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Hi folks.
I just finished binding my fretboard on my first acoustic build. Unfortunately, some of CA I used wicked into two or three of the fret slots, and now the very edge of the bass side of the fretboard has two or three fret slots filled at the edges with CA.
My fret saw is the Stewmac one, and the very tip of it has no teeth, so I can't saw them clear.
I have a fine .010" saw that will go into the slot, but it does not seem to be doing a thing to the CA.
Any advice?

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Mike the hook tool from SM for clearing fret slots works great. Be sure to pull toward the center of the neck and not the binding. It should be at SM near the saw that you are describing.

This thing.

Hi, Hesh! I've been inactive a bit. Glad to see you back on here!
And thanks!

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I had this happen to me once, once. . .

Next time you will be sure to keep this from happening.

I don't remember exactly what I did since it was a long time ago. I remember picking out the slot with hooked exacto blades, sections of old bandsaw blade sharpened and held in the exacto handle and dental tools. I don't remember which ended up working the best. If you have a drill bit the same size as your kerf, you may try carefully drilling out the edge closest to the binding to make it easier to pick from behind the blockage and clear out the slot. You may even be able to drill a few holes in the CA.

I'm sure others will have better suggestions.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

You bet and good to see you too Mike!

If you can find a thin enough blade for an oscillating tool you might be able to use that.

That's the tool I've been using for years for that job.

Warning! Warning! Use it with patience and care. Take your time and focus. For a given slot, gradually remove the CA a bit at a time. If you try to take too much CA in one pull and you are pulling hard on the tool and the CA doesn't give, stop and reposition it to take a smaller bit of the CA. If you are pulling hard and the CA suddenly lets loose, there's a good chance you'll end up with a scratch in the surface of the fretboard. If you get in a hurry and pull toward the binding rather than switching your position so you can pull away from the binding and the CA lets loose, you can end up with a hole through the binding that has to be repaired ( ).

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Thanks, gentlemen, all of you.
I definitely appreciate the experience and cautions given. I think I have something that will work.
Much appreciated.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

J's advice is good, be patient!!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Hesh has nailed it here. Exactly the tool I’ve used for the task — more times than I care to confess. Even with the tool, CA is very resistant, so I also use pipette to add a bit of acetone to soften it. Provided the neck is not finished, acetone flashes off quick enough to avoid issues, but use common sense. When the offending glue is softened, there is less chance of doing damage to the slot or binding by using too much force. Take your time.


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With no experience of binding fretboards... would an alternative glue be easier to handle? Less likely to clog the fret kerf?

Probably.
I used CA because I mistakenly bought vinyl bindings, and from advice on this forum was advised that my preferred Duco may not bond it well to the wood. I had the CA already, and did not want to place an order with Stewmac for their Bind-all cement alone.
I bound the body with Duco and it is holding, but knowing now there is a possibility of failure down the road, I chose super glue for the neck binding because the neck will see more use than the body.
I also discovered that if I apply water thin CA from the back side of the fretboard there is less of a chance of this happening, and I believe the glue wicked in far enough that flooding the binding from the back is doable.
I quite like the CA method for this type of job, and will use it again in future.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

You may have done this, but just in case. With the binding clamped in place to the fretboard, spraying the binding/fretboard joint with accelerator, letting it flash off, and then applying the thin CA with a whip tip reduces the amount of CA that can migrate into the fret slots. Also, the CA doesn't need to be applied continuously along the length of the fretboard. I think of it as spot welding the binding to the fretboard between the fret slots.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Thank you.
I followed a tute on Youtube (well known luthier/teacher). He taped the binding, applied CA to the areas without tape, pulled tape, applied to areas the tape had covered, flipped the board and did the same on the back side.
I did this to the first edge, saw how the CA was wicking all over the place and figured it would wick just fine if I only applied it from the back, so that is what I did on the second run.
Appreciate the advice. It confirms what I discovered on the second half of the binding job, and makes me feel more confident next time around.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I put a small flame on a propane torch and heat the tip of an exacto knife and it cuts right through glue. Of course I let it cool just a tad and don’t touch plastic binding if I’ve used plastic.

Yeah, putty knife and blowtorch. Don't huff the fumes...

Yes! Exactly right. We pull from the binding toward the middle of the board and then go to the other side of the neck and repeat so that we are never in danger of pulling through the binding.

We also anchor our hands firmly on the board and only clean an area perhaps 1/2" or less at a time.

One other thing that helps me is to not pull hard. If it's not coming with a light touch I just keep at it instead of wrenching it and think that this is likely safer for all concerned.

For us we often have to clean out other glues including ep*xy which can be tenacious.

Good idea Tim, I'll have to try that. Hope you are doing great too!

Yes - I'm not a fan of CA for bindings and instead used Titebond Original for wood bindings. While taping things up I can clean out squeeze out and did so when I went to fret I didn't;t have to clean out the slots.

Open time can be very helpful in many of our applications.

This forum likes CA though

Another great idea. Dave won't let me play with fire though....

Are the fumes like Sativa or Indica? .

I wouldn't know, I'm non huffer:)

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

A soldering gun with the tip filed just right. Easily controlled and the quickest, most effective method I've tried.