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Other option is to use a strip of the same back wood instead of BWBW purfling which will have the effect of reducing your binding cut. You can then bind with or without purfling as originally planned. Don't ask me how I know this fixes a larger than planned channel.

So, having routed a purfling channel in the back : ( I have ordered wbwbwbw laminated maple and black strips to the regulation width to fill the channel. Of course I didn't have a way to bend them. So I scrounged up some hardware to hookup to the LMI heater controller I bought on eBay. Haven't run it up to 350 degrees yet. The 100 watt heater element is embedded in fins that perfectly fit inside the copper pipe. You can see the fins on the far end of the pipe. Got pretty toasty pretty fast.

Question: Can I glue the purfling first THEN cut the ledge for the binding? Due to the design of the StewMac routing tower, this would provide me with a reference surface which I routed away when I cut the purfling channel. Hope bending purfling is easy, this is becoming "TOO MUCH fun" for me.

Assuming I understand the situation correctly, I think if you install the purfling strip first, there's about a 99.999R% chance you'll cut into it at random places when you cut the binding channel, which may end up being ugly.

Most of the binding cutters I have seen have a reference that is far enough down the side that you can successfully cut the binding channel after the purfling channel. I agree with Maine that you will sort of randomly cut into the purfling and get an inconsistent width on that first piece of it. I have had complete success installing all of the stuff at once on 7 instruments - never thought of doing one first then the next.

ed

This may be one of those situations where for best results you'll need cut out the installed purflng, rout the binding channel, and do the whole lot in one go. Those B/W strips aren't particularly expensive, so you won't lose much turning them into sawdust and writing off the loss as a "learning experience." I have a bin full of "learning experiences" under my bench. I expect everybody does. If you keep quiet about it, no one need ever know......

Just one option to consider.

Thanks for the guidance. After Geezer's reply, I went ahead and cut the binding Channel on both sides. Practicing on binding the top, probably have the courage to glue it tonight. My wbwbwb purfling strips won't be here until next week.

So for the top I have the standard 2 piece herringbone purfling. But The binding is one long piece (tortoise shell). Should I cut the long binding into 2 pieces or use in the one long strip? Seems it would be much easier to cut into two, but I then have another seam. It's nitro cellulose. Thanks agin for your advices.

You might try this: after verifying that the single strip is in fact long enough to bind the entire top (don't ask....), tape it in place on one side so the half you're not using initially stays out of the way. Then use the loose end to bind half the top, along with the purfling. Once you've got one side done, you can un-tape the other half and bind that side.

On the other hand....celluloid binding can be "welded" with acetone to produce a virtually invisible seam. Tortoise might be a little tricky because of the varying color, but if you contrived to cut it in two, then used acetone to re-joiin the cut ends when you were ready to make your seam, I suspect you could make the seam disappear pretty well.

Needless to say, if you want to do this, practice one some scrap bits first to find out how the celluloid responds to the acetone before you attempt the real seam.

Regarding seams generally, if they are beveled and angled so the ends overlap a bit and the seam isn't vertical, it tends to be less conspicuous. Maybe.

! That was a messy business!
Missed the centerline by a half bone : ) Many thanks for all the guidance and tips, much appreciated. Wbwbwb (one .080" and one .060") purfling for the back channel mistake are in the mail. Waiting is hard...

Looks good to me! Very nice.

When you're applying the Bind-all/ Duco cement do y'all apply it directly out of the tube? That was very uncontrolled and a big mess. Glue dried wat too fast to use a brush, although I used several. At times the stuff just puked out all over.