www.KitGuitarsForum.com

I've found a source for 5/8 inch cotton/rayon ribbon. I will be using fish glue for the build. My understanding is that fish glue will adhere to cotton/rayon. Any tips appreciated.

James Cowhey
Cornwall, PA

James, I order mine from Amazon and also use fish glue. It tacks quickly and is easy to clean up. It yields a very neat looking job in my opinion. I think you’re on the right track.

Thanks. I think I'll paint a line of glue where I want the ribbon to adhere, press the ribbon on, and then paint over the ribbon to make sure it adheres secureley.

the easiest way I found was to puddle some glue on a scrap board drag it through and thats it. The ribbon goes on first then the kerfed lining on top . One more point mark both sides for this before you glue on the blocks , set them side by side Presto perfect alignment

John, good advice. My method got kind of sloppy with a bit of cleanup needed.

I masked the areas next to where the ribbon would go using painters tape. Put glue on the wood, laid down the ribbon and then removed the tape.

My method is a little different than John’s , but, seems pretty easy and works for me. I cut my ribbon about 3” longer than the lower bout height. I then put a couple of inches of masking tape on each end with about 1” of tape on the inside surface of the ribbon (the side that shows inside the guitar). I do one whole side of the rim at a time. I tape the bottom of each ribbon to the OUTSIDE of the rim so that all of the ribbons for that side are now fixed in place on the bottom of the rim and lying inside the rim on my workbench. Then one at a time I apply the fish glue to the ribbon and pull it tightly into place, wrap the extra ribbon over the rim top edge, and tape the excess to the OITSIDE of the rim (after smoothing out the glue and ribbon to the inside of the rim).Then do the other side the same way. Takes about an hour all said and done.
The next morning I trim the ribbon flush to the rim edges, clean up any excess squeeze out with water and a toothbrush.
Your ready for,kerfing.