Official Luthiers Forum!

I just received an order of tortoise binding from LMII. There was a $25 hazmat charge on top of a price of $8.65 a piece, so it's not cheap. I might as well have bought black plastic binding because this stuff looks nothing like tortoise. It's almost completely black. Does anyone know where to get binding that actually looks like tortoise? Any source is appreciated.
Craig

Pilgrims Projects has pretty good stuff. No Hazmat charge.

Last time I ordered from Axiom inc, I liked what I got. Been a couple years, though.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

The martin guitar makers connection has some decent stuff.

best tortoise binding I've seen is from Martin.

http://www.martinguitar.com/1833/catalo ... ar%20Parts

I had the same experience. The stuff was terrible. I did some trading with another luthier for the stuff Martin sells and it's much different (better).

I've covered that ground before also in search of good looking tortoise binding. You have to watch the dimensioning of the binding as some comes full .250" tall and I think Martin is .2" so this may come into play if you inlet your braces through the ribs. Also you need to get your endgraft from the same source or it will not match. Some suppliers carry endgrafts and some don't. Also, as has been brought up already, on the lighter Tortoise you have to be mindfull of purfling arangment as you can possibly see through the binding and see the purfling and possibly inleted braces etc. As soon as I get my current stash of Tortoise and Ivoroid used up I will get partial sheet's in from Axiom inc. of both and cut my own. Then the coloring should be much more consistant between binding and endgraft.
Good luck
Rod K

I actually like the LMI tortoise binding.
It isn't black, but brown,
with amber spots scattered minimally.
I think it's not as cheap looking as the tortoise binding with lots of amber spots.
I used it on an electric, and I like it.

the Martin stuff is really nice. I have about 6 pieces left from Martinfest over the summer. Gail and Liz are so easy to deal with, you will probably order more than you expected. Also, they charge $3.10 a piece and they don't charge a hazmat price.

Thanks to everyone. I like what I see at both Pilgrim's Projects and Axiom. I'll place an order shortly. It probably doesn't make sense to return the material to LMII, what with the HAZMAT issue and all. I've been dealing with LMII since its inception and I think this is the first time I wasn't happy with something. Also, they do have a note on their order page that the material is darker than what's shown. I'll find a use for it somewhere down the line. Thanks again.
Craig

Thanks to everyone. I like what I see at both Pilgrim's Projects and Axiom. I'll place an order shortly. It probably doesn't make sense to return the material to LMII, what with the HAZMAT issue and all. I've been dealing with LMII since its inception and I think this is the first time I wasn't happy with something. Also, they do have a note on their order page that the material is darker than what's shown. I'll find a use for it somewhere down the line. Thanks again.
Craig

When I use Tortoise flavored, or any light binding (like our Pearl) I back it up with .001 cream PVC sheet I get from Leathertone. I've found that I need to use it the entire width of the binding channel, and I paint the bottom of the channel as well with epoxy that's got cream pigment in it (get it at Tap Plastics).
When John Greven (Tortis) pours binding sheets he pours directly onto the cream pvc so that saves the step. You can try him for stock, but when I talked to him a few days ago he was swamped busy.
-C

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