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Has anyone used the Schneider gramil tool from lmii, or similar, to cut binding channels by hand like Robbie O'brien demonstrates in this video?
I just bought the thing and want to know as much as I can before digging in with it. Thanks!

http://youtu.be/ZRRc1evso7U

Josh

No I haven't used it, but you are a brave soul to want to do this by hand. Let us all know how it turns out.

Haven't used it either but I suggest you sharpen the hell out of the blade and
feel free to resharpen during your channel cutting.

Jcolvin wrote:Has anyone used the Schneider gramil tool from lmii

I've used one for years. In fact, I have two of them, one for the depth and the other for the width of the binding.

As Tommy said, the trick is to keep it sharp, and go slow. Don't try to take a lot off at once; just shave it off a little at a time. Yeah, it's slow, but I'm in no hurry, and I'm less likely to do something I might regret, as I have done more than once with routers and Dremel tools and such.

Free to ask me if you hit any snags.

JLT,

Great thanks! What exactly is your approach to using to the tool? Do you score the top and scrape a channel in the side then chisel out the rest? Or do you use it to cut all the way down? Or use it as a scraper the whole way through? Also, what is your approach to doing a purfling channel along with the binding channel? I have all kinds of ideas floating through my head, so I apologize for so many questions. Thanks again!

Josh

I've been using a similar device like the Irving Sloane version cutter (from his book, Classic Guitar Construction). The blade needs to be ultra sharp and light scoring cuts should be done first, then successively deeper cuts on repeated passes. Some practice on spruce and hardwoods helps. I thought about updating with the LMII gramil this year, but got a small router instead.

Jcolvin wrote:JLT,

Great thanks! What exactly is your approach to using to the tool?

It's pretty much as Danl8 described. As I said, I use two and make the first cut of each very small, like 1/32" or maybe a little more. I keep alternating as I re-set each one for more depth, and repeat the process. If there's a purfling that goes inside the binding, I'll score the top at the inside of the purfling and shave down to that level at first, and then create the ledge for the binding itself. It helps to do all this on a test piece of wood at the same time you're working on the real thing, so you know when your shelf is exactly right. (I usually install the wooden bindings a little "proud"... they stick out a teeny bit, and I scrape them until they're even with the top and rib.)

Like any hand tool, the gramil requires some skill and patience to master, and such skill is best acquired on sacrifice pieces of wood. I like to use basswood because it's easily cut. Then work up to harder stuff. Patience is required, but I like to think that as I work, I'm experiencing the same thing that the builders of old did, coaxing the shape out of the wood instead of machining it.

Thank you! Very helpful, I appreciate it. I'm going to try it out soon, I'll update on how it goes. I'm looking forward to doing this by hand.

I played around with the gramil on scrap wood, and ended up getting a decent fit for the tiny piece of binding I was using as a guide. It was a ton of work! I found that using the cutting end of the blade (I ground and sharpened the other end to a scraper of sorts like in Robbie O'brien's video), worked more efficiently, and I made a few passes, then lowered the cut after every few passes. After seeing how long it took to successfully get a binding channel on a straight, soft piece of pine, I thought I'd do some more practice before taking the tool to an actual guitar, and routed the channels on the guitar I was in the process of building. Maybe on the next one...

I made a copy of the LMI gramil (I bought the blade -- hardening and tempering something that small is really tricky) and tried it out. It worked pretty well, but before I did an actual guitar I think I would practice on some scrap first. Patience is required. Very meditative. You can't care about how long it takes.

A router setup is a heck of a lot faster and easier, but lacks the meditative quality.