Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm just getting ready to scrape bindings and purflings I have glued on several guitars I have underway. How do you get a uniform radius on the edge of the binding so that it's consistent all the way around the body? I've usually used a scraper, but is there a better way to make the consistently rounded edge? I'd appreciate your suggestions.

Ken Grunst
Williamsburg, VA

Drill a hole the size of radius in wood 1/2" long, cut out 110 degrees, glue sandpaper in 'cup'.You could knock it down with a scraper first. At least in theory...

_________________
Here is what a Parlor Guitar is for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEa8PkjO6_I

I use the rubber concave sanding blocks from Lee Valley.

I never get too worried about the radiusing. The edges will break nicely as you sand .

_________________
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

router??

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I do them by hand but it does take practice and patience to get a uniform look.
Wonder if a person could use a setup same as or similar to binding rabbet routing with a small corner rounder?
Nelson Palen

a 1/16" roundover bit might be a tad too much, or might be just right for your tastes....that's the smallest made....

I just use a scraper, but to stay uniform, I'll do a "primary" (ie 45) bevel all 'round. Then ease with "secondary" bevels before sanding smooth. (I find bevels are easier to check for consistancy & keep the shape truer.)

_________________
Dave
Milton, ON

Thanks guys:

I'm having pretty good luck with this group of guitars using a scraper and cutting several light bevels, and then sanding to a near-round finished edge. I tried Frei's method and I think it worked really well once I got the right sized tool made. I ended up doing quite a bit of bevelling first, and then finished them with this special sanding block. I tried if first without the scraper, but it was way too slow.

Ultimately, I'd like to experiment with a router, because I really want a perfect quarter-round edge, but I guess I'm still a little gun shy. There's just no room for mistakes after this many hours of work getting a guitar body to this stage.

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the sharing here on the Forum.

Ken Grunst
Williamsburg, VA

One nifty trick, after beveling and refining with a scraper like Dave Stewart outlined, is to use 1/3 or so of a sheet of 220 or 320 sandpaper "shoeshine style" around the body. It makes for nice uniformly round binding edges if done attentively.

_________________
Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

I've tried to do it with a .0625 roundover chucked up in a jig just like what routes the binding. I tried many different ways. It just didn't work. Never would come out totally even. Especially with plastic binding it's easy to do it by hand. I get a 45 degree with a small scraper, then blend the sharp edges in. Practice and it's a snap.

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com