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Binding/purfling with wood. Love the look. But the process was painful. I've borrowed a page from another (Everett Guitars, bevel veneer glue up). Thin glue layer (tite bond) on channel, glue on purfling. Let dry a bit. Attach while tacky. Use iron to set. Easy peasy. Additional layers the same.

Downside is it is not very reversible. So be sure of ur placement. Watch inside curves like waist and cutaways.

I bought a good clothes iron for this stuff. My wife did not appreciate me using hers. Clean surface with Easy Off

Hey Mike. I actually gluing bindings and purfling tomorrow. I've never done side purfling and planned to glue it first using thin CA.

Could you give a little more detail? I'm picturing you laying down some glue, brushing it thin with your finger or a small brush, letting it set up for a few minutes, and then pressing your purfling on? Then you heat with the iron until the glue is dry? About how long does that take?

Thanks. It sounds very interesting. And helpful!



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Kent Everett has a DVD on the arm rest bevel (highly recommend it). In it he describes a technique for glueing the veneer on the carved bevel. Said he learned it from a veneer guy. Thin layer on veneer and on mating surface. Let both dry to clear. Then use iron to mold it on. Tite bond original. However, for the purfling I elected to go while still tacky. Helps with positioning and hold. Start at butt end, work ur way around, positioning and ironing as u go. Then use iron to fully set. I use side and tip of iron. Maybe practice on something first? Binding still goes on with wet glue and tape. This technique works quite well.

I scrape and lightly sand between applications of multiple strips.

Yes, apply with finger to both surfaces. Glue does not so much as dry with iron (it's almost dry already), but it reactivates, and permanently sets. It takes about an hour to lay down all purfling for one guitar. Current models require one strip on back, 3 on front.

I do a similiar procedure using HHG. I've got a little hobby iron intended for shrinking the fabric on R/C airplanes that works nicely.

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Oops. Messed up the post

Sorry, I don't think that was a helpful post, I'll clarify below.

Mike, a picture is worth a thousand words (and video is priceless). I'm not understanding the purfling you are using. Multiple strips of veneer, some herringbone or wheat, is it full height, side purfling? Are you using tape, rope, rubber bands? How are you holding the iron? How fast do you move it? Do you do the same with the binding or just purfling?


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I'm a little lost too. Is it side or top purfs you are using this for? Or both? If side purfs, what's the advantage over having them already laminated to the bindings prior to bending? Ease of getting all miter joints perfect?

I am all ears when it comes to process improvements for binding, it's one of the most potentially troublesome points in any build. I'm just not quite understanding the process you've described.


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I use veneer strips, .3 and .6 mm cut from LMI maple, dyed veneers. I mostly use black and natural. My binding strips are any kind of wood, 0.25 x 0.08". All standard stuff. I would imagine this would work fine for herring bone strips.

My normal procedure was to glue it all up at once. And that is fine, it works. But it's messy. And you touch ups were required. In this other process, I apply thin layer of Tite Bond Orig to both surfaces. Let dry to tacky, almost clear, then put in place. Use iron to set. The binding still goes on with wet glue and tape.

I will post some pics
Mike

Here are some pics. I do not show glue and placement. That's really not hard. Just thin layer of TBO, on channel and strip. Let dry to tacky, then place and use tip of iron to press and set. It's way less fussy than trying to finagle 3 purfling strips and a binding strip in one pass with wet glue. And WAY less prone to gaps.

More pics

Thanks for posting the photos and the more detailed description. I didn't understand the original post but it makes more sense now.

You mentioned trying to finagle three purfling strips when installing the binding. So, in the photos, did you install each of the individual purfling strips one after the other to build up the B/W/B pattern?

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OK, thanks. To summarize:

1. You use purfling strips made of dyed wood veneer that are not as tall as the binding, but more than the thickness of a typical herringbone style purfling strip.

2. The strips are built up one at a time in a purfling channel cut that is different than the channel cut for the binding.

3. You don't need tape for the purfling. Instead you apply glue to the channel and strip, allow to dry, then place the strip in the channel and with the tip of a clothes iron you activate the glue.

Last question:

On the binding, do you use the same technique, or does the binding go in with wet glue and tape?

The back side used a single .6 mm strip as tall as the binding. That one was easy. The front used 3 purfling strips, 2 black, .6 mm, one natural .3 mm. These were half the height of the binding and set in their own inset channel. I found it easier to laminate the black and natural (now .9 mm) and set that. Then the last .6 mm black strip. But in essence, one layer at a time. The .3mm stuff is fussy. I got better results laminating before laying down. No tape required. Had to take care at waist and cutaways to avoid gaping. Note: this will only work if the channel surface and purfling surface are both pre-glued.

I found that laminating 3 layers (1.5 mm) was too much for curvy areas... Could break. But, iron could be used to soften into place. But overall, I didn't like that approach .

Yes, binding is wet glued and held with tape. I dunno, just seems wiser to do that. Good soaking of glue. What I am finding is I have WAY less repair work fixing minor gaps. Lines are more consistent

Another one: