The Emeraldcaster Project (aka Son of Meloncaster)

[Buckocaster51]

So...let's finish the first cut around the top.



Now we will change bearings on the cutter and set it for the depth of the binding.



Gosh, that router looks like it has been rode hard and put up wet.

Let's make a sample cut in a place that nobody will ever see. (Like right on the top!) Then we can check to see how things fit.



I'm no Norm Abrahms (or Ed Hawley for that matter!) but it looks pretty good.

So we'll go the rest of the way around.



It winds up looking like this here.

If you have ever dealt with acoustic guitars with multiple bindings and purflings, you have had to do the same thing.

[Buckocaster51]

Before we take it into the house to glue that binding on, we'll knock off some of that fuzz with some sandpaper.



All ready to finish it up.

The next part is REALLY fun!



Maybe somebody can tell me why I get all of that fuzz. Low cutter speed? Dull cutter? Bad Kharma? Do I need to take a shower? Or is alder just a stringy wood?

[RnB]

Way cool Bucko! Doing binding's a gas. Nice descriptions w/ pics as you plow along w/ this one. Doesn't get much better than that! I've done a couple w/ binding now & find it a bit challenging...but well worth it.

Question: Why do you cut the purfling channel prior to cutting the binding channel? I have been doing it in reverse. Or, does it matter?

Rich

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by RnB

Question: Why do you cut the purfling channel prior to cutting the binding channel? I have been doing it in reverse. Or, does it matter?

Thank you.

I don't know if it matters...but the thinking was that I wanted the bearing to contact as much wood as possible. Had I cut the binding channel first, when I cut the purfling channel as least part of the bearing would have been floating in air.

Of course the real trick would be to have a special cutter made that could do the whole thing at once!

[TelecasterBlooz]

As usual Mr. Dikkers, this is one kick-@$$ thread! And thanks to your photos of Dave's, I FINALLY made the "pilgrammage". Why is it I'm gassing for one of your Tele's? Keep up the good work!

Kip

[Buckocaster51]

Going to Dave's can be expensive! Isn't it a hoot? Last time I was there, they had many, many Teles. The man has good taste.

[Buckocaster51]

We made sawdust this morning.

Now let's get some glue on our fingers!

This is what we have to glue in place. We'll keep the binding and purfling separate - we won't glue them together - until they go into place. It will be easier to go around the curves that way.



So let's put some cyanoacrylate glue in the channels. Most of this first layer will soak right in and go away. It acts sort of like a sealer. I suppose I could be using "gap-filling" glue that wouldn't do that as much, but this is what I had laying around.



Then we can put in our first piece of purfling. Being careful to center one of the white blocks on the centerseam. Could have been a black block. I just wanted one of the checks centered on the seam. Of course, once it is painted, that will be a moot point!



Then we can add some glue to the top of the purfling for the binding. Previously I had marke the center point of a piece of binding with a silver Sharpie. It can be embarassing to start off center and run out of binding before you get to the end! (I wonder how I know that?)

[Buckocaster51]

We'll put the binding in place and tape it down with some of that strapping tape.



When I say that I really lean into that tape, I am not kidding. You can see my pudgy little fingers straining!

Now we just work our way around toward the neck pocket.



Notice that the end of the piece of purfling in is sight? The binding is long enough that one piece will go around the top. Not so with the purfling. That is only about 20" long. We need to splice it together.

So I took some time to prep the next piece and cut some more tape.

Oh oh! When I came back, the stuff on the guitar had already stuck in place. Which of course is just what we want it to do. But this was the WRONG place!



Well, I haven't spent my life teaching HS science for nothing, and to top it off, I watch Mr. Wizard every Saturday when I was a kid. So I know that a little acetone will loosen those stuck pieces right up!



Funny how I just happened to have that handy.

[Buckocaster51]

We can add the next piece, being careful to get white next to black, and keep moving.



and we will keep going until we get close to the recurve. (Hey, I know some people call it the notch area...I call it the recurve.)



For now we'll leave this area unglued. We are going to have to set up some clamps to get the plastic to conform to this tight readius.

Sometimes I wonder if that sharp radius had something to do with the softening of the recurve and elimination of the "notch" back in the olden days. I know that goes against the CW...but maybe...just maybe...

But back to the Emeraldcaster...

We'll head the other from the bottom of the guitar and work our way up to the horn.



For right now, we will keep the glue well clear of this area. Taping the plastic down good and tight will start to train it where it needs to go.

Then we will just set everything aside to dry for a while.



In a bit we will take off the tape and finish off those two difficult areas.

As Arnold used to say, "I'll be back!"

[Buckocaster51]

So, what do you think?



Will they ever be clean?

Or am I making a subtle comment about today's Illinois vs Wisconsin foootbaaalllll game?

[Taipan]

Buckocaster51 - Really great tread you have going here ! Quick question for you. If you get the cyanoacrylate glue on the binding face or edge, say accidentally from your fingers how do you get it off?

