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Thicknessing ABS Plastic Binding

Gilmourisgod

Gilmourisgod

Jun 23, 2014
22,462
40,774
65
Cape Cod MA
#1
For some reason .040" ABS "parchment" binding stock has become unobtanium, which I didn't realize until I finished binding the headstock! D'oh! I usually get it from Allparts, but they said it's out of stock, maybe for months. I have plenty of matching .060" binding, and it's still available from Allparts. Is there a good method for thicknessing ABS binding? The first thing that comes to mind is to set up some kind of jig for my Robosander on the drillpress, or a jig to pull it over a plane blade. The alternative is to just route the .040" stock off the headstock and re-do it with .060". Painful, but the .060" stock is a lot more "forgiving" of minor thickness variation scraping it flush. Anybody got a good jig design for this?
 
#2
Gilmourisgod said:
For some reason .040" ABS "parchment" binding stock has become unobtanium, which I didn't realize until I finished binding the headstock! D'oh! I usually get it from Allparts, but they said it's out of stock, maybe for months. I have plenty of matching .060" binding, and it's still available from Allparts. Is there a good method for thicknessing ABS binding? The first thing that comes to mind is to set up some kind of jig for my Robosander on the drillpress, or a jig to pull it over a plane blade. The alternative is to just route the .040" stock off the headstock and re-do it with .060". Painful, but the .060" stock is a lot more "forgiving" of minor thickness variation scraping it flush. Anybody got a good jig design for this?
Click to expand...

Maybe stick some strips down to a flat board with double-sided tape and go at them with a flat sanding block? Stick down some strips of 0.040" aluminum on either side to control the final thickness.
 
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#6
Given the lack of available .040" stock for the rest of the bass, I'm also considering just routing the .040" binding already in place off and just replacing it with .060". It's harder to bend to the appropriate radius on a Rickenbacker style headstock, but I've done it before by using the tuner holes as anchor points for strategically located zip-ties. Painful to re-do it, but the binding on the fingerboard and headstock need to match thickness, and this stuff is just not available any more in .040". it may just be faster to re-do it. Lesson learned: check your stock availibility before you start binding!
Iukwfle.jpg
 
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#7
If you do have a cabinet scraper, make yourself a little jig like this one. Three bits of wood screwed together.

DHOM 153.JPG


Looking at it from the front (where my right hand is in the above photo) the bit that's clamped in the vice is square and flat on the left but has more clearance on the right.

DHOM 154.JPG


So you set the height of the scraper with a piece of binding of the thickness you want, then thread your binding (or purfling strips, or whatever) under the scraper blade on the right and then pull the rest of it through pulling to the left. Don't pull too hard to the left: it won't take it all off in one go. Change ends of the strip each time you pull it through until it goes through completely on the left. It works really well. In the photos I was scraping veneer 40 thou thick down to 20 thou.
 
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