I've never seen someone clamp binding on....That looks like it would save alot of time ???? Cool trick I gotta try that now.Fingerboard time :
Binding nubs are a real PITA to do but..............looks classy !
Neck:
Sled I built for cutting the 4.4 degree shoulders for the tenon:
Beats the hell out of several yards of masking tape....LOL
Right ......it takes me longer to prep the damn tape then it does to glue the binding. Gotta love the tricks from the forums.
Quick question ...did you go 4° at the neck tenon then 2° to bridge pickup route?Some random shot's, test fitting neck, etc, etc :
That's about as far as I have gotten on this build. Got WAY to cold to work in the shop and the customer is in no big hurry !
Well I did state this is a "59" replica build but I must elaborate, I'm using 59 specs and measurements but that's about it . That idea got totally blown out the window when the customer came over, picked up the rough cut body and cried....."It's too heavy" so had no choice but to weight relieve it.
You'll see in the pictures.
So, being it's NOT going to be a true 59 replica a few items were changed.
Mahogany Body and Neck, Indian Rosewood FB ( keeping my stash of Braz RW for myself...hehehe).
Celluloid Nitrate neck and body binding along with the inlays, 2 way truss rod instead of the traditional compression rod, American Holly headstock overlay.
Anyway:
weight relief holes actually dropped the completed body down from 6.8 lbs to 4.8 lbs after all of the carving was done.
Book matched Eastern Flamed Maple.....I got a HUGE surprise after it was done being carvied. You'll see further on.
The neck angle is 4.4 degrees, and the pickup plane is 1.2 degrees. pickup cavities are routed at the same angle as the neck so when they rest in the cavity the top of the pickups are parallel to the strings.
The binding router jig is nothing more then a trim router mounted to a floating base that rides on rails and is counter balanced with springs to allow it to freely move up and down. This jig follows the contour of the top allowing you to route the channel as it was done in the early days. Les Pauls had 2 different binding channels routed into the cut away, depending on the year. I don't remember when they changed the process but in the late 50's early 60's the binding followed the contour of the top as seen in the picture on the left. Then they changed to routing the binding channel around the entire top down to where the top joined the body, as seen on the right. From what I have read, the purpose of the wider binding in the cut away as to hide the joint of the maple/mahogany.
Thanks for this. @SG Lou I have another question: When doing a bound body with a sunburst finish, when would you actually attach the binding? I'm thinking after the burst is sprayed but before the clear coats. Is that correct? I actually did a bound body burst 20 years ago but can't remember how I resolved this issue.
Binding is added before any finish work is done. Then you just spray the finish on and after the finish is dry you scrape any lacquer off of the binding, clean up the edges and then clear coat.
