Fretboard binding

I have never bound a fretboard, and I'm not certain if it's something I want to do on my current project. However, some of the work you folks have displayed is stunning. To bind a fretboard, do you have to shave the sides of the fretboard by an amount equivalent to the thickness of your binding? Do you then notch the frets to fit into the slots and over the binding?

I have a rosewood fretboard that has the slots cut, and has been cut and sanded to the correct tapered shape. I also have some very pretty curly Maple bindings. The work I've seen displayed on here and in luthier forums has been excellent; is it worth the work for a first-time effort?

Definitely you can do it. Not that hard really, just takes a bit of work... Yes, you have to reduce the width of your fretboard equal to the width of the binding. Glue bindings to fretboard. After you clip off the end of the tang on your fret that is going to go over your binding, you need to grind away that little bit of metal left under the fret so it lays flat. You can do it with a file I suppose but keep in mind you have to do this 38 times for a 19 fret fretboard! Boring! I use a small cutoff wheel in a dremel tool jacked into a vise and grind it off. Insert frets into slots. Then dress your fret ends as usual. Not that hard and it makes a real difference to how the uke feels while playing. Looks good too.

I like a faux binding.The fretboards are cut so the the frets stop just short of the edge to give it a cleaner look. I know you already have the fretboard already slotted so this isn't possible.

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to give this a shot. Do you leave the edge of your fretboard bindings square, or do you round them a hair to take off the edge?

tonyturley said:

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to give this a shot. Do you leave the edge of your fretboard bindings square, or do you round them a hair to take off the edge?

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you'll do this slightly when you dress the fret ends. Don't attempt to do it before you install the frets, otherwise the fret ends may not sit flat on top of the binding.

tonyturley said:

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to give this a shot. Do you leave the edge of your fretboard bindings square, or do you round them a hair to take off the edge?

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This is actually a good question. I leave the edges of the binding square until after fretting then when the fretboard is glued to the neck and I'm cleaning up the neck/fretboard (taking off that little ledge on the neck bed and making the neck flush to the fretboard) I do a little trick that Gordon at Mya-Moe showed in a video years ago: Take your palm sander and run it up the side of the fretboard at a 45 degree angle making a slight bevel in the edges of the fretboard bindings which bevels the fret ends slightly. It only takes a quick pass or two. Do NOT over do this step! This makes all the difference in the world because the fret ends are now slightly back from the edge. Dress fret ends as usual. Thanks Gordon! Good luck where ever you are!

a bound fingerboard takes about 5 times as long as a non bound, and at least one extra $60 tool, unless you want to file tang end off 38 times... 19 x 2 (both ends).
https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Tools_for_Fretting/Pullers_nippers_sizing/StewMac_Fret_Tang_Nipper.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=2019-04-gp&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIu4_ci4q34QIVjuDICh1T_wGVEAQYASABEgLz5fD_BwE

Thanks for that tip, sequoia. Beau, thanks for feeding my tool obsession!

I did get my fretboard bound today. I began by carefully marking and scribing a line on each edge of the fretboard, using a marking knife and a steel ruler clamped to the board. Then I mounted my jack plane upside down in my vise and carefully shaved each side down to the lines. Final cleanup was with a sanding block and my shooting board to ensure each edge was square and clean. After gluing and clamping, I came back a couple of hours later and planed/sanded the bottom flush. I somehow misaligned the bindings when gluing, but there's plenty of extra width on the curly Maple, so I now just need to true the top of the bindings with the top of the fretboard. It's temporarily clamped to the rough cut neck right now to test the fit, which is spot on. Thanks again for the help.

a bound fingerboard takes about 5 times as long as a non bound, and at least one extra $60 tool, unless you want to file tang end off 38 times... 19 x 2 (both ends).
https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tool...SABEgLz5fD_BwE

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Does this tool work for narrow/low fretwire?

mzuch said:

Does this tool work for narrow/low fretwire?

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They used to sell two (wide/medium and narrow/medium), but seem they only have the one now.
THere is also this one: https://www.jescarguitar.com/shop/summit-special-fret-tang-cutter-adjustable-universal/

You can nip the tang just a fast with a diagonal cutter that has been ground to cut flush. I put a mark on my cutter to get the same nipped off each fret end. You can get these at the hardware store and grind them to cut flush. Clean up with dremel with diamond wheel.http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/170965706002-0-1/s-l1000.jpg Don't bother with the "guitar fret cutter" shown in this image. any diagonal cutter will work if you grind to cut flush.

Just as a side note, when I get a guitar or uke in for repair and the frets needs to be replaced, It costs 2 to 3 times more than a standard unbound fret board because of the extra time and work.