Official Luthiers Forum!

While reading back through old stuff on here, while I get acquainted with the place, I noticed a number of folk saying that they couldn't find linen tape.

The place to go looking is in/at suppliers of traditional bookbinding materials. Book binders use linen tape to hold the spine of a bookblock together. They sew over the tape as they sew the pages into the block and then fix the tapes to the end boards.

Ian

Ian;
The linen tape is not a good side reinforcement !
Please look at all the info from the OLF archives and use wood for that purpose!

Mike

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Mike Collins

Mike my friend I have to respectfully disagree. I use bias tape side supports and they work great.

The real advantage of tape supports is that they extend up to and under the kerfed linings. Often, not always, wood side support users terminate the wooden supports at the kerfed linings which can create a stress riser.

The purpose of either wooden or bias tape side supports is to stop a crack from running. So..... being tucked under the kerfed linings is a real advantage.

BTW Martin uses tapes supports and so to did Gibson, at least in the past.

Personally I'd agree, but I'd seen folks who did want to use it saying they had problems finding it and I use it for bookbinding so I thought I'd offer a pointer.

My local model shop sells nice hard maple 'lollipop sticks' as glue stirrers for £1.95 / 100 (sterling) that are just the right size as side reinforcement. I just pick through, save the nice quartersawn ones for reinforcement and use the rest to mix epoxy etc.

Ian

How do you know? Have you tested them?

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Many really good builders have gone to fabric reinforcement. When I was at Bruce Sexaurs shop for an NCAL meeting he was using a patterned ribbon material. Looked like any other good ribbon you can find at a fabric store. I don't know if there is anything more special than that to it.

Greg N

No but with millions of guitars built with them for perhaps 100 years now I feel no need to be concerned. Jim my friend feel free to take a Taylor-Made to the side of one of yours if you like and let us know how it does...?

Heck, break out the Big Bertha! If it can take that, then I'm in!

Mike

Thanks Hesh - I think I'll continue to live in ful ignorance for as long as I can!

Heh - how do I turn off that darned emoticon when all I want is the word??

Anyway, I like how wooden braces look, but, at the opposite extreme, my factory guitars have no reinforcement at all! (Larrivee's)

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu