I am currently working on my 9th octave mandolin & have always used wood bindings. When I have used ebony or other dark colored wood for bindings, it looked OK (to me) to use butt joints. Lighter colored bindings however seem to really require mitered joints. I mitered the bindings on my last build, but I didn't feel very comfortable with the process. The result was OK (IMO). but it felt like it could just as easily have screwed up. So my first question is: Are there any tricks to make the process more reliable?
Secondly, I just started on the bindings on OM #9 & ran into difficulty right away. I cut the miter on the first piece & cut it to length (butt joint at the tail piece). Then I spread Titebond in the channel & on the binding piece. Immediately I started positioning & taping the binding in the channel. I had some difficulty positioning the mitered end exactly as I wanted it. Finally I succeeded & then continued taping the binding in the channel. But by the time I got around to the tail end, the glue had already dried there. I have always had to work quickly when gluing bindings, but I have never encountered that problem. With butt joints I just let the bindings run past the end & trim then afterward.
At any rate, I pulled the binding off & cleaned the channel with a vinegar & water solution. The question here is how can I be sure that the channel is clean enough to allow a new piece of binding to adhere?
I considered taping the bindings in place w/o glue & then wicking ca glue in. I have used that technique on other things before, but am not sure that it would work well enough here.
I welcome any thoughts or suggestions here.
Earl Tyler
I apologize for the quality of the photos; I hope they convey the intended message.
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