Binding
 

I'm building an alder guitar with a maple top. Is it required that I put binding on the side, or will it look like crap if I don't? I'm just worried about my skills using a router.

It won't look like crap without it. You have some options, depending on how much work you want to do. You could do a faux binding, like a PRS, where you mask off the sides with pinstriping tape and stain the top. Or you could take a roundover bit to it. Or you just leave it(which I personally wouldn't do).

If you are up to doing a binding, it's a breeze to route the channel using the right bit and a table router. And super gluing in an ABS plastic binding with some binding tape it pretty easy. Just make sure when you route that you take follow the right direction, like this:

Not required at all. Plenty don't, or cheaper guitars have 'painted-on' binding.

But if you're doing all the hard work spending so much time making this thing, why not have a crack? There's one way to learn and you're going to be ultra careful thats for sure.

Alright. I think I'll try out the binding. Would any square routing bit do the job, or would I need something like this

Any bottom-bearing bit will work:


Provided you have an appropriate sized bearing for it (needs to be smaller in diameter than the cutter).

The one you linked would work yes, but the 'pilot guide' thingy tends to burn or indent the wood.

Well I suppose I should ask some other questions to save making another thread for each one while this is still relatively new. One thing that's confused me is running the ground to the bridge. I understand that with a trem you just attach it to the trem claw, but what the hell do you do with a non-tremolo bridge?

For a fender style hardtail, you drill a hole from under the bridge into the bridge pickup cavity, or the control cavity(if possible). For a tune-o-matic, you drill a hole to the bushing hole that hold the bridge post, probably into the bridge pickup cavity(I've never done a tune-o-matic). You don't need to solder those connections as long as there is good contact.

So from the pickup cavity to underneath the bridge, and you would just screw the bridge down as normal.

yeah pretty much. But if your bridge is painted, you'll probably need to sand some of that paint off so that the wire makes contact with bare metal.

Am I the only one that finds wiring overwhelming? I mean, I'm trying to wire this guitar like a duo-sonic (minus the tone control), and I don't have enough wire from my previous guitar there, so I need to buy more, but there's all of these different kinds of wires and diagrams and solder connections. Do I even need to use guitar wire, or can I pick the stuff up at any store. :confused:

You can use shielded wire, or just regular wire if you want. I think I use Radio Shack 22 gauge these days. You can get a pack with 3 different colors for like $5.

I don't find wiring to be the least bit overwhelming anymore. It used to the be that way, so I started to study diagrams and learn about it. Once you understand how the pots and switches work, wiring is just routing the signal.

Thanks a lot. Well we don't have a RadioShack here but I'm sure I can find the equivalent somewhere else.

This collection of articles helped me begin to understand wiring: http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Ele...isc/i-4000.html
Also, I think looking at diagrams and differentiating the signal path from all the grounding can help. That way you can visualize how the signal travels (I'm a visual learner so that helped me, not everybody learns that way though).

Alright. This may be the strangest question of all. I'm making a pickguard out of steel. Could you solder the ground wire to that?

You could, but there's no point if you shield your cavity. You can use aluminum foil or copper tape for that. Just make sure the foil makes contact with the pickguard, no soldering required.