BR Ukuleles
Well-known member
Side sound ports are getting quite popular lately, and I've been trying to find a method to bind them that makes sense for me and the various timbers that I will need to use to match up with the bindings on the instrument.
This is the one that I've settled on and is the quickest of all the methods I've tried.
First up I cut the binding and a backing veneer on my laser. Obviously if you have one you'd use it, but you could do this manually though it will take longer than the 10 seconds it take to cut these two. The backing veneer is 1.2mm thick and has an inner diameter 1mm less than the binding one. Just so it's a little bit easier to mate them up and the excess will be cleaned up after everything is glued in place.
I now add the purfling strip to the outside. This is actually the trickiest part of the entire procedure.
I bend the binding/purfling assembly on the hot pipe to conform to the area that I'm going to install and then lay out where I will cut the hole.
I use a dremel with a cutting bit and then a sanding drum to sneak up on the line. Checking often to get the fit as good as possible. This is a job where patience and practice certainly pay off.
And once the binding fits I bend the backing veneer to conform to the position it will have on the inside. Hard to tell from this photo, but there is a bend at each end of the ellipse.
It's glued in place on the inside and allowed to dry.
This is the one that I've settled on and is the quickest of all the methods I've tried.
First up I cut the binding and a backing veneer on my laser. Obviously if you have one you'd use it, but you could do this manually though it will take longer than the 10 seconds it take to cut these two. The backing veneer is 1.2mm thick and has an inner diameter 1mm less than the binding one. Just so it's a little bit easier to mate them up and the excess will be cleaned up after everything is glued in place.
I now add the purfling strip to the outside. This is actually the trickiest part of the entire procedure.
I bend the binding/purfling assembly on the hot pipe to conform to the area that I'm going to install and then lay out where I will cut the hole.
I use a dremel with a cutting bit and then a sanding drum to sneak up on the line. Checking often to get the fit as good as possible. This is a job where patience and practice certainly pay off.
And once the binding fits I bend the backing veneer to conform to the position it will have on the inside. Hard to tell from this photo, but there is a bend at each end of the ellipse.
It's glued in place on the inside and allowed to dry.