Another Binding(??) Question

[MrHappymoose]

Hi folks. I'm new to the forum and found it after looking up some info on doing a possible repair. My other half has a Tanglewood with a lot of sentimental value. While restringing it and giving it a bit of a clean and polish I noticed that the (I think I have the right term, could be wrong though!) Binding appears to be cracking and in one place in particular has split and is starting to come away from the body of the guitar.



What I'm worried about is that the tension on the binding will mean that the split will carry on and it will just get worse and worse.

As I say, it's not and expensive guitar and is looking quite battered these days but there's a lot of sentimental value in it. As funds are somewhat tight at the moment, my plan for repairing it was to tape up the woodwork to protect it from runs and then to use a couple of drops of CA and hold the binding in place for the glue to cure. (I'm used to basic woodworking techniques and have used this method to fix split wood before) The plan is to take it to a local guitar repair shop for a bit of a spruce up in the future, but I guess my question is would this fix the immediate problem with out messing up the guitar??

[mirwa]

Duco cement, just be careful not to get it on the top. It will eat into nitro finishes. (Tanglewoods are not nitro finished from memory)

Steve

[John Arnold]

I reglue binding with CA all the time, but it does have drawbacks. The main one is that it runs very easily, and can make a mess on the vertical surfaces if you are not careful. That said, CA cleanup on a guitar with a catalyzed polyester finish can be done easily with acetone. Test the acetone in an inconspicuous place first to make sure it doesn't melt the finish.

[MrHappymoose]

Originally Posted by mirwa

Duco cement, just be careful not to get it on the top. It will eat into nitro finishes. (Tanglewoods are not nitro finished from memory)

Steve

Duco cement seems to be a little hard to get hold of in this part of the UK, (Peak District) would E6000 be a similar product?

Originally Posted by John Arnold

I reglue binding with CA all the time, but it does have drawbacks. The main one is that it runs very easily, and can make a mess on the vertical surfaces if you are not careful. That said, CA cleanup on a guitar with a catalyzed polyester finish can be done easily with acetone. Test the acetone in an inconspicuous place first to make sure it doesn't melt the finish.

I know exactly what you mean (Been there, done that, still stuck to the t shirt) so I'd cover everything with take and burnish it a little to make sure the CA didn't seep underneath.

[Frank Ford]

Solvent-based glues like Duco and Weld-On carry enough binding dissolvers with them to affect the rotting binding, causing the deterioration to accelerate.

CA has far less tendency to do that, so it would be my choice for pasting the crumbling bits back together. Yep, you need to be very careful with that stuff - tiny drops at a time work best.

Nobody can predict exactly when celluloid and other plastic binding will decompose, and the reality is that most of that stuff is losing plasticizers from the day it's first produced. There is no way to reverse the decomposition.

[MrHappymoose]

Thanks for the tips guys, CA it is until we can get a proper job done

[tadol]

Keep in mind you can get CA in a number of viscosities - something with a bit of body might be easier to work in there without running all over -

[mirwa]

I understand and agree some what, that the use of duco cement can exasperate the breakdown of cellulose bindings, but cellulose bindings are more prevelant on older guitars than newer ones (last 30 yrs).like everything, we need to assess the instrument prior to repairing and not one repair style or process fits all.

For me, CA fails not on the binding side but on the adhesion to the wood side.

Martin uses titebond I believe, I see lots of binding issues with this glue.

Steve