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I'm working on a black walnut florentine cutaway OM. I'm finding that binding a florentine is challenging. I have dry fitted the binding on the back. The binding is tortoise and I have plastic w/b purfling on the inside and no purfling for the back. I started the fitting at the tip of the cutaway. I'm wondering now that perhaps I shouldn't have fitted the end corner (near the neck)... I'm wondering if I will come up short at the end because the glue will take up some space... Do you think I should go forward with gluing the binding piece that I dry fitted or should I start again with another piece of binding? I'd hate to go all the way around with glue and find that I've come up short...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Bump... Doesn't anyone have an opinion?

I've never used tortise binding so my answer may not work. I glue my binding by wicking CA around them, after taping them in place. That way I can be sure of the fit before any glue is used. If you do this you need to seal the end grain with shellac to keep the CA from wicking into the wood and causing a stain. There's a tutorial or 2 on this method. I'm assuming CA can be used to glue tortise binding.

I hope this helps, and I hope I understood your question. FWIW, I'm not an expert.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I've never used tortoise bindings either, but I'm pretty sure you could use CA on them as it seems to adhere to most anything else.

How tight was the tape-up? If you've doubled up the tape and the binding is really tight, I don't think the glue should make a difference in the end result.

FWIW, I would go the CA route. The beauty of it is that you can be certain that the fit is airtight. As woody stated, just make sure to seal the top with shellac. I'll put shellac on the whole top, not just the edges. You can never be too safe. It only takes one errant drop to ruin your day...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

I'm sure CA will stick to tortise binding, but it might disolve or discolor it. Be sure and test it on a scrap piece.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

What type of tortoise binding? I can confirm that celluloid nitrate bindings can be glued with CA glue. A good method for getting really tight mitered joints with this material is to disolve some of it in acetone so it becomes a thick syrup like goop and use that as a glue, it will weld the joint shut. I have only used the cream colored ivoroid type, but I assume the same can be done with other colors, assuming your bindings are celluloid nitrate that is. I like to start with the miters and move on from there, regardless of binding / purfling material.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Steve
Why not use CA to glue the binding if you're concerned about the glue taking up space?
You can tape the binding in place and wick thin CA if you have good fitup.
Nelson