Bindings

It surprises me that there is a bit of a trend to leave some instruments unbound. The bindings serve the very real function of protecting the delicate edges of the soundboard and back, and to me, leaving them out is inconceivable. Obviously, it’s a stage which takes a fair bit of time, care and skill to carry out, but is essential to the longevity of the instrument. Even my “Standard” mandolin is fully bound.

You can see here, on Alan's mandolin, how the rebates are routed into the edge to take the binding. 

I like to use solid wood which has to be bent using the bending iron. There’s nothing wrong with plastic materials, it’s simply that wood is currently my preference.

Cloth tape is the method that I like to use to hold the bindings in place whilst the glue dries. You can get a great deal of pressure with the tape and ensure a good bond. The only drawback is the 10 to 15 minutes that it takes Amanda and me to get it all untangled, once the glue is dry!

There’s a fair bit of cleaning up to do as all the binding is over-sized; it has to be scraped down flush with the rest of the instrument.

And here we are all bound up!