Construction Log for KMG J45-Style Dreadnought

[Dave Bagwill]

Nice work as usual, Dave!

Does that fiber tape wreak havoc on the grain when you remove it?

[dave d]

Not at all. I didn't notice any difference (from painters tape) in the potential to pull up wood fibers when removing it. However, it seemed to be a bit stronger in pulling the binding tight against the channel.

[Dave Bagwill]

Who carries the stuff?

[dave d]

I found it at Staples in the box-packing section. Called Fiberglass filament tape.

[TonyinNYC]

Looking gooooood!

[dave d]

After the channels are cut and the mortise for the neck is opened, I check the neck angle and yaw. I did a little 'flossing' here to tweak the neck angle and then the yaw (left to right angle).
On this guitar (my 3rd) I think I'm almost getting the hang of having a nicely fitted neck-to-body.

Hopefully your neck lines up all the way down the seam where the top pieces are joined. This looks better in person than it does in the photo!

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Now to glue on the bindings. First I seal the channel with lacquer.

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Tape the binding/purfling on tightly all the way around.

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I'm using CA glue. A drop of glue is placed between the taped sections. (Avoid getting glue on the tape). If there's a small gap and I have to hold the binding to close it, I use the CA accelerator on that spot.

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After the binding is tacked down, I remove the tape and then flood the lines of binding and purfling with CA. Note the special S-M gap-closing stick :)

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Prior to scraping the glue off.

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A nice sharp scraper cleans up the edges and the back.

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That's about a minute's worth of scraping.

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See that dent? (Who did that?) Don't try to sand it out! Get out the clothes iron. Put a drop of water on the dent, put a paper towel over the drop, and iron it for a second or two. You'll hear it steam.

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where'd the dent go?

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[Dave Bagwill]

Good work David.