Binding tower and donut?

[D4NNY]

Hi all, I am trying to plan ahead for when I eventually reach the stage of having to route the binding channels.

As much as I'd like to just buy a binding tower from stewmac I can't really afford to spend that much on one at the moment (being in the UK I'd also have to pay the extra taxes/postage). Whilst I have seen a few good examples on here I have yet to find any basic plans from which I good build my own, could anyone please point me in the right direction if they are available somewhere, preferably the tower system as it looks simpler to make?

I am also a little confused as to how the plastic donut is shaped and what tools are used to make it, I know people have made them out of the plastic chopping boards but how do you go about tapering it and how thick should it be? I also see that ideally the hole in the donut should be as close as possible to the router bit?

Thanks for reading

[tippie53]

I do have them in stock send me an email with your address. They are $20 plus shipping.

[D4NNY]

Thanks john. I have sent you a PM.

[Dave Sayers]

When I started my first guitar build I made my own. It simply moved up and down and was balanced by counter weights. The main thing is to aim for as little sideways or unnecessary movement as possible. I had very few wood working skills, and could do a lot better now. It did work, though.

May I suggest you look at all designs in videos and shops to see what you think you can make. I found the mount for the laminate router quite challenging. The white plastic piece on the body of the router was angled to ride on the guitar body. It was cut from a chopping board.

[D4NNY]

Thanks Dave, thats looks pretty good and hopefully i'll be aiming for something similar if i can.

I have asked John for a price on one of the plastic donuts but seeing you used a wedge would there be an advantage to using a donut opposed to the setup you have?

[Dave Sayers]

The plastic cutting board was gently dished from each side and worked well, but it was a devil to cut. It was relatively easy to fix it to the router.
Plan your guitar body holding board so that it does not snag at any point on the router tower when it is being rotated.
You will also need to consider where the wood chips are going to go. Because of the layout of my workshop they come straight back into my face. I have a large curtain I erect around the router tower and behind me. This makes it easy to clean up. I usually also wear an apron and a hat.