Binding Attachments

[woodrat]

Hi everyone, With the Aussie Dollar the way it is at the moment I am considering buying either the StewMac Tru-Channel setup or the Luthiertools.com hand held attachment for a laminate trimmer. I would love to know if anyone here has these and what they think of them especially the Stew Mac one.

Cheers

John

[J.F. Custom]

Hi John.

I don't have any experience with the ones you are considering and it is understandable with the dollar the way it is, why you are...

However...

Have you considered building one?

I realize time is usually what we all lack but I made one of this style -

http://www.dewguitars.com/BindingJig/Binding%20Jig.htm

that I don't think you can buy anywhere and it really did not take long. It is a simple project and worth the effort in my opinion. I think a few on here have done similar. I can take and post a photo if you like.

Cheers,

Jeremy.

[woodrat]

Hi Jeremy, Thanks for the reply...yes if you can post a pic of yours that would be great.

Cheers,

John.

[liam_fnq]

I've got the true channel John. I rate it. I've tried the hand held style but it wasn't working for me.

I bought the jig and mounts: item #5651. The instructions were rubbish and there was parts left over (I think they were extra bits and bobs) but I'm still quite happy. I mounted it to a melimine board and used melimine instrument cradle and the whole thing slides along smoothly.

Factoring in time and materials I couldn't build a setup for $200. Plus no need to learn the hard way that my jig needs tweeking.

[kiwigeo]

US dollar just hit $Aus1.08....

Soon this stuff will be free

[Lillian]

Things to look at...

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2050&p=24978
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=195&p=2107
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=192&p=2070
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1309
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1478
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=183

[Clancy]

Here's my home made job.
Some drawer slides, cabinet bolts, T-nuts & ply.
Total cost for "tower" & "cradle" was less than $25.
(In the picture the clamps were just holding the guitar in the cradle while I scraped the top.)

[Bob Connor]

I've got the Stewmac machine and it's fine.

Regards

[simso]

I actually thought the stewmac guitar carriage unit was fine but the mounting setup for the router overhead was very lacking and had to much flex for my liking. Personally I would make an overhead assembly yourself,

That being said, it is now cheap enough that you could purchase and alter to suit your liking

[Bob Connor]

Mine had a lot of slop in it when I got it. We fixed it with some extra washers.

A few days later Stewmac sent replacement rollers (which we haven't used) but which would have done the trick to tighten things up.

[Dominic]

I have the SM jig and its fine. Mine never had any slop and once I got my trimmer attached it doesn't wobble at all with the extra weight. Best thing about it is its small size so it takes up hardly any space. I also got sent new rollers so SM must have been aware of the problem Bob had.
Dom

[seeaxe]

Things to look at...

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2050&p=24978
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=195&p=2107
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=192&p=2070
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1309
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1478
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=183

Lillian I wish you had posted this a week or so ago before I started building my binding cutter jig - out of bits of ply and pine. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself until I saw everyone elses versions (and especially your sexy aluminium jobbie). I did search for binding jigs but didnt come up with all of these.

Super useful post.

Cheers
Richard

[liam_fnq]

No slop in mine

[Bob Connor]

I have the SM jig and its fine. Mine never had any slop and once I got my trimmer attached it doesn't wobble at all with the extra weight. Best thing about it is its small size so it takes up hardly any space. I also got sent new rollers so SM must have been aware of the problem Bob had.
Dom

I made them aware of it as soon as I received the unit and set it up.

I bought it very soon after they had released it and I must say they were very quick getting the fix out.

[vandenboom]

See the following youtube clip - this is based on Mike Doolin's version. I copied this. Main cost was high quality drawer runners that have no noticeable slop (approx $30 Bunnings). A couple of hours to make - works like a charm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve_PmQMSnQQ
Frank

[Lillian]

Sorry Richard. My timing has been a bit off of late. I'm working on it though.

Hope you found some bits of inspiration in there any way.

