The wooden binding which surrounds and protects the instrument edges must be bent to shape before gluing on. I tape it in pairs so I can bend two at once.
 This is the tiger stripe maple for the Bubinga and Spruce tenor. Beautiful binding, but a little difficult to bend without breaking. It wants to be well wetted before bending. |  |
You want to be sure you know where the deep bend at the waist is- so I mark it with a little piece of yellow tape. You begin your bend here.
Before you bend, be sure you have enough binding to reach half way around the instrument and meet at the centerline.
The hot pipe is over 200 degrees, Hot enough to get started.
'This is looking really good. Maybe a little more bend at the heel.
Now brush glue on the binding and tape it in place with this special tacky glue. You want to do this fairly quickly, so I prepare more tape ready for the other half, and stick it to the workbench drawers-handy to grab. A successful day, Got the bindings on both the Baritone and the tenor today. The tape will come off in the morning.