Guitar Making

On to the koa binding. I've already prebent it to shape in my side bender. There will also be a piece of black/white/black purfling along the side below the binding.

Here it is taped in place dry. There's no glue yet, I'm just making sure everything fits.


I leave the binding too long so I can trim the ends exactly where I need them to be.


With it taped in place, I use a small Exacto saw and a file to get the end of the binding to line up with the centerline of the back.


So here it is with the binding and purfling all sized up.


Now it's time to get ready for glue. I remove the tape from the neck end to just past the waist.


So I have the binding glued in from the waist to the neck end. I use an old bicycle innertube to apply pressure at the waist, as that's the most likely place for a gap between the purfling and binding. Then I remove the tape from the waist to the tail end so I can get that end glued in place.


And here it is all glued up and taped in place. Next time I'll install the binding on the other side.