Git r glued!

Now that the back strip channel is routed, now it's time for fine tuning (ie. fit check).  Take your back strip and try to slide it into the channel from one end.  See how far it slides in.  Remember to be gentle.  If it doesn't go very far, back it out and try sliding it in from the other end.

You'll most likely find, if you cut it right, that it's just slightly too small.  Rather than try to take another pass with the router, which will end up making your channel way too wide or unparallel, work on lightly sanding the back strip.  The most efficient way to get everything right is to focus on the tight spots.  Instead of sliding the back strip in this time, try to ease it in like you're laying screen piping.  You'll find that there are spots, typically either end, which the back strip fits into perfectly.  Mark the spots that don't fit in or are a little too snug on the back strip.  Carefully remove the back strip and lightly sand in the marked spots.  After a few go-rounds and it's almost there but not quite you can also take a small wedge file and lightly sand the trouble spot on the channel itself.  If you have a steady hand you should be ok, but I wouldn't recommend being too aggressive because it's all too easy to boogger up the clean channel edge and make a cosmetic faux pas.

Before you glue, be sure you can readily insert the back strip in its channel without undue coaxing.  It should be snug but not overly so.  It can also be a little loose, but you might have to go back after the glue is dry and the back strip is sanded to fill small gaps with CA glue mixed with fine sawdust.

So on to gluing... before you glue anything, make sure you have a sturdy thin brace to help evenly distribute the pressure from the fiberglass rods.  You'll also want to make sure your clamping deck is set to the right height for the back and back strip and brace and you have all your rods at the ready.  Take your instrument glue (I prefer LMI's white guitar glue) and run a thin bead down the length of the channel.  With a clean finger, smooth the bead in the channel to spread it out.  You don't want the channel to be filled with glue but you do want to make sure you get glue on the channel walls too.  Once everything's nice and whetted, insert your back strip, preferably with the screen piping method rather than the sliding method (sliding will push all the glue out of the channel).  Once the channel is in, it will be very snug; make sure it's in properly and then you can put on the brace and place the clamping rods.

Let the glue cure for a good 20-30 mins, then removed the rods and brace to allow the glue to finish drying.  You'll want to wait a few hours before you consider working on the back strip further.  In the mean time, relax, destress and have some fun like me...