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What's the best way to remove
a bound soundboard, it will get replaced with a new one??

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MK5acoustics.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQihQUn6YOU

Here is a method some use to replace the top and save the binding and some refinish work.

I plan on new bindings, I would assume rout off bindings then remove soundboard by cutting to linings then resand in radius dish

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MK5acoustics.com

Take off the bindings then use a warm thin piece of metal to slide between the linings and the soundboard. Should pop right off. I just took a back off my build and I used a scraper to slide between the back an the linings while I had a clothes iron sitting on the back to heat the back up. The heat released the glue and the scraper pried them apart. Went pretty quickly and painlessly. Wear gloves though the scraper gets pretty hot.

When you route the bindings off don't take too deep a cut at first or you can end up getting chip out on the side wood - guess what happened to me last weekend when I did exactly this and tried to route full depth in one pass

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I'd be tempted to remove the binding with heat and a pallette knife. A router is much quicker and easier if you don't screw up, but I don't have much confidence in my ability to route that precisely. Every piece of wood that I've ruined while building guitars has been done with a router or laminate trimmer.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

I agree. When I took the binding off mine I just heated it up and slowly pried it off. The binding didn't fair too well but it left everything else unharmed.

I would agree with Roger about pulling them off by hand. I have routed them off before but prefer to do it with my separation knife(an artists palette knife). First take and X-acto blade and cut the finish or you may end up refinishing the sides to repair the chips. I use a little travel iron that I confiscated from my wife. It works really well and is small enough to see what I am doing.

A tip when refinishing is to tape the sides right at the new bindings and shoot a couple of coats on the bindings. Let it dry and then roll tape the sides at the corner of the top and sides. Roll taping is done by taping the sides but have the tape stick up about 1/8" above the top. Then use your hand and just brush the tape back away from the top. This will keep from getting a build up of finish right on the break of the sides and top. Depending on how many coats you put on you may want to pull the roll tape off and slightly wet sand the edge and re tape it. You will end up with a very nice corner with no clear build up or lines. Then just lightly hand buff the sides of the binding to get rid of the edge where you taped the binding.

I would also suggest making some sort of mold or supports for the sides when you remove the top other wise you could introduce a twist to the body when putting the new top on. But you probably already knew that.

Cheers,
Bob

Well since you gonna rebind with new then you go ahead and get that sucker of however you wish.

How does that sound.


Hmmm...?


blessings

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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actually really easy , routed off halfof the binding to the edge of the channel then used a deeper rout just the thickness of the sound board , followed by a heat gun and spatula , came right off...

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MK5acoustics.com

Just a word of warning. Once the top comes off the sides will want to start moving. You have to make sure the sides are braced or supported in the right position before you put the new top on.

Ask me how I know this....

If you had used reversed kerf linings, or better still, laminated solid linings, it would not have been a problem. The sides are much more rigid with those types of linings. Of course, RH variations can cause anything made of wood to move.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

all of mine now use solid linings for the sound board, this was a earlier build and has reverse linings, every thing came out fine

_________________
MK5acoustics.com

Good advice about removing the bindings. I'll know better next time. For the repairs I've done previously I removed the bindings carefully cause I wanted to save them. Lesson learned.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"