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I installed the binding on my dread kit today to discover that the binding ledge I had routed was, well, excessive.  I still have .02 to .025 of the ledge showing.  I think my options are:

1.  Remove the .060 binding and buy something in the .080 range.

2.  Sand it to a taper and be done with my 1st kit.  I can let it be a constant reminder of what a little patience and research can buy.

3.  Clean it up and apply another layer of the same material, then spend a very long time scraping.

Thoughts/suggestions?  Only when I messed up did I realize there might be some very good advice (and there is) in the archives here for how much wood to remove, but Mr. Erlewine said there should be room in the ledge for the cement...he just never said how much.  I used the Stew-Mac bearing that he suggested (.75) and when I couldn't get my masking tape to stick to the bearing like he suggests (wouldn't have know when to stop taking it off anyway), I went to town on it.

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Stuart Brunker

Oh, forgot to mention...this is the back binding.  The herringbone perfling pushed the top binding into place, so I'm one for two.  Too bad this isn't baseball.

stu

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Stuart Brunker

take heart my friend. there is a learning curve to everything.  those mistakes are painful, but when you get it right its oh so wondeful. im thankful for the mistakes ive made and it always seems rough in the moment, but youll get it right. some of the more experienced guys will be along to actually help you with your problem.

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sweat the small stuff.

Get some thicker binding. Many kinds available
Be patient and use the best fitting stuff.

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Take your time and redo it. You wont regret it.

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

Is this wood binding or plastic binding?

You might be able to laminate some purfling to your bindings........... or just get a thicker binding...

Mistakes are a great way to learn.

And like my boss says at work when someone makes a mistake... "If you aren't making mistakes, you aren't doing any work". It's not to give the mistakes an excuse, but rather just stating that if it's an honest mistake, it could happen to anyone so don't sweat it.

Now if you build your 50th guitar and 1 through 50 all have excessive routing of the binding ledge.....Well, then you might want to take up trench digging.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

Stewi-Mac sells thin maple strips for perfling, you may be able to use them for filler. Do you have a catalog? They come in black and other colors.

I had to route off the bindings on the top of my third guitar. Was a very painful thing to do, but I don't regret it now. My problem was using Cocobolo Rosewood that was just to thick to bend as well as I liked and left gaps that I felt were just unacceptable. Take a deep breath, have a think about it, then dive in. It's really not that big of a deal. If having to scape a bit extra binding material is the biggest mistake that you have to fix, your a lot better builder than most of us.

I've had to learn how to fix....or is that hide, all kinds of mistakes. And I think that each and every time that it is making me a better builder.

BTW. Always test your routing profile on a scrap piece of wood before taking the router to a guitar. This will become very important when you start using different purfling designs and sizes on future builds. But then you probable already figured that out.

Good luck, and please post photos when your done to show how you handled it.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

You don't necessarily need to find deeper binding. If the first binding fits nice and tight you could just get the same binding agin but this time cut the correct depth channel and glue in the new binding.

Wow!  OK.  Looks like I have multiple options to chew on.

Hesh, you were right...several times...there's a gap behind the binding on the top and I was able to all too easily cave it in.  Looks like I'm 0 for 2, after all.  There's also a gap or two between the bottom binding and the sides.

Todd, I really like your suggestion for how to fix the back.  It looks like something I should be able to do.

I agree this should be good practice. I'll definitely have a second go at the top and bottom.  I see a good thread in the archives for cutting combinations using > .06 binding with herringbone (SM bearing kit won't reach far enough into the top to account for both).

What are the chances I'll start a fire when routing off the plastic?

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Stuart Brunker

[QUOTE=peterm]Take your time and redo it. You wont regret it.
[/QUOTE]

Thanks, Peter.  Roger Cowan is a good friend (he's the one who pointed me to this site).  You built a truly amazing guitar for him.

You and the good people here have been very inspirational to me in this quest.

rgrds,

stu

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Stuart Brunker

[QUOTE=sbrunker]

 ...when routing off the plastic?

[/QUOTE]

I'm inexperienced with binding cement, so I don't know if this was due to my own incompetence, but I feel it worth mentioning:  When I found myself in exactly your situation, I got quite a surprise when I attempted to route off the binding before the glue had fully cured.  The bit grabbed and yanked off a two foot section.  This was less than 48 hours after installing, but I discovered I was able to peel off  the rest of the binding by hand once I pried up a section long enough to get a grip.

Like I said, I'm not an experienced builder, so I can't offer suggestions about what the best approach is, but I say with some certainty that routing before the binding has fully cured isn't the best approach. 

Thanks, guys.

I got the kit just six weeks ago, so I'm going to guess it's ABS.  Both top and bottom have been set for under 24 hrs, so maybe I should just try an exacto knive this afternoon???

stu

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Stuart Brunker

Hmmm...after further review...scratch that...  It's set enough that if I go to yanking on it, I feel like a large chunk of guitar might just come off with it.  I think I'll just wait a couple of days and get the lam trimmer out again.  Thanks again for chiming in, Colin.

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Stuart Brunker

I have used a heat gun (don't get it too hot or it will melt) to remove plastic binding from a guitar at that stage-
OR you could also use a solvent like acetone to soften the glue.