BR Ukuleles
Well-known member
I was running a couple of batches of bindings today and thought that some might like to see the process I use to glue the purflings to the edge of a binding strip. It use to always give me fits doing this until I worked out a simple trick that works 100% every time.
Binding strips are cut and sized. I use a table saw and drum sander. These ones are some Cocobolo that turns a very rich ox blood red color in a day or so. The purfling strips are black / maple / black. The reason to glue them to the edge of the binding is that they are far easier to install on an instrument that way, than trying to do that on their own.
I use hot hide glue because it's by far the easiest glue to use in this situation. And yes, I've tried several.
I use two slabs of granite. Off cuts from counter tops that were found at the local tip. The reason I use them is that even here in the tropics, they stay rather cool, so the initial grab and setting of the hide glue through drop in temperature is improved. As well, when glueing these small bits together there is bound to be glue spread all over the place, and clean up off the granite slabs is very quick and easy.
First up, I brush a fat bead of hide glue onto the edge of a binding strip and lay it down on the granite slab up agains the other piece that acts as a fence. Then position a purfling strip next to it.
I then use a piece of perspex to push the purfling up agains the binding strip and clamp it in place. It doesn't take much pressure, and hide glue actually pulls parts tighter together as it dries.
I also use a another piece of perspex to make sure that the purfling and binding strip are sitting flat and aligned to the granite slab.
In about 5 minutes the clamps can be removed and the parts carefully removed. You need to do this before the glue fully sets, as you will not be able to do so without destroying them should you wait too long.
Let dry fully overnight and then they are ready to use.
Binding strips are cut and sized. I use a table saw and drum sander. These ones are some Cocobolo that turns a very rich ox blood red color in a day or so. The purfling strips are black / maple / black. The reason to glue them to the edge of the binding is that they are far easier to install on an instrument that way, than trying to do that on their own.
I use hot hide glue because it's by far the easiest glue to use in this situation. And yes, I've tried several.
I use two slabs of granite. Off cuts from counter tops that were found at the local tip. The reason I use them is that even here in the tropics, they stay rather cool, so the initial grab and setting of the hide glue through drop in temperature is improved. As well, when glueing these small bits together there is bound to be glue spread all over the place, and clean up off the granite slabs is very quick and easy.
First up, I brush a fat bead of hide glue onto the edge of a binding strip and lay it down on the granite slab up agains the other piece that acts as a fence. Then position a purfling strip next to it.
I then use a piece of perspex to push the purfling up agains the binding strip and clamp it in place. It doesn't take much pressure, and hide glue actually pulls parts tighter together as it dries.
I also use a another piece of perspex to make sure that the purfling and binding strip are sitting flat and aligned to the granite slab.
In about 5 minutes the clamps can be removed and the parts carefully removed. You need to do this before the glue fully sets, as you will not be able to do so without destroying them should you wait too long.
Let dry fully overnight and then they are ready to use.
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