[J.F. Custom]

Hi Jeremy, Thanks for the reply...yes if you can post a pic of yours that would be great.

Cheers,

John.

Sorry for the delay John, particularly busy at the moment.

Managed to get a couple of shots today though so here you are. It should be pretty self-explanatory from the pictures.

It uses the same style of guitar cradle the Stewmac setup does, the main difference being the guitar once mounted stays stationary and the router arm moves around the body. This is facilitated by both a 12" Lazy Susan bearing in the base, and some quality drawer runners in the arm. The router is mounted on the end of that arm in a parallelogram setup which allows it to pivot up and down while maintaining right angles to the bench - or guitar for that matter. The whole unit "glides" three-dimensionally effortlessly. Note the "slippery" plastic nut under the router as a sub base, that is slightly radiused. This material slips on the body with ease and helps you to maintain a more stable depth irrespective of the radius of the back or top. It is a comparatively large jig it's true, but I have inserted a large threaded bolt in the middle of the base plate (between the two bases where the Lazy Susan is) that goes through a hole in my workbench. This accepts a large wing nut under the bench top to hold it firm so it is easy to secure when needed, then remove and store up on a shelf when not required.

jfcustom_binding_jig.jpg (250.74 KiB) Viewed 16862 times

jfcustom_binding_jig2.jpg (183.62 KiB) Viewed 16862 times

The cradle itself I've found useful for other jobs too but I modified mine slightly. I drew in rough guides to a range of instruments I make on the base. I then used threaded inserts mounted from under the board placed so that my adjustable brackets have enough adjustment in them at either of the two positions to hold any instrument I need. It is simple and quick to adjust and lock down this way and the rough drawings allow me to "eyeball" set it up for the instrument about to be worked on, before final adjustments are made with it in the cradle.

jfcustom_binding_jig3.jpg (237.31 KiB) Viewed 16862 times

jfcustom_binding_jig4.jpg (203.96 KiB) Viewed 16862 times

Hope it helps.

Jeremy.

[woodrat]

Thanks for posting the pics Jeremy and everyone who contributed to the thread. Because of time and storage issues I am still leaning towards the Stewmac rig as the situation is very favourable re the exchange rate at the moment. It is a bit surreal for us Aussies to look at a US catalog or website and knock nearly 10% of the advertised price where it used to be that you basically doubled the price in your head when you were in the market for a bit of US kit! I wonder how long this situation will last?

[Allen]

Hey John, I don't have the Luthier tools rig for bindings, but do have the complete tuner, slot head fixture, and had Chris machine one for ukes after I sent him my requirements. His work is fantastic, and I'd recommend this fixture to anyone that is wanting something to do the job, time and again without having to think about set up.

If I was in the market for a binding jig, I wouldn't hesitate at considering his offering. Very well built and finished tooling.

[woodrat]

Yes, Allen , I emailed him about my concern to have to buy another trimmer as I own a perfectly reliable and adequate Makita trimmer but his bases suit other brands...no probs he says just post me the base and he will make it to suit the makita...now thats what I call service...I think that now I will go with his product now that I can mount my Makita on it. I really like the idea of having the trimmer in hand instead of the other way around.
I am tempted by the slot head attachment too...I think I will wait till the dollar is US$1.20...

John

[Allen]

He really should add the Makita base to his templates. There's got to be a heap of them out there as well as all the other knock offs that use the same base. I've got the Maktec and Micheal has both the Makita and one from Trade Tools Direct that uses the same base. In fact, I just might switch my home made rig for one of his. Been out of touch for a week in Micheal's shed, so didn't know that the AUD$ was doing so well.

[liam_fnq]

I had to re-drill my true-channel to suit my lam trimmer base. I've got both a maktec (makita knock off) and a bunnies royobi. Both have identical bases. They come out of the same molds in fact.

[jeffhigh]

I had a handheld base but I converted it to a pillar type and move the body into it.
Just feels safer to me.
Plus I coud not do thin bodies like ukuleles with the twin bearings on the side jig.