IT MATTERS: CUT THE BINDING CHANNEL (side) FIRST Great instructional! At 5:13, the question is asked if it matters which to cut first, purfling channel (top) or binding channel (side). If the tool used is the StewMac type with the white donut conic ring (shown), it matters. Look at the conic ring @5:15 where it touches the top (which is cutting the preferred binding-first). The donut does not have much contact area as it glides along the top, cutting the binding channel. If you are cutting a wide top purfling, FIRST, like a herringbone with contrast strips, you will remove the very top that the conic donut is riding on (and indexes from). You will no longer have a top surface to ride on if you cut a wide top purfling first. This happened to a friend once. after a wide purfling channel was cut, the conic had less than 1.0mm to ride on when doing the side channel, I had just routed to top off. I had to modify the white conic on a lathe to make it work. You've been warned LOL....
There are more than three ways with a router. When I worked at Collings we would mount the router horizontally and move the guitar body over an extension that was connected to the router. This method, although tricky at first, is very efficient and well suited for production guitar making.
What you refer to is commonly called a climb cut in router jargon. In general you want to feed the piece into the cut. A climb cut is going with the cut and not against it or into it. There is a time and place for using this technique in woodworking and I prefer to use it here as I have shown.
Great vid bud...interesting stuff. PLUS... the first vid I have watched on the internet containing the phrase 'rides up and down on a shaft' that I wasn't worried if the wife caught me watching. :)
I'd always heard that one should only run a spinning router from left to right, to spin the chips out and to keep a constant drag on the bit, but you seem to go either way with alacrity...have I fallen to victim to some shop lore of a dubious nature? Love your series by the way, LMI and you guitar gods have taught me so much.
Realize I'm replying to a 12 year old post here and you've probably lost your fingers or destroyed a guitar top by now (kidding), but here goes. You're right, and you heard correctly. In general you want to move a router counter clockwise around a workpiece so that your muscles are working against the rotation of the cutter. By doing this you get a very controlled cut. Clockwise, called a climb cut, the spinning bit wants to keep the router moving in the direction you are already moving it resulting in a jumpy, sometimes uncontrolled movement. However there are times when it is appropriate to make a climb cut. When working moving the bit into endgrain, going the proper direction has a tendency to grab the wood and tear out, which can make you pretty sad. Going the 'wrong' direction in these situations effectively uses the backside of the bit almost eliminating tear out. As long as you're prepared to control the router and take very shallow cuts you'll be fine.
climb cutting is an absolute necessity when cutting binding ledges, otherwise the router cutter will tear chunks out of the edge of the soundboard when you are cutting "uphill", that is from the narrow waist to the outer edge of the upper or lower bout. The best way to remember which direction to go is to think of it like skiing, ie you always go "downhill." Either that, or do the whole guitar with a climb cut.
Which model Porter Cable laminate trimmer are you using, or what do you suggest for this? I see some luthier tool companies offering special router attachments to create an angle to maintain 90 degrees, but it seems to make more sense to just get a tilt base. Also, can you do inlay work with the laminate trimmer as well?
@RedIV Removing a guitar top is a major overhaul that could be compared to a heart bypass! haha There is no easy way of doing it and there are always complications. The guitar will never be the same, especially if you install a new top. The tone will change. There is a lot to consider before moving forward.
hey bro.. where i can find binding?? what do you prefer glue or acetone?? i see some video he used acetone to fit it.. thanks for the wonderful demo video
Hello. At 1:45 or so, what is a "skosh" (sp???) used in your sentence as in 'a "skosh" proud...' ? Also, for beginners like me, it would have been good to receive some details about the detailed procedure for selecting the router cutter bit and bearing, in relation to the binding size. I realize it is possible to do trial and error learning, but instructions in the video would be wonderful.
Robert, at 1:26 it looks like you widened the slot of your trimmer's shoe to clear the bit. I bought a swivel base for my Bosch Colt and the smallest dia. rabbeting bit I could find (1"), only to discover my bit won't fit within the slot. I cannot find a listing for a rabbeting bit that would safelyt fit within my slot (5/8 dia. or less). Do you know of one, or is my only option to resize the slot? I might have to add an additional shoe and find longer screws to accomodate the bit depth.
I use the binding cutter and bearing set from LMI - www.lmii.com/products/tools-services/binding-tools/binding-cutter-bearings I did have to alter the base of the PC trimmer just a skoshe. It was a quick fix.
OBrienGuitars Thanks for the info. The carbide cutter & kit I bought is the same size as the LMI version, but is much less expensive and local to me - www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=30110&cat=1,46168,46176&ap=1. I opened the slot and added a lexan spacer plate with longer screws. Planning to use bloodwood binding, but everything I read about it says I'm in for a real hard time bending it. First 3/16" x 3/16" test piece broke, I'm sure.
Hey OBrien. I miss the explanation of how to use the handcrafted tools for cutting binding channels. Can we get a video of this please. Because I am a student and don't have the money for all these special tools. So the handcrfated version is the cheapest. thanks chers, Alex
This Is probably a silly question I noticed some purfling lines were the same height Does that mean you can cut the Chanel a bit deeper to compensate for the purflings?
On my classical guitars the purflings are the same height as the bindings so I cut one channel. On my steel string guitars my purflings are half the height of my channels so I cut two channels.
The real question is how do you get a flat bottom to the channel when going around a cutaway on the slope of the back arch? All of these methods will cut a crescent shaped angle at the bottom that gets increasingly pronounced with the steepness of the slope. The use if radius dishes exacerbates the problem, but it’s so slight around the top and most of the back that it’s really only the cutaways where it becomes problematic. I don’t know of a solution except to tidy the channels with a chisel.
Thank you very much! Therefore you suggest a laminate trimmer verses a small router as the main cutting tool for all three methods described in this video? I am primarily cutting a binding channel for a les paul style maple-carved-top guitar. Thanks again!
not a hugely clear explanation of "climb cutting" for anybody who isn't already familiar with the terminology. If you are standing at the workbench, and the router cutter is between you and the workpiece, then a climb cut is made by moving the router from right to left. If the router cutter is on the far side so that the workpiece is between you and the cutter, then a climb cut is made by moving the router from left to right.
