Binding F-5 Mandolins

by Andrew Mowry

Originally published in American Lutherie #113, 2013



The scrolls and points on F-5 mandolins present a number of special challenges during all stages of construction. Binding in particular can be difficult. Fortunately celluloid, which is the most common binding material on F-5s, is a wonderfully forgiving material (with the exception of occasionally bursting into flame without warning). I haven’t seen a detailed tutorial in print, so I thought I would present here the techniques that I use. I’ve learned many of these from other builders over the past few decades, and to them I’m greatly indebted. I’m sure there are other, possibly better, methods as well, and I’d certainly love to hear about them. Perhaps this article can serve as an impetus for further discussion.

There are several common problems that occur with celluloid binding (some with binding in general), and in the course of this article I touch upon techniques for preventing those. These problems are: miters that don’t meet properly; gaps between the binding and the wood; black purfling lines that bleed into the white binding; binding that ends up being sanded too thin; and kinks in the bends.