2nd scratch build - Carpathian over EIR

[phavriluk]

Yuck on the broken binding. If it was mine, I'd practice up on my repair techniques and fill the gap with a slice of scrap. I think the overall job would be more satisfactory than removing the binding on that side and starting over, and even a couple of hours spent will be less time than that of a binding replacement. And once leveled with finish, all but invisible.

[nkwak]

Yuck on the broken binding. If it was mine, I'd practice up on my repair techniques and fill the gap with a slice of scrap. I think the overall job would be more satisfactory than removing the binding on that side and starting over, and even a couple of hours spent will be less time than that of a binding replacement. And once leveled with finish, all but invisible.

The gap in that break is about 1/16" so I can fill it with CA/maple dust. Given its location I can live with the broken line on the side purfling.

My concern has more to do with the top binding which is intact. The jig is a smaller version of the one I built to do the initial binding cuts that uses a Dremel 3000 which is what I used for the rosette. The larger jig used a laminate trimmer that doesn't have a variable speed setting and vibrates wildly. I also found that holding the body betwen me and the jig obstructed my view. With the lighter Dremel jig I can hold it in my hand over the guitar and go slower with less vibration. I've tried using it on some MDF scrap cutouts with some success with a deeper inside but otherwise shallow cut. I am endeavoring to measure to cut inside the first black line in order to attempt to salvage the maple binding.

[ruby@magpage.com]

I might have fixed that channel in the center section before gluing. Your binding jig seems to a problem. Mine usually makes it too shallow rather than too deep which I can easily solve by running it over the area another time, or with files and rifflers

[Stray Feathers]

Ed asked if my purfling issues were in the channels or with installation, and it has been both. I made a Fleishmann -type binding jig and it works well, makes very clean cuts, but it is not self driving. I have to go carefully, and make sure that on the part of the guitar I am routing, the side is perpendicular to the work table (the fact that the sides are not always uniformly perpendicular is another problem . . .). I've found (duh) that bindings and purflings go in much better if ACCURATELY prebent, and I am now doing that with more success with a Fox style side bender I made. But the most frustrating problem, and the most difficult to repair, is when purfling laminated to bindings either delaminates or buckles, or both, particularly at the waist (I have only built OMs so far) when bent with heat and moisture. On the first three guitars, I could see issues with the purfling, but went ahead and glued them in, thinking there must be some way to "fix" this later - but no. For my fourth guitar, I bought pre-laminated bindings/purflings, and bent them in the Fox bender, and it worked out well. So now I think I am getting somewhere. Ukuleles are another story, with smaller dimensions and tighter curves. But I now feel, if it happens again, I would rather waste the binding and purfling by cutting it out if it is poorly done, and try again for a better job (this assuming the neck has not yet been glued on). Sorry to be so loquacious on this, but I am learning a lot here. Bruce W.

[ruby@magpage.com]

I mostly use plastic binding, but have never had a problem with installing as many as 6 pieces of binding/purfling at once

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/ ... 029319394/

[nkwak]

Ed asked if my purfling issues were in the channels or with installation, and it has been both. I made a Fleishmann -type binding jig and it works well, makes very clean cuts, but it is not self driving. I have to go carefully, and make sure that on the part of the guitar I am routing, the side is perpendicular to the work table (the fact that the sides are not always uniformly perpendicular is another problem . . .). I've found (duh) that bindings and purflings go in much better if ACCURATELY prebent, and I am now doing that with more success with a Fox style side bender I made. But the most frustrating problem, and the most difficult to repair, is when purfling laminated to bindings either delaminates or buckles, or both, particularly at the waist (I have only built OMs so far) when bent with heat and moisture. On the first three guitars, I could see issues with the purfling, but went ahead and glued them in, thinking there must be some way to "fix" this later - but no. For my fourth guitar, I bought pre-laminated bindings/purflings, and bent them in the Fox bender, and it worked out well. So now I think I am getting somewhere. Ukuleles are another story, with smaller dimensions and tighter curves. But I now feel, if it happens again, I would rather waste the binding and purfling by cutting it out if it is poorly done, and try again for a better job (this assuming the neck has not yet been glued on). Sorry to be so loquacious on this, but I am learning a lot here. Bruce W.

Yes, I'd seen those Fleidhman articulating towers but dismissed them as being too bulky for my tiny shop. I need something that I can hang on the peg board.



I do like the idea of having the guitar in a cradle as I work around it with the tool. I don't have a cradle but that little work bench has peg holes in the vice and might be worth testing.

[ruby@magpage.com]

Mine is a handheld version of the Elevate, which was not invented by them:

https://elevatelutherie.com/product/ult ... nding-jig/

It was $35, is a little fussy to set up, but I have done 9 instruments in 9 years without a mistake. The first one was hair raising, but after that, easy peasy. Very straightforward - push down on the router and flexible sole (instead of a donut) with one hand and push in towards the side with the other hand. No need to level the body, just clamp onto the bench. I can do the whole thing with 3 clampings each on the back and on top:

flickr dot com/photos/ruby1638/44739649051/in/album-72157695592839060/

I don't remember where I got it - KGM? but it would be simple to reproduce and add some adjustment screws like the Elevate version, probably under $5 for the 2 carriage bolts and misc hardware and using up the scrap we all have. I did one uke and I clamped the tool in a vice and moved the body over it and that worked beautifully, but have yet to move a full sized guitar body over the stationary tool like the Elevate version.

flickr dot com /photos/ruby1638/51195516666/in/album-72157719239580553/

The site says it only allows 2 URL's but I have found that 2 really mean just 1. Piece together the lower 2

[nkwak]

I made this to try and do the job. It did a passable job until the vibrations from the Dremel bit where it shouldn't have and ruined the binding in a couple of spots. Otherwise, it would have worked had I kept the RPMs lower. I went back and routed off the binding as well.



So it was a case of 2 steps forward, 3 steps back. Now I am replacing the binding and the purfling on the top. On the bright side, I'm getting more comfortable bending on the pipe. Ammonia works really well and I actually turned off the torch while bending the curly maple. Being humbled, I proceeded gently and still managed to get the lone strip I needed to bend done in under 5 minutes.

[nkwak]

OK, I wasn't going to share this but the bit traveled and dug into the top. I was heartsick but decided to walk away form that particular issue for a bit, focus on the binding itself and other things outside of this build and then come back to it. That's when I realized that I'd saved the off cuts. The only thing missing was patience and something to help me see what I was doing.

So I searched for one of those nifty visors with the magnification glass and found one for $5. Then I set to work comparing the grain on my offcuts and going a little cross-eyed. Once I found something similar I used my little bandsaw and some jewelers fills to make a plug that's about the size of a piece of cereal. I probably should have looked for my tweezers.

After two attempts and a couple of hours of work this is what I came up with:

[nkwak]

It's not perfect but much better.



Coming up soon: