Binding Methods

Timbuck

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I was doing some "BW+rosewood" binding work on a Soprano today..And I normaly fit it the rosewood outer standing proud about 1/2mm from the sides and then I sand it down flush..I was wondering if anyone did it the other way making the binding flush or slightly under..and then sand down the sides to match:confused: ??
 
I know builders who glue their bindings proud and other who glue them shy. I've tried it both ways and don't see the point of doing either. I thickness my bindings to the exact dimension as my cut. With the glue they'll stand a couple of thousandths proud. The trick to doing good wood binding is to take the same care in bending them as you do your sides. I want then to fit perfectly, especially at the waist. There's nothing worse than seeing bindings going thick and thin and thick and thin. I also hit the inside corner of the bindings lightly with sand paper to remove any raw edges or burrs.
 
I"ve finally figured out to make the binding a few thou under flush to allow for glue. I also run a knife blade down the inside corner to knock the edge off so they'll sit better. In the past I did them high and it's just too much work. I also bend them to fit very well and tape them into the channel to chill out and settle for a while before glueing up. One more thing I do is I use one of those sliding grip/squeeze trigger type clamps (whatever they're called) with a couple of special cauls on each end to clamp the binding in the waist, eliminating any future embarrassing glue/sawdust fills in the waist. Works for me...
 
I use 25 mm wide twill tape (herringbone tape in Australia) to synch everything up tight after the bindings / purflings are glued in the HHG. Use to use large elastic bands but they perish so quickly that they kept breaking 1/2 way through a job, nearly taking out an eye so they went into the bin.
 
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