F50 1975 replacement binding?

[Enda]

Hello I'm hoping to do a good friend of mine a good deed by doing some repairs to his newly acquired 1975 F50 (it's same timeframe as Elvis's F50 and serial number less than 500 away) so it would be amazing to help him out and do the repairs and restoration as close to original as possible.

Mostly it's the binding down along the neck that has aged, cracked and broken off in places. There is damaged to the top but I'm thinking I'll leave that as it's part of the guitars history and only noticeable up close.

Appreciate any help - ideally some old aged binding with the correct markings - see photos attached. I'm also a little concerned the guitar might have been refinished at some point but I could be wrong - I've just not seen another one this dark colour but to be honest the aging in the paint does appear genuine?

Thanks and thank's to the people at Guild for pointing me you all here.

Happy New Guild Year.

Enda

 

[Christopher Cozad]

Hi Enda,

Years ago, when I started rebuilding several of my own Guilds, I resorted to making my own binding(s), as I was never able to obtain “official” completed material. It is a straightforward task, but it is tedious. I chose to completely replace any celluloid bindings (“vintage correct”, but extremely flammable, prone to significant shrinkage due to the solvents that make it so flammable, and very expensive) with ABS or PVC material. Whichever material you select, bindings are assembled by adding thin strips to a larger solid white strip using Acetone and a jig or fixture, and then the completed binding “unit” is bonded to the guitar. Purflings and rosettes are typically added as multiple thin strips and glued as (or after) the strips are applied, but they can also be “pre-made” ahead of time. The raw materials are available from many suppliers, including StewMac, Allied Lutherie, even ebay. Here is a link to an article describing making Guild binding:

https://cozadguitars.com/articles/article-1999-guild-jf65-12-overhaul.html#prepping-for-binding

 

[Enda]

Hi Enda,

Years ago, when I started rebuilding several of my own Guilds, I resorted to making my own binding(s), as I was never able to obtain “official” completed material. It is a straightforward task, but it is tedious. I chose to completely replace any celluloid bindings (“vintage correct”, but extremely flammable, prone to significant shrinkage due to the solvents that make it so flammable, and very expensive) with ABS or PVC material. Whichever material you select, bindings are assembled by adding thin strips to a larger solid white strip using Acetone and a jig or fixture, and then the completed binding “unit” is bonded to the guitar. Purflings and rosettes are typically added as multiple thin strips and glued as (or after) the strips are applied, but they can also be “pre-made” ahead of time. The raw materials are available from many suppliers, including StewMac, Allied Lutherie, even ebay. Here is a link to an article describing making Guild binding:

https://cozadguitars.com/articles/article-1999-guild-jf65-12-overhaul.html#prepping-for-binding

Hey Christopher,

thanks so much for the reply and that is an amazing site - appreciate the link. I will see what I can source and I might just give it a go - these old guitars are worthy of time and effort - now all I need are the skills

I noted the last guitar on your list '2013 Orpheum 12-Fret "Slope-D"' and misread it as an Orpheus 12-string (see photo) - that would have been too much of a conincidence as I have a 12 string Orpheus I need to restore. Where did you lose the 1976 F-50R NT (gone missing) or is your workshop just huge and it's around somewhere?

Once again thanks for the response - have a great 2024 and be thankful for every day we have with our families and our guitars. I just learned today that a very dear friend of mine, that shared our passion for guitars, never woke up on New Years Eve so he's gone to the great luthiers in the sky - RIP Joe.

Enda

 

[Enda]

Hey all still looking for a good source of aged neck binding for my 1975 F50 - all links welcome as I'm not in a position to make my own and it's only the neck binding I need as body binding is fine.

Thanks again and Happy New Year. Enda