Official Luthiers Forum!

While cutting binding channels the router bit slowly slipped and finally tore a hole in the side towards the top. Any repair ideas are welcome. This is my third build and I never look forward to cutting binding channels.

Can't see the picture. These are great opportunities to learn and work on inlay skills.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I may need a photo posting tutorial as well.

Ouchhhh! Don't really have much advice, having never done a repair like that, but i'd say it is definitely do-able so long as you take your time getting a real good fit for the inserts to fill it up. If you could use the piece which chipped out then that would be even better.

As for the rest of the over-cut channel. Super super jumbo binding?

Ouch. I feel your pain. Same thing happened to me last weekend, on the back of my 55th...
I was able to remove the back and use the radius dish to sand down the rims. Looks like you have a lot farther to go though.

Dang!!

I agree that the simplest solution would probably be to remove the top and do a shallow body type of thing.

_________________
http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

That's a rather large slip. Sorry bout that. Best option I would say is remove the top and cut the body down to a shallower body depth. This can be quiet challenging so you'll really want to read up on it. Either that or you make an exact match to the tear out from the same material and inlay it in the channel. That too will be tough.

Looks like there is some lining missing under the braces? You'll want to replace that too.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

It looks like the top got cut in as well. Is it past the depth of a purfling you were planning? I slipped with a router on a back binding. I removed the back. I used heat and removed all of the kerfling and made a slightly thinner guitar.

_________________
http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Ouch!! I feel your pain. What Rod said. Remove the top and make a thinner bodied guitar would be best IMHO. I really don't like the look of thick bindings. That's a really good reason to make sure you tighten any router collets well. I've been there myself. Fortunately not on a guitar.

Yet another guitar making curve ball. Someone should right a book on the subject.

On my second guitar and the last one I did the binding routing with a Dremel the bit slipped lower but I caught it before it got that deep. I rerouted the the rest of the guitar to that lower level and added another layer of BWB purfling, it actually looked good and I got comments on it's look, it was a great story on screw ups and recovery.

As to your problem it looks like a new set of sides are the only repair if you can salvage the top and back.

_________________
Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Eesh. I had a router travasty like that once too. Just call it a sound port and move on.

Looks like you'd have to take the top off and fix the lining. I can't tell how bad the top got chewed up but maybe you can salvage it. Cut a clean line off the top bout and glue on a new piece from the scrap (like a 3piece top). For the side you'll have to blend in a patch somehow.
If the patches don't blend in well.....SUNBURST!!

Hummmmmm, didn't really look at the top area. Looks pretty bad.
You could do a cutaway ala Sylvan Wells, look up his website for details. He makes his cutaways after the box is closed and you could make yours look more like Ervin Somogyi's to cut out that large gouge.

Mind you it looks like the cut from the router is over 1/2", maybe more and the linings are torn out.

I really think taking the top off and making the body shallower is your best option.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

out of curiosity what router ?
Is this repairable ? Yes but you have an area of concern and that is that the kerfing is also lost . You were given many options so you need to decide .

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

If, when you replace the kerfed lining, as you must, you leave it proud of the sides, you will not lose too much depth in the box after you rerout it.

Actually, the top looks OK. It may appear to be mangled but the binding routing stops. We are seeing the transition from binding rout to no rout at all.

I've had this happen on my second build. After swearing a blue streak, I found some side wood with grain that was a reasonable match for the side, bent it to the same curve, evened up the slop on the other side of where the rout stops, and cleaned up the glue face, and glued in a patch.

Under finish I had a hard time finding it, let alone noticing it, and I knew where to look!

Nobody else ever noticed.

Anyway, choose your poison. And good luck.

_________________
Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/