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by Taipan

Quick question for you. If you get the cyanoacrylate glue on the binding face or edge, say accidentally from your fingers how do you get it off?

Thanks much.

The body and binding are going to go through some more sanding before this is over. That won't be a problem.

That is why, while some have done it, I just can't imagine putting binding on a guitar that is already finished.

Now, I must go back to the dungeon!

[Buckocaster51]

I got to the dungeon...took off the tape...and decided to work on the horn/cutaway.



This looks pretty ugly...and like it HAS to turn out a disaster...but really all that it takes is patience, strong fingers, and stronger tape.

Aahhhhemmmmm... (he clears his throat)

I just noticed something!

The purfling by the recurve DOESN'T HAVE ANY BLACK BETWEEN IT AND THE WOOD!



'Tis true!

Look down there!



Dagnabit!

In my concern about getting the checkerboards lined up right...I flipped the piece of purfling end-for-end...and put black substrate next to black binding.

ROOKIE MISTAKE!

[sean79]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

The body and binding are going to go through some more sanding before this is over.

Looking good. I was going to ask someone on here about sanding binding after it's on. Looks like you may be the man for the job...

1) Do you need to use a certain grit paper (fine v. course)?
2) Does the binding ever "melt" under a power sander?
3) Can you use a router to put a radius on it?

Can't wait to see the sparkle stuff. Now go wash your hands.

[Buckocaster51]

Well shoot! That is making a perfect weekend going downhill real fast.

Nothing to do...but take it off and try again.

Tried to loosen the glue up with acetone so I could reuse the material (you know, they don't give that purfling away!) but no use.

I took it back out to the garage and routed it off.

This is what I wound up with.



It's not nearly as bad as it looks.

Yeah...sure.

But we'll clean it up the best we can with some sharp knives...and then start putting it back together.



First the binding...then another piece of purfling...and before long...



Back to where we were an hour ago.

But this time there is black between the checkerboards and the wood.

Talk about chucklehead moves!

We'll have to show you how to dissolve binding in acetone to make a paste to fix "issues" soon.

If I'm as good as I think I am with this stuff...people that haven't read this thread will never know what happened.

Maybe.

[ehawley]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

I'm no Norm Abrahms (or Ed Hawley for that matter!) but it looks pretty good.

So we'll go the rest of the way around.

If you have ever dealt with acoustic guitars with multiple bindings and purflings, you have had to do the same thing.

Bucko! PLEASE!! I make everyday guitars! YOU SIR...are the BINDING MAN!! You make beautiful works of art! I always love your build threads! Keep on keepin' on!!
Cheers
ED

[BadHorsie]

This one is looking awsome Bucko!!!

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by sean79

1) Do you need to use a certain grit paper (fine v. course)?
2) Does the binding ever "melt" under a power sander?
3) Can you use a router to put a radius on it?

Thank you

A1 - I suppose you should. One of the last things you do before final finishing is to "scrape" the binding. That removes any scatches that there might be in it.

A2 - Yes. That is a clue that you have stayed too long in one place! Okay. To be serious, you develop a feel for how to move the sander.

A3 - Huh!? One of the beautiful things about binding is that there is virtually no radius. It really cuts into your arm! Really! I knock the sharp edge off with the scraper, but that is about it. 0.06" think binding is just too thing to round over.

I think Fuzzy did his Outlaw guitar with thicker binding that he did round over. Maybe he'll give us the details.

[Buckocaster51]

Pretty much done with the binding...mistakes and all...so let's wrap up the pictures.

We have to put some more purfling in place. Have you ever seen a pearl bound guitar? Ever wonder how they get that pearl to "bend" around the curvves? Well, sometimes it is cut to shape...but that is wasteful. More often the pearl is just broken to fit around the curves. Those curves are made up of short pieces of straight pearl...and you have never noticed!

We can do the same thing here. To help the checkerboard "bend" around the curves we can break the glue that is holding the checks together.

Sneaky...but it works.



Then we'll tape glue and tape it in place. We'll put some real muscle into that tape.



and we'll work our way down into the cutaway.

[sean79]

Q1) Do you need to use a certain grit paper (fine v. course)?

A1 - I suppose you should. One of the last things you do before final finishing is to "scrape" the binding. That removes any scratches that there might be in it.

So... I'm thinking that you'd use a pretty fine paper for the binding/finish sanding? Maybe 320 or 400?

Q3) Can you use a router to put a radius on it?

A3 - Huh!? One of the beautiful things about binding is that there is virtually no radius.

I know... I know... just thinking...

I've almost got my home building project done, and I've already told my lovely wife that I'm building another guitar when it's finished (I know; it's never finished). Now you've got me looking at binding and purfling and sparkles and tools... I've got about four guitar projects that I want to do now. I'm blaming you.