Martin guitar loose binding quandary.
Mouldytone
D-18S has lifted for a distance of about three inches. Initially I
thought that I could just find an appropriate glue (the kind that
doesn`t stuff it up for any future repairs) and repair that particular
problem but then I thought that maybe if one section of the plastic
binding is 'shrinking' I should maybe take it to my repair person of
choice (a three hour drive away) and have the complete binding removed
and re-glued or replaced. Something else worth a mention I think is
that the binding on the back side of the D-18 is only binding and
doesn`t involve any purfling. So, any thoughts on my re-gluing the
section that has lifted V a complete binding replacement/repair? I
don`t particularly want to send my D-18S away for repair but the
number one consideration is what is best for the guitar. I`ll put a
link to a Frank Ford Frets.com page on a Martin D-35 binding repair
for your possible interest. Thanks
Tony Moulder
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Structural/ReglueBinding/regluebinding.html
Norman Draper
Several thoughts....
How good are your woodworking skills? Mine are at the wood-chopping
level. If you are confident that you can do the job well, have at
it. If there's doubt....
I don't know where you live, but there are certainly many excellent
repair people out there. If I were in your position, I'd try to find
one. If it requires sending off the guitar, so be it.
Norman (Ten Thumbs) Draper
Mouldytone
Thanks for your comments Norm. There are extreme doubts re my wood-
damaging skills! The more I think about it any repairs that I
attempted I`d be unsure about and would most likely only be temporary
anyhow so I`ll send it to get professionally repaired. That way I can
have all the bindings checked and replaced/reglued where necessary.
Besides, I can`t play her as well as she deserves so the least I can
do is see that she`s looked after by someone who knows what they are
doing. The D-18 was my friday night guitar so I think I`ll promote my
D-28S to that spot. Friday just seems like a Dreadnought kinda day to
me.
Tony Moulder
Tony Moulder
David Hajicek
If you are the original owner/buyer, it should be fixed at no cost by a
Martin service rep. Martin should be able to give you the name of the
nearest one to you.
A luthier will use MILD heat to allow the binding to stretch and go back in
place and superglue to hold it in place.
Dave Hajicek
"Mouldytone" <tmou...@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:043378b1-5def-4476...@s7g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
Mouldytone
> Tony:
>
> If you are the original owner/buyer, it should be fixed at no cost by a
> Martin service rep. Martin should be able to give you the name of the
> nearest one to you.
>
> A luthier will use MILD heat to allow the binding to stretch and go back in
> place and superglue to hold it in place.
>
> Dave Hajicek
>
>
> news:043378b1-5def-4476...@s7g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
>
> > Hello. Re my 1974 Martin D-18S. The binding on the top/back side of my
> > D-18S has lifted for a distance of about three inches. Initially I
> > thought that I could just find an appropriate glue (the kind that
> > doesn`t stuff it up for any future repairs) and repair that particular
> > problem but then I thought that maybe if one section of the plastic
> > binding is 'shrinking' I should maybe take it to my repair person of
> > choice (a three hour drive away) and have the complete binding removed
> > and re-glued or replaced. Something else worth a mention I think is
> > that the binding on the back side of the D-18 is only binding and
> > doesn`t involve any purfling. So, any thoughts on my re-gluing the
> > section that has lifted V a complete binding replacement/repair? I
> > don`t particularly want to send my D-18S away for repair but the
> > number one consideration is what is best for the guitar. I`ll put a
> > link to a Frank Ford Frets.com page on a Martin D-35 binding repair
> > for your possible interest. Thanks
> > Tony Moulder
Thanks Dave. I`m not the original owner of the D-18S so the Martin
warranty. Interested to hear your thoughts re the repair process.
Tony M
David Hajicek
On Oct 22, 7:23 am, "David Hajicek" <haji...@skypoint.com> wrote:
> Tony:
>
> If you are the original owner/buyer, it should be fixed at no cost by a
> Martin service rep. Martin should be able to give you the name of the
> nearest one to you.
>
> A luthier will use MILD heat to allow the binding to stretch and go back
> in
> place and superglue to hold it in place.
>
> Dave Hajicek
>
> "Mouldytone" <tmoul...@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
>
> news:043378b1-5def-4476...@s7g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
Thanks Dave. I`m not the original owner of the D-18S so the Martin
warranty. Interested to hear your thoughts re the repair process.
Tony M
===========
The Frets link is pretty comprehensive. But I would hate to have to loosen
any binding not needed (risk of damage is high).
I had the same problem on an old Yairi I had. Celluloid bindings. They
shrink over time and pull away at the waist of the guitar where the tension
is trying to pull the binding off. I am assuming that this is the case.
The sooner you fix it, the easier the fix. It was too far away to force
back in place. If that's the case, read on. Clean off any dirt or polish
in the gap if necessary.
