The Megas Touch: Violin Style Purflings on Archtop Guitars

by Jonathon Peterson

Originally published in American Lutherie #104, 2010



When I was in Ted Megas’ shop a few months ago,one of the things that interested me was the way that he does his purflings and bindings. His routing setup is unique to what I have seen, as is his use of violin-style purflings on his archtop guitars. Ted agreed to let me know when he would be installing some purfling so that I could watch him work.

Let’s start with a brief overview of the process.

It all starts with the design and the materials you want to use. As I mentioned in our interview (AL#101) I have several bandsaws. One is a 14˝ Delta from the ’30s that is set up with a really fine 24 tpi blade just for cutting binding. For plastic bindings I buy sheets and cut my own strips. For hardwood bindings I cut my own veneers and rip them into stock for purflings and bindings.