So... Nitrocellulose!
The original plan was to use maple bindings (the bit that goes around
the guitar body where it joins to the sides) but I had to rethink
this. The guitar I'm building will be stained black so if the
bindings were installed before staining they would also turn black. I
did some experiments to see if I could fit them after the staining.
Bindings are fitted so that they are slightly proud and then
scraped/sanded back to flush. I found that even in my best efforts I
could not get them flush without removing some of the black stain
from the surrounding wood. Then of course I couldn't repair this
without risking getting the black stain on the pale maple. The stain
is a watery consistency and seeps into the grain so masking the maple
wouldn't work, even if I could create a mask that followed the
changing radius of the guitar shape. I must admit that this problem
really had GBG scratching her head for a while.
Plastic bindings were
one option, the stain wouldn't sink into them, but the thought of
something that looks 'plasticky' (technical term) around the
beautiful tone woods I'm using didn't appeal. I had a look around at
the options available from luthier supply companies and decided to
try 'Ivoiroid'. This is a type of plastic that has been made to look
like ivory, grain lines and all.
After the Ivoiroid
samples arrived I was trawling the internet for the best glue to use
with them and found out a bit more about celluloid which is the
plastic they are made from. Now I must confess I don't know much
about plastic. I tend to think of it as 'hard', 'soft', 'clear' etc.
Hubby is an engineer and is always frustrated when people come into
the workshop and ask for a piece of 'ordinary metal' so I really
should know better. Anyway, celluloid, or nitrocellulose, was the
first thermo-plastic and I was somewhat concerned to find out that
one of it's early uses was as a plastic explosive...
“WHAT!! That innocent
looking band of fake ivory sitting in my workshop (which incidentally
is in the garage under my BEDROOM) is a form of plastic
explosive??!!??”
No wonder I wasn't
allowed to import the stuff from the US!
I read the Wikipedia
page on nitrocellulose with concerned interest. Most amusingly I
found that the Terry Pratchett passage from Discworld novel 'Men At
Arms' about exploding billiard balls was based on truth. Ivoiroid was
created to make synthetic billiard balls and they did indeed explode!
I also found out that
Ivoiroid can be very unstable when used with certain solvents
including alcohol. As I have decided to change to a spirit based
stain this was somewhat concerning.
So... having taken the
precaution of sorting out the photos for my second album first (pics
without eyebrows are never great) I turned the workshop into a lab
and began experimenting.
Nothing caught fire or
melted so I breathed a sigh of relief and discussed Ivoiroid bindings
with M.
But nothing in this
life is ever simple... Ivoiroid bindings are a deep yellowy-cream
colour... ermm... ivory coloured in fact. The lines around the
soundhole ring need to match but ivoiroid comes in a 1.5mm thickness
and nothing thinner. Yes you're probably thinking that isn't very
wide but the lines around a soundhole are usually 0.5 or narrower.
So, back to the drawing
board. I have now settled on black pearloid bindings and M is happy
with the effect. I will use a band of white either side so that there
is a clear definition between the body of the guitar and the
bindings.
Now the decision is
made I can get on with the matching rosette. This is a time consuming
but very satisfying part of the project. Here it is under
construction.
Next post will be the staining and some more inlay work.