What I did was use a heat gun (hot air gun) to warm the bindings enough to
allow me to push and hold the binding back in place while the binding
cooled. You do not want so much heat that you melt or damage anything. You
may need to wear a glove to protect your fingers from the heat. I don't
know if a hair dryer would work or not. It may not get hot enough, but it
is worth a try. A small bag (sock?) of sand warmed in the oven would also
work, but check to make sure you aren't leaving an imprint in the finish.
If you can't stand to handle it, it may be too hot. Go gradually. You may
need to put a soft cloth or paper over the binding and guitar to protect the
surface from picking up an image of the bag. Make sure you can make the
binding lie flat (no twist). Too much heat and the binding will distort on
the edges and never look right so be gentle with the heat.
DO NOT use an open flame. The binding is nitrocellulose (back in those
days) and can VERY easily catch on fire and you will have burned up your
guitar.
The risk of making a mess is high. So put masking tape on the guitar to
protect it from a possible drip or spill while you glue it down. Once the
binding lies back in place, I use superglue to glue the binding back down.
But white glue or Titebond will work also (and be easy to clean up). Use
your hand or tape to hold the binding in place and do a little at a time,
holding and taping the binding tight while you do this. Do not leave the
tape on over night, it ,ay leave a mark in the finish.
Ideally, you won't have to do more than scrape and sand off a little of the
superglue or clean off the white glue (give it a few hours to dry). You may
have to level the surface with lacquer (or shellac if you can't get
lacquer). Then polish out.
Good luck.
Dave Hajicek
Dave
Mouldytone
Thanks for going through the procedure for me Dave. Yes the binding`s
lifted up slightly at the waist. At the moment it can be pushed back
into position but obviously springs back when left to its own devices.
My original thoughts were that having all the binding replaced was
overkill if the problem could be repaired in the (currently) one
location. I`ll take some deep breaths and see how I feel about doing
it myself considering the only 'work' that I`ve done to any of my
guitars so far has been to shape a new saddle which is a completely
different kind of repair/adjustment of course.
Tony Moulder
David Hajicek
On Oct 23, 4:17 am, "David Hajicek" <haji...@skypoint.com> wrote:
> "Mouldytone" <tmoul...@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
>
> news:36be0445-a15b-4ad6...@u11g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
> On Oct 22, 7:23 am, "David Hajicek" <haji...@skypoint.com> wrote:> Tony:
Thanks for going through the procedure for me Dave. Yes the binding`s
lifted up slightly at the waist. At the moment it can be pushed back
into position but obviously springs back when left to its own devices.
My original thoughts were that having all the binding replaced was
overkill if the problem could be repaired in the (currently) one
location. I`ll take some deep breaths and see how I feel about doing
it myself considering the only 'work' that I`ve done to any of my
guitars so far has been to shape a new saddle which is a completely
different kind of repair/adjustment of course.
Tony Moulder
==========
If you can press the binding back in place, it should be a pretty easy fix.
Unless you have done binding work before, it is safer if you use white glue
or Titebond to glue it back in place as the risk of a mistake or damaging
the guitar with a glue spill is negligible. Work the glue (you may want to
thin the glue a little bit to keep the glue from hardening before you can
clamp it) in with a thin blade and by moving the binding around to work the
glue into the very ends of the split and everywhere else (at side join).
Use extra glue and wipe off the excess before clamping.
The trick may be to get a way to hold the binding tightly in place for the 4
hours (minimum) that it will take for the glue to set up. You will need to
use a method that holds the binding in place flat and not twisted.
Depending on the force needed, tape may not be sufficient. Test your
clamping method before applying the glue, just in case.
In the Frets link, the luthier used clamps to prevent the twisting. If you
can do it without tape, let the glue set over night before unclamping. It
is hard for the moisture to get out from there.
Once it is glued down, clean off any surface glue with warm water and a rag.
One problem with the NC bindings and NC lacquer finish is that solvents get
into the bindings and causes them to swell slightly. Then when the solvent
evaporates, the bindings shrink a bit and put them in tension. Sometimes
you can even see a step in the finish where the binding is lower than the
wood.
Let us know how it worked out.
Regards,
Dave Hajicek
David Hajicek
On Oct 23, 4:17 am, "David Hajicek" <haji...@skypoint.com> wrote:
> "Mouldytone" <tmoul...@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
>
binding. If you can bend something (popsicle stick or small piece of
plastic) in the shape of the waist, then wrap the assy in place with string
around the guitar. Multiple wraps can generate a lot of clamping force.
Put a little plastic wrap over the binding to keep it from sticking to your
clamping caul and string.
Dave
amaril...@yahoo.com
Being the original owner, it was a free warranty repair. Of course,
my local Martin repair guy is only ten minutes away.
peace and joy,
jbj