Using binding "shorts".....

[Robert Hosmer]

Hi all!

A while back I did a reorganization of the shop and processed some offcuts into binding.
Got quite a selection of good stuff. I still have a few pieces of wood too valuable to get rid of, but the lengths are not long enough for binding the body in the typical 4-piece format.
As one example, a thin piece of pink ivory is long enough for cutting into FB binding at about 20", but finding a 32" piece of this wood is next to impossible.

Has anyone ever spliced two shorter pieces together to use for binding the body?
If so, what's the best way to proceed- join before bending, or form first and then join?
What are opinions on best location (on the guitar) for the splice?

Thanks,
Rob

[Dave Bagwill]

One luthier I know uses a scarf joint by intention - he glues on one long piece of binding so that there is no butt joint in the usual place, and joins the shorter piece with the scarf and it is just about invisible. I have a pic but cannot seem to post it - I'll research a little further.