ShortScale.org

Very little, but it's there. And messy.

Body and soundhole binding is HARD. I simply couldn't get the binding to loop round the small diameter of the holey bit. I used a hairdryer to heat the plastic up so it would bend but it still snapped a few times when I tried to fit it round, so I took the drastic step of just using a smaller bit wrapped tight and then followed it on with another piece. Hopefully I can fill the gaps in later with wood filler. I also took the shavings and offcuts from other bits and mixed them with some acetone and polystyrene cement and used that to plug some other gaps here and there.

Now I'm not sure what grade of sandpaper to use to get the top edge of binding to look shiny. Scraping it makes it smooth enough and flush but not sparkly. I wonder if the clearcoat at a later stage will give it the sheen it needs? We'll see. I'm just waiting for the wood dye to get here now.

I realise I should probably have named this thread "FIRST BODY I EVER BOUND & BLOCKED MSG ME"

this is going to look pretty sexy. what colour you going for?

White. Unconventional but I've always wanted a white guitar so I'm going for a transparent white stain on the top wood, so the grain just peeks through. Slightly concerned that the binding might not show up against it in the end, but hell with it, I already ordered the dye.

Also, I plan on having a pearloid covered headstock, hence the thread a few days ago. Neck is also on the way. It's going to take a good few months yet, though.

FULLY approve of this thread. I feel a bit like a surrogate parent, can't wait to see more!

Cool! Has me jonesing for a teardrop guitar in the worst way.

I can't wait to see this finished ek, love me a teardrop and this is a cool project to undertake if not a bit brave with the binding.

this will be a fun thread to follow!

An F hole is absolutely the hardest spot to bind, unless you have a vintage mandolin or some shit. It took me a few times to get it. It could also depend on the binding material, the glue you use, and how you clamp it. I mostly use an olive color tape that is meant for binding. Some people use rubber straps. I think that's an ambitious task and you did a great job!

Heard that warming your binding material up on the stove in a pot of water helps, then tape it to the guitar until it cools off. Then glue it up later.

That looks bad ass

AddamInsane wrote:FULLY approve of this thread. I feel a bit like a surrogate parent, can't wait to see more!

Is it one of your bodies?

It's the only body I've built for somebody else and it's pretty different to your average guitar so I'm looking forward to seeing this finished. I'm pretty confident it's going to be fucking awesome too!

I'm hoping it lives up to your expectations, but I'm also jumping in right at the deep end here too. The binding is one of the things I was most worried about though and it does seem to have worked out, if not perfect then passable at least.

Next job after getting it all flush will be to work on the headstock once the neck arrives from China. The problem is that the blank peghead is much shorter than I'd have liked. I was going to use my Batwing headstock as a rough template but that stands at around 180mm long, while the Eden headstock blank is only 165mm. So I was wondering if I could get away with chopping a bit off the edge and gluing it on the end... I know others here have done something similar, and I'm painfully aware that I really do like to make things difficult for myself... Any advice you peeps could give about viability/how to go about it would be very much appreciated. Should I dowel it or just clamp it with some strong wood glue?

Been away at a friends for the weekend, and the dye and some other bits arrived while I was gone so I set to sorting out the binding. I'd tentatively say everything is now done, ready for the staining and then finishing BUT: I'm not sure whether to order in all the hardware and drill the bridge holes before getting into finishing the body. Not sure. So I might wait it out a little bit.


Note the binding dust hiding away at the edge of the guitar. I need to stick the hoover in here and get it all out.


Lots and lots and lots of filler. Lots of it. I wasn't worried about using white as it probably won't show up at all under the white stain. Well, I'm hoping it doesn't, anyway.


This was a dent that had been left by the postal service. No biggy, I just need to dab a bit more filler on and then sand it smooth. I might actually dye the mahogany a deeper hue, too, but I'm not decided on that yet. The sharp contrast might be good, though.

Nice work Eric. cant wait to see it finished.

cool stuff, what kind of pickups you thinking of tossing in there? toasters or hi-gains would be boss

holy shit this could be pretty amazing!

Looking really awesome. It'll probably make my eyes explode with delight when it's finished.

awsome man.

grats on project

I missed this thread but enjoyed Adam's thread about the body being made and have been looking forward to seeing the guitar pop up again somewhere. Had no idea it was you it was being made for though. Cool!

I usually really hate natural finishes, but I think just a light gloss or even oiling on that would look great.