Caught in a bind

July 01, 2018

Caught in a bind

I mentioned in the earlier post about how build Number 1 became a disaster at one stage.

That was the disaster in the making: an attempt to install a metal inlay, with no prior planning, no prior research, no trials or test installs. Just pure intuition and going with the flow.

The flow seemed good at first and then it all fell apart. Literally.

The idea was to use copper wire as a edge binding. To create the inlay channel, I used a Dremel with a thin resin cutting disc. For stability, I attached the Dremel to a drill stand.

It worked, mostly. Until I over-cut some parts because the arm bevel meant it wasn't a flat edge all the way. And there was no way to properly gauge the depth of the cut.

The binding channel was uneven at parts. But OK, not a total disaster (yet).

Then the next unknown: how to make copper stick to wood.

I read that using 2-stage epoxy was the way to go. Tried that and it seemed to work. Though the resulting binding was quite uneven, because the copper wire expanded as I tapped it.

Still, it wasn't a total, total disaster. Sure it made the guitar build looked amaterish but I could live with that.

So here's the disaster: when I attempted to sand the stained surface as prep work for the clear coat, the copper wire caught onto the sand paper and I ripped off a section.

The epoxy didn't hold.

Tentative prying made it clear that the binding wouldn't stick.

I ripped it all out, and not without some angst.

Have I just ruined my build?

I left the guitar alone for a while. A possible solution came to mind quite quickly.

Repair time: I decided to use a Dremel sanding attachment, put on a guide that allowed me to hold the tool at 45 degrees to the body.

Turned out, I'd discovered a variant of what they call "faux binding" in guitar-making. Not a binding per se, but carving out the edge to reveal a lighter wood tone. That provided a contrast and made the guitar appear like it has a binded edge.