellow and it can glaze some hardwoods . This will not allow stains to penetrate and will leave a glue mark .
If I use CA , I will tape the binding in place and work it a few inches at a time to make sure the fit is tight . Also keep CA release handy. Your hand won't need a guitar glued to it.

[darren]

Would it be necessary to use a heat pipe on wood binding or can it be bent adequately by wetting and bending and leaving to dry to shape in some sort of appropriate form?

tb

heat is necessary. curling iron, torch in a pipe, around a pot on the stove, whatever. But just water isn't going to work.

Depending on your kit supplier, I think you're going to get your wood binding pre-bent. (only an 'unserviced' lmi kit will come with unbent wood bindings. As far as I know the other kits [ kmg, blues creek, the other usual suspects ] will have bent bindings. They can chime in here...)

[Oval Soundhole]

It is an individual choice. CA can and does work , It can be messy so have a good pipette . Not all woods like CA. As Ken points out seal your wood . CA can turn spruce Yellow and it can glaze some hardwoods . This will not allow stains to penetrate and will leave a glue mark .
If I use CA , I will tape the binding in place and work it a few inches at a time to make sure the fit is tight . Also keep CA release handy. Your hand won't need a guitar glued to it.

After lighting my fingers on fire with CA I have made a personal decision to not use CA again, but YMMV.

[Jim_H]

I discovered pipettes (blood transfer pipettes) for CA many years and several hobbies ago.

I strongly suggest shopping around, as there are many varieties. Hobby and wood working stores charge a ginormous markup. If you are willing to buy in bulk, you can get them super cheap.

I get mine here
http://www.rachelssupply.com/pipette.htm

I use the smaller one (1.3ml 2.5" loose packed). You can get 100 for $13. Note that the tube on this pipette is probably too small for medium CA (it won't draw out of the bottle). If you use medium or thick CA you'll need pipettes with slightly larger tubes.

You can get them even cheaper if you are willing be be slightly less selective and buy in larger quantities (500+). Search Amazon for 'transfer pipette' to see what they have.

I buy my CA (Bob Smith Industries) in large bottles and keep it in a mini-fridge in my shop to extend its life (along with my other adhesives). Ill fill 5 or so pipettes at a time, and seal the tips by heating it with a small flame and pinching it closed with pliers. I keep them in the fridge until I need them, then slice the melted tip off to open it. I rarely refill them, but if they are still in good shape I might re-fill once or twice. If the tip gets clogged, you can just slice it off. For a super precise application of thin CA, slice the tip at about a 60 degree angle and just let a small amount of CA flow. Using this technique you can be very neat and accurate.

I attached a picture of the two sizes I use. The small is loaded with thin (and has the tip sliced) and the other has medium.

This beats the poo poo out of trying to get CA out of a bottle and onto your guitar.

Also, I avoid using accelerator on CA if at all possible, as it can cause it to crystallize and turn white and bubbly. Besides being unsightly, and possibly affecting your finish, it *could* affect the quality of a bond. When I do use accelerator, I try not to spray it directly on the wet adhesive, but will spritz it (or even lightly brush it) on one or both surfaces after I've dry fit and am ready to go.

One of it's uses is to close wounds, so if you've glued yourself to something, you are in good company. I've also used it to close small cuts, although this might not be wise. I've survived so far.

Be careful around things like cotton balls or wool. It will cause an exothermic reaction and put off a very strong, toxic vapor.

Good ventilation is strongly recommended.

[tippie53]

I have seen many wood binding jobs that had voids in them. In most of these cases I feel the wood was too thick. I like to see binding under .075. I personally use .065. My favorite wood binding is to use a high figure or contasting wood like Zebra wood and book match the binding. It makes like a picture frame and gives a detail for the eye .
Highly figured woods , often bend well to make binding . Ebony can be a real pain as can blood wood .

[kencierp]

These are the applicator tips I have on the bottles of CA placed around the shop -- seems they work the same as the product Jim mentioned, they only release a tiny droplet at a time.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wt ... LXL490&P=7

I'd like to hear more about how one's hands start on fire from CA, please explain. I've been using CA in automotive applications and in our shop since it has been available to the public -- this is a new one and would like to know more about the incident -- Thank you

[Darryl Young]

I use these Carl Goldberg tips.....fit right on the Goldberg bottles.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I use alot of CA but I have never purchased bottle and pipettes and used them. How do you keep the pipettes from clogging up?
I can barely keep the tips on those little tubes from clogging.

Kevin

[Jim_H]

The nice thing about the pipettes, especially the small ones is, they don't hold a lot of glue, and if you buy them in bulk, they are really cheap... So you just throw them away when they start getting icky.

But honestly I find that the pipettes clog a lot less than the bottles do, and if the tip gets clogged and you can't easily peel it off, just slice a bit of the tip off. Problem solved...

This is the brand I buy.
http://www.bsi-inc.com/Pages/hobby/ca.html

I don't order online though. I like to buy it from a local hobby shop, where I can ask how long it's been on the shelf. With the mail order/online you never know. Of course keeping it 'fridgerated extends the life nicely.

[kencierp]

The occasional clogging issue is another reason I like the long "whisker tips" if the tip does get blocked I use a sharp razor (care has to be taken not to crush the tube) to trim off the end. I get a lot of trims and still have that extra fine tip.