Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey guys,

Need some suggestions/advice here....

I like the look of a bound fretboard, but I end up spending several hours chipping all the glue back out of the fret slots after gluing on the bindings.... and then several more repairing the chips on the fretboard caused by chipping out all that glue....

I need a way to get far less glue into those narrow slots in the first time... I gotta quit turning 5-minute operations into 5-hour operations...

Thanks

Try filling the slots with wax.

_________________
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

Or waxed veneer. Most typical veneer fits well in a fret slot.

_________________
Build log

Some folks cut up plastic milk cartons into strips and insert them into the fretslot before gluing on binding. I have not done this, but it apparently keeps glue out of the slot pretty effectively. And the glue does not stick to the plastic so they can be pulled out after the glue cures. You might want to leave the strips extra wide so you have something to grab hold of when extracting them.

Stewmac sells Teflon fret dam sheets. Cheap and effective. But, I just use thin CA sparingly applied with a micro pipette, avoiding the fret slot areas. No problems so far.

_________________
Aaron Craig

Got a compressor? Blow out the fret slots after you've clamped the bindings on. Unless of course you're using tape then that doesn't work so well.

I've also switched to dry taping the bindings on and using CA to glue, none to very little glue gets in the slot.

_________________
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 use a hot putty knife, heated with a blowtorch. Just wear your respirator...

Grind a #11 x-acto blade point flat, then into a mild hook on the cutting edge and clean every slot at the edge of the bindings (it is the right size) while the glue is still wet.

_________________
Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I learned from Alan Carruth to use plastic covers from nut cans or coffee cans cut up into strips. If it's a bit too thick for the fret slots, just use a scraper to thin them a bit until they fit. Leave them a little taller then the fret slots so they are a bit easier to get out. It's worked out quite well for me.

Matt

Errr....use less glue??

I've used both epoxy and Titebond for this job. Put the right amount on and don't skid the parts over each other. If this seem too hard doing both sides together, do one side at a time using TB. After 10mins you can do the other side and still be well up on the time to clear slots. I clamp using large spring clamps.

_________________
Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au