Hand Held Router Jig for Binding Channels

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PSmill
Posts: 111
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2018 12:23 pm
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: Hand Held Router Jig for Binding Channels

Post by PSmill »

Here is one more version of this from the old Guitar Makers Manual by Jim Williams. This version with the two bearings riding on the body, and then a bearing guided bit seems it would be pretty reliable. Can't tell how he designed the surface that rides on the top/back. Might be my next prototype, some day when I decide to invest in a bearing guided set. For now, back to the Stewman dremel set up which has worked so far, and new bits are only $15, so a small fee to keep it new and sharp. Thanks for your ideas.
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Morecowbell
Posts: 280
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:51 am
Location: Fishers, IN

Re: Hand Held Router Jig for Binding Channels

Post by Morecowbell »

I have something similar, I got it in a bunch of used tools I bought via Diane - will post a pic later when I get home. But I never tried it :-)

This is the one process that worried me. I circled this for a while before deciding on building a tower jig & cradle. My issues with routers happen if the cutter grabs and/or the gyroscopic force gets involved. I watched a lot of videos and what I liked about the tower & cradle idea was that the cut is controlled horizontally and vertically. So it can't go in further than you want it to and if if it falls off the edge it won't hurt anything - and nothing can rotate in any axis.

Then the question I had was whether the drawer slides (from Menards) would have too much play in them, but they're very tight. Very simple to build the jig.

All this didn't prevent me from burning the side on the first cut (there's a wrong way to install the bearings, the smoke is a reliable indicator). But other than that I was very happy with how it worked.

Clay
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"Facts seldom sway an opinion." - John Hall
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tippie53
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Re: Hand Held Router Jig for Binding Channels

Post by tippie53 »

JIM WILLIAMS was the first one I made
this has many faults. When ever you are trusting location to a guide that is no centered to the bit you will have channels that vary. This is fine on simple binding but when doing high end like D 45 it was not accurate enough. The better accuracy is still using router bits with different bearing diameters.
His book got me started and there were many useful tips and jigs but his book was more entry level but it did help.
No matter what you do , it is all a learning curve. The more you do , the more you learn , the more mistakes you make the better you will become.
Don't look at a failure as a set back but as education
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Morecowbell
Posts: 280
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:51 am
Location: Fishers, IN

Re: Hand Held Router Jig for Binding Channels

Post by Morecowbell »

PSmill -

This is what I have, if you're interested PM me, I'm not going to use it
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"Facts seldom sway an opinion." - John Hall
"The difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference." - Van de Snepscheut
scamp
Posts: 223
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2022 8:19 pm

Re: Hand Held Router Jig for Binding Channels

Post by scamp »

FYI

For $170 I just went out and bought a router jig from Emmer Guitar for my first guitar ( not including the router). It's just a knock off of the Truechannel Stewmac jig but a lot cheaper. Figured it made sense given I needed something that didn't require a lot of experience with a router ( which I didn't have ) and I really didn't want to mess up all the work I put into the guitar body.

Also figured I would just sell it and get most of my money back if I don't use it again.

It worked very well and I was impressed with the quality of the jig.

Here it is. BTW...You need to make the guitar cradle out of a piece of plywood but that's about it.
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RLR33
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed May 11, 2022 12:00 am

Re: Hand Held Router Jig for Binding Channels

Post by RLR33 »

Is this company still in business ?
carld05
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2012 4:19 pm
Location: Forest Ranch, CA

Re: Hand Held Router Jig for Binding Channels

Post by carld05 »

Here it is, https://elmerguitar.com/collections/bin ... router-jig. I built my own from 8020 parts.
RLR33
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed May 11, 2022 12:00 am

Re: Hand Held Router Jig for Binding Channels

Post by RLR33 »

Thanks, just wanted to take a look.
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