"Treebeard" - regeneration of a Baritone guitar

Martin - yes, result especially as I managed to do the cutaway on the right side

Sam - that's Stew Mac binding tape but I gather it's the same thing as picture framer's tape.

Time for the top. The European spruce top plates are initially thicknessed, jointed and glued using hot hide glue and the tent method:



The rosette channel is routed out using the circle cutting jig:



The rosette is carefully fitted and glued in using pva glue – it consists of inner and outer rings of b/w/b purfling around the central Rope purfling ring:



Here’s the finished rosette after scraping level:



The Lawson’s Cypress soundhole re-enforcement is glued on in the go-bar deck using hot hide glue:



The soundhole is then routed out using the circle cutter jig:





The Lutz spruce X braces are profiled to a 13’ radius, notched and then glued on one at a time using hot hide glue:





Then the two A frame braces are glued on:



The upper transverse brace is glued on after notching to span the A frame braces and having a hole drilled for the truss rod adjuster:



Next the Bubinga bridge-plate is glued on using hot hide glue and a caul in the go-bar deck:



The brace behind the bridge-plate is then glued on:



The spruce X brace cap is glued on using hot hide glue:



Then the tone bars are glued on:





Then the finger braces:





The braces are carved and the top “voiced”. Then the top is signed and dated:





The Brazilian Rosewood back strips are glued on using hot hide glue. Finally the linings are notched to accept the brace ends and the top is glued to the rim-set using fish glue:





Phew

You've been working fast! but you really must stop leaving bits of biscuit all over the go-bar deck.

I use bicycle inner tubes to cramp awkward joints but normally for furniture repairs - my real job - rather than guitars. I normally use framer's tape that I get from a local art shop for bindings etc. I've also got some filament (or strapping) tape which I use occasionally; it's a bit more high tech and will not tear - I think it's got threads of fibreglass along its length. I prefer the picture-framing tape in a nice heavy dispenser for one-handed operation.

Yes, it is a bit sticky.  I shellac the softwood first.

Binding time

The body is scraped and sanded in the Troji in preparation for binding. The Macassar ebony bindings are taped together with the side and top/back purflings and are then bent to shape in the Fox-style bender:



Then it’s out with “The Scutter” to cut the binding channels. The channels are first cut on the top the width and depth of the linings and the depth of the linings. The chanels are then cut deeper to allow for the side purflings but stopped short of the end graft and cutaway side purflings. The channels are tidied up with a chisel and the side purflings can be mitred:



Then the back binding channels were cut using the same process:



Next the router is set to cut the back purfling channels and these are routed out:



The back bindings and purflings are mitred and glued in using fish glue:



Next the router is set to cut the top purfling channels and these are routed out. The top purfling consists of rope and bwb purflings to match the rosette:



The top purflings are mitred and glued in using fish glue:



The top bindings and side purflings are glued in using fish glue:

Rob,

Not really. The binding is the same thickness as the sides so if you don't expose the linings it won't fit properly and if the linings are the right depth and thickness everything is rock solid rather than fragile.

Yes, Dave, but that's a little bit like saying that England won all their qualifiers and all their pre-tournament friendlies and therefore, of course, will win the European Championships...