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  #46  
Old 05-23-2017, 04:57 PM
Truckjohn Truckjohn is offline
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I primarily use bindings to protect the top/back/side glue joint from bumps.. I have seen way too many no-binding guitars with tops and backs popped loose from a good bump.

In this regard - plastic binding is king.... I like wood binding better for adding a bit of a decorative element, though.
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  #47  
Old 05-24-2017, 08:21 PM
printer2 printer2 is offline
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I think I decided to go the walnut route on the binding. Nothing doing on the building front, took a little spill and they stitched me up well enough. Not serious just a little head wound but not feeling too ambitious. Just wanted to post my latest acquisitions. I got a large number if spruce tops from a local lumberyard when they brought in a part pallet of rejects from the west coast. I looked through them and snagged what I thought were decent enough for me to build with. The proprietor told me he had some flamed maple coming in from the same source. Stopped in today and took a look at the stuff and I could see why the stuff didn't cut it, only back sized pieces and no sides. So if I picked anything up I'd have to find some sides in the future.

Other than mandolin sized pieces not much that was book matched, I did grab a set which was 6" x 17" (the two smaller pieces). Checked against my pine Martin size-5 I am building and it is big enough to build with. I will go back and get a few more, such a cute little sized box. I picked up some thicker pieces that I could resaw for bigger guitars, one I now see has flaws but I might get one set out of. Otherwise not too bad for $37.00 ($27.00 US). They were selling it by the square foot so I grabbed the pieces that could be resawed.

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  #48  
Old 05-25-2017, 08:48 AM
John Arnold John Arnold is offline
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I have repaired many, many 1930's and 1940's style-17 Martins (all mahogany with no bindings), and I don't see an increased incidence of loose tops or backs. I do see a lot of edge dings on the less well-treated examples, however.
Mahogany is a hardwood, but it is not all that hard. It will ding much easier than plastic binding.
I have built one guitar with no bindings...a 'pencil cedar' OM, with California incense cedar top and Eastern red cedar back and sides. It was built in 1985, and it has survived quite well. Incense cedar is not as hard as lodgepole pine.







I do think walnut binding would look nice, but I would have no problem with deleting binding on the 2 X 4 guitar.
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  #49  
Old 05-25-2017, 06:50 PM
printer2 printer2 is offline
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That sure is a nice looking guitar John, what did you use for the neck? Hope you don't mind my asking what it sounds like given the softwood back.
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  #50  
Old 05-25-2017, 09:16 PM
redir redir is offline
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That is cool! What is 'pencil cedar'? I'm guessing it means cedar that is used in the making of pencils??

I love this stuff!
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  #51  
Old 05-26-2017, 08:37 PM
John Arnold John Arnold is offline
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Yes, pencil cedar is the most common wood that pencils are made from. Eastern red cedar was used before incense cedar, which is native to northern California. Both woods were chosen because they sharpen easily.
The guitar compares favorably to a mahogany OM. The neck is African mahogany (khaya) sourced from a salvage yard.
The bridge and fingerboard are red karra, which was salvaged from a crate that contained paneling from Southeast Asia. For many years, I could not identify that wood, but I saw some at a local exotic wood dealer a few years ago.
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  #52  
Old 05-28-2017, 07:49 PM
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TomB'sox TomB'sox is offline
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I'm sorry to get technical, buy you are (were) doing the whole guitar from 1 2x4, doesn't using walnut binding defeat the premise. Can't you use more scrapes or left over 2x4 for the binding, you could stain that darker if you wanted that framed look?
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  #53  
Old 05-28-2017, 08:24 PM
printer2 printer2 is offline
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Well, technically I should use pine tuning pegs rather than metal tuning machines. I put in a rosette that I doubt was not pine. Just depends on how sticky you want to be. I could just go without binding, the guitar will be no worse as I joined the top, back and sides well enough and did not have the braces stick out from the sides. And then there is the fretboard and bridge. They would not last long made out of pine. I could have done it all out of pine if I made a flamenco guitar but most everyone would go, 'that's nice', and forget about it. There is more interest in steel strings. And given that most steel string guitars have some kind of harder wood for the fretboard and bridge (and bridge plate, almost forgot) I thought it might be alright to do the same. And besides, it's my guitar and my rules so I am just going to do what I want.

So I decided to drill a hole in the heel of the neck and put a dowel in it. It will give the hanger bolts more to grab onto. But as always when doing something for the first time you are a little hesitant. And it is not like I can just discard the neck and grab another piece of wood, ruins the concept of building from a 2x4 (sort of).



It worked fine. Then I set my router to cut the binding ledge. Since it is set up might as well cut the rest of the guitar bodies I made up last summer/fall that are waiting for binding.



I see doing a fair amount of binding in the near future. From the top, maple, birch, maple, walnut, pine, jatoba, and just to be different balsa on the side. Cut the walnut binding for the pine, others to get flamed maple and the top one and the balsa to get ABS. Getting ahead of myself now, need to do the end graft on the pine and probably a few others.
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  #54  
Old 05-31-2017, 08:39 PM
printer2 printer2 is offline
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Well got three bound today. Two with flamed maple and the pine with the walnut. Used fish glue so it will be tomorrow before I find out where I screwed up.

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  #55  
Old 06-02-2017, 10:18 PM
joeguam joeguam is offline
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That is phenomenal work from just a 2x4, thank you for taking the time to post and share photos. Just one question, are the bracings 16-inch on-center?

(Okay, okay, I know, that was a lame joke.)
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  #56  
Old 06-02-2017, 11:03 PM
mirwa mirwa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by printer2 View Post
Used fish glue so it will be tomorrow before I find out where I screwed up.
I love fish glue, cannot remember last time I used hide glue.

Steve
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  #57  
Old 06-04-2017, 07:02 PM
printer2 printer2 is offline
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Took off the 'bandages', yes there is a guitar under there.



I shaped the headstock. I had to glue on some ears to extend it a little wider for the frilly knobby bits. At first I thought of doing a simple traditional Martin type of headstock but the bridge I made ended up not looking traditional. I wonder if this thing is going to look like a platypus, if I knew I would have gone for a figured wood rosette. Oh well style is not really this guitar's claim to fame. As long as it works it will be a success. Actually the box shows some promise, tapping the top and back gives a nice resonance in return.
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  #58  
Old 06-25-2017, 07:23 PM
printer2 printer2 is offline
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So I needed to go to Home Depot to get some hanger bolts and of course I had to take a look at the wood piles for any possible brace wood. Found this one, a large knot a foot away from the other end otherwise straight grained and clear to the other end.



A light piece of wood, Engelmann Spruce by the color and density. 330kg/m3 or 20.6lb/ft3. I almost scaled the 2x4 guitar challenge, maybe a nylon? Or just a lot of brace wood?
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Last edited by printer2; 03-04-2018 at 10:30 PM.
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  #59  
Old 07-02-2017, 09:48 AM
printer2 printer2 is offline
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So much for photobucket. I'll move some of the pictures and see if I can update the links.
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  #60  
Old 07-02-2017, 10:40 AM
dekutree64 dekutree64 is offline
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This situation reminds me of the old walrus bucket meme.

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