Ebony Binding

This type of repair is not uncommon. The back on an acoustic will occasionally come loose from the side. Frequently in this spot. Things can get a little hot and humid right there. The owner of this guitar told us that this one had been loose for a long while. The danger with that is the side can start to bow out and the back can bow up. And it is possible for a human to lose a wrestling match to a stubborn old piece of wood that doesn’t want to be told what to do.

Lucky for us this little parlor guitar responded well a bit of overnight clamping and humidification. In fact it lined right up! So, with some fairly high grit paper we delicately cleaned the wound of debris and old glue.

Not pictured above the damp paper towel dam that’s being pressed just inside the repair.

Clamping the back down onto the kerfing. Yes, we added a third clamp in the middle for even pressure across the joint.

With the opening secured, it’s time to make some replacement ebony binding. First we squared up the broken edges on guitars original wood. Then cut a piece or ebony just slightly oversized in all dimensions.

Sneaking up on the right contour with a bending iron. After a short time, we removed the clamps temporarily. This allows is to clean up the excess wood glue in the joint and check the fit of our new binding.

Right to the center line.

Here it is shaped and scratched and beat up a bit to match the age and feel of the instrument.