Binding Laminator

Works well on celluloid but a smaller brush is better for controlling acetone.

I used this to make a black, white, tortoise, binding for a mandolin. The plies wouldn't stay together when I tried to bend with heated water( they puckered up in the bends). Probably my fault but after thinking about it I should have glued each layer separately. You can do a good job on multiple binding without spending alot and this tool isn't something I'll use enough to warrant the purchase.

I recently purchased the Stewart-MacDonald binding laminator to make some sound hole purflngs that had up to 7 laminations. After some practice. the work went very nicely. It also helps to have some type of applicator in addition to the brushes that come with the tool to apply acetone to the bindings as they slide through the slot in the binding laminator. All in all it's a very worthwhile investment!

There are two things that the Stew Mac set up that I changed to make it work a little better. First the out feed side of the jig had a PVC pipe to feed the binding into. This prevented easy access to the binding to pull it through laminator so I replaced this with a set of dowels that guide the binding but leave more room for grabbing the bindings than the PVC pipe did. Secondly I added two pins to the infeed side of the jig to keep the layers of binding separated so that it is easier to apply the acetone to glue the binding together.

Works just like it says on the tin. This little gizmo is a must for quick and clean laminating of ABS binding strips. Make sure the tool is firmly mounted to your bench and that the strips to be joined are pushed down as they pass through the the spring-loaded 'jaws'. A cheap pack of kiddie nylon paint brushes from the local $2 store worked better than the supplied glue brush for applying the acetone to small bindings. I made a pencil mark on the binding to indicate how far I had painted on the acetone - usually 3 or 4 inches at a time. Don't pull the binding through too fast and you will end up with a very satisfactory result.

I purchased and used the Binding Laminator for the first time creating six ply of .020 white/black Les Paul Custom binding plus thicker outer binding. I was a bit freaked out that I would just make a mess, but it was easy to get the hang of and made a tough job simple. You do need to get enough acetone on the binding to make sure it bonds well enough. Fingers crossed that the binding doesn't come apart when I am bending it around the guitar!

I used for the first time a laminator. And for the first time did 7-layer bindings. I have read a management and have started to glue. The first experience was bad as the brush very wide and absorbs acetone in a considerable quantity. The bindings first time have torn and deformed. I was upset very much and have bought new bindings. It was the superfluous expense of a material.

The following time I have bought a thin brush in shop. Thin bindings (.020" x. 075 ") are difficult for supervising at pasting. It is necessary to suffer! I recommend to buy at once new thin brushes, to supervise quantity of acetone and not to hasten! Otherwise you should spend your dollars for new bindings!

I got this to laminate the bindings around my Gibson LP headstock which involves small strips. I did like the result with wide bindings but the tiny ones were a nightmare to control. I ended up joining most of them with my fingers. Instead of supplying two rather large brushes one could have been smaller for narrow bindings as it applies too much of acetone distorting them. Also, I believe that variable spring tension would be a good idea.

makes life so easy when laminating binding,will never go without again

The first batch of binding I put through this device mostly ended up in the round file. Not because of the tool but because I'd never done this before and the plastic was melting, deforming and just getting plain messy.
I found that using a Q-tip instead of an acid brush allowed me to control the amount and placement (kept it off the sides) of acetone much better. The most significant improvement in how my binding turned out was from clamping the glued binding so it hung vertically, then attaching a heavier clamp (free hanging) on the bottom end while the curing took place.

The device works fine but I wonder if it wouldn't work better with the spring tension in the vertical vs horizontal. Then the jig could have an adjustable opening to line up the binding pieces with each other. Plus, the acetone would tend to remain where it is intended (wouldn't run).