Binding

 During my years of being an apprentice binding work would totally stress me out. Because everything needed to be perfect and I wanted it to be extra perfect. No gaps and every mitre just perfect. I have always been very nervous before we, my master and me, started to bind the guitars. And we used rope which lead to terrible pain in both hands for days!

Nowdays I enjoy doing the binding a lot. It actually is one of my favorite tasks. Good preparation is key so I make sure all the edges are perfect and everything fits together nicely. I switched to tape to secure the binding and purfling in place. No more pain, thank you tape!

But what I like most is the next day you come into the shop and you rush because you know first thing you grab the heatgun because the heat helps to peel off the tape and then you remove all the tape and emmediately after it is all gone grab the scraper or the plane and trim the edges flush and clean it all up and then…
…you see how the shape and the lines and the guitar will look like for the first time. It is dramatic how the appearance of the shape of the guitar changes once the binding is done.

And thanks to the hot hide glue if there is a gap somewhere, I will rip it all off and do it again. It would not be the first time.