HELP! Binding!

[Alvaro Balderrama Chiappe]

Hello fellow luthiers!

I have a serious problem, I need to do the binding part in a couple of guitars I'm building by commission but I never did it! I know the theory and with the propper tools I would be able to do it, BUT I don't have any specific tools and I live in South America, so it's hard to buy the propper tools like Stewmac, but I could order something if it's not very expensive.

Any suggestions for the tools and the binding material?

Thank you very much!!

-ABC

[Alvaro Balderrama Chiappe]

http://www.lmii.com/products/tools-services/binding-tools/schneider...
Check this out, it's being very helpful so far!! :D

[George Roberts]

Hi Alvaro,

Do you have a router or a Dremel?  Binding can certainly be done using hand tools (it was the only way for many years), but I suspect that the learning curve is much longer.  A router bit with bearing guides is very handy.  With odd size binding I have put tape around the circumference of the bearing to match the depth of the cut.  Slightly over sized binding is fine, and then use a cabinet scraper to bring it down flush with the sides, top, and back.