Gluing on the binding alone first.......

[Kevin in California]

I have a plan and wonder how you all think about it.
I'm doing this dred right now and the plan is to use curly maple binding, with paua abalone purfling between .010" black lines. What I'm planning on doing is similar to how Chris Paulick demonstrates his install. Cutting the channels, taping down the binding and CA gluing it in place. Then coming back and laying the black lines in the channel and inserting the shell all the way around, then saturating it all with CA. I will coat the channel with Shellac first to hopefully keep the CA out of the end grain of the top. This is the area that concerns me I suppose, but how does this process sound to you all? Anyone done it this way before? This will be my first abalone purfling around the guitar. The other option is to use the teflon strips in the channel when gluing on the binding. My dimensions are such that if I do that, I will have to glue the one black line that will be against the endgrain of the channel in with the strips. If I do that, I could use white glue and won't have the CA seepage concern. Hmm, so many decisions.

Kevin

[John Parchem]

I used the Teflon strips when I have done like purflings. I would do as you described with the Teflon strip gluing in every thing except the shell with the bindings. My fear of gluing on the bindings without anything in the purfling channel would be that the bindings would tip in in places as you were taping them down. My other fear with CA (and I have done as you describe without this happening) is that while flooding the channel with CA it would find paths to run down the inside. Thin CA seems to be thinner than water to me.

[Tim Benware]

My other fear with CA is that while flooding the channel with CA it would find paths to run down the inside.

Mine too. During repairs I've seen it find "openings" you never knew were there. Makes a mess. My +1 is for Teflon strips.

[ken cierp]

Ditto Teflon strips are a must -- BTW the strips I got from SM were pretty crapy and uneven, LMII strips are fine. I did not look at the ones from SM until I had them for a few months, else I would have returned them.

[Kevin in California]

Okay what I will be doing, based on the dimensions of my binding, abalone and black lines. My cut will be .210" deep. I'll use two .066" teflon strips, my binding is .070" and one of the .010" black fiber lines (spruce side of channel) and glue them all in. Then I'll pull the teflon, and lay in the other black fiber (on the other side of the channel) and the abalone. When its all in I'll flood the abalone with super glue, which will also glue in the fiber. Should work just right and turn out peachy keen!

Kevin

[TonyinNYC]

Be sure to post pics.