Scarf joint

[Jim Hilburn]

So I want to use some binding strips that aren't long enough to go completely around the instrument but want a clean joint. Boulder guitar builder Max Krimmel had told me about the "scarf joint".
I used an Exacto miter box to make the cuts but I made new slots to get the most extreme angle I could, somewhere around a 30 I guess. I used a block of wood to raise the cutting surface closer to the top.
I made a binding laminating jig many years ago and it works great to align and clamp the ends. A little Duco on each end and leave it clamped for a few hours and the results are much nicer than a butt joint.

[Skip Kelley]

Jim, that is a really clean joint! Nicely done! Now I know how to use the short pieces I have.

[John Kelly]

What an excellent idea, Jim. Such a neat joint and a way of using shorter binding strips, as Skip says. Thanks for sharing.

[Jim Hilburn]

This is a very close up view of how it looks on the side showing the good, bad and ugly. I wouldn't ever try to pass this off somewhere along the side of an instrument but in this case I kept it at the neck joint and the heel cap will cover most of this.

[sunburst]

The trouble with ivoroid is getting the grain lines to line up across a splice. They seldom do, and if they don't, no amount of fine joinery and "fixing" can make the splice completely disappear. (A little work and that one would be darned hard to find, though.)