Repair is under way. I cut out the damaged area, chiseled away what was left of one of the kerfing pieces and glued a new piece in. I also sliced a piece of ebony on the bandsaw that will serve as a plug. Once the kerf piece is dry I'll try to create as much of a scarf joint as possible with the ebony plug...might require some veneer from the inside...will have to see.
After all that is done I'll figure out a nice symmetric pattern and make an ebony inlay/veneer that covers the whole area - which should give a little more strength to the joint.
The way I did mine to make it a little easier was to fit it into the soundboard and let the end of it run free off the heel of the guitar, then cut a new binding channel in it. Good luck
just inspected the cuter bit....one of the blades is shattered. I'm wondering if it was defective from the get go and exploded on me during the cut. It was a brand new blade, had only made a 4" test cut in soft scrap before that, and I had cut less than 6" of the binding channel when this happened. I didn't think I had done anything wrong at the time and was surprised. At first I thought I must have tipped the piece into the cutter without realizing it, but now I'm suspecting the cutter had a stress fracture and exploded under load.
hard to say that may have shattered then or when it hit the ground we are all glad your not hurt thank you for sharing your experience
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
thanks for posting, this is how we learn. No build goes perfectly.
And thanks Ed for posting the Parland phots. You suggested this for a binding channel slip I had and that build is still on the back burner but that will work when I get to it.
tippie53 wrote: ↑Wed May 26, 2021 6:32 am
hard to say that may have shattered then or when it hit the ground we are all glad your not hurt thank you for sharing your experience
Hi John,
Yes, hope my experience can benefit someone. BTW it was the instrument that hit the ground, not the router. The router was mounted to the jig and clamped to the vise as that's how this setup works. I can't see how wood this thin would have caused a router bit to shatter unless it was already defective.
And yes, thanks to Ed for the great suggestion and pictures!
I emailed Elevate last night regarding the failed cutter. I'd like to share the prompt and professional response I received from the owner:
Mark,
I've been in contact with the manufacturer of the router bit today. After some discussion, here's what we've come up with:
- Figured wood tends to be more "grabby". I highly suggest taking light cuts with figured woods like koa.
- Once the grab occurred, it overloaded the bit- throwing the instrument and breaking the cutter.
- I don't know how large of a cut (thickness of material) you were taking, but larger cuts can also add to the grab factor.
- While the ELEVATE tutorial shows my personal preferred method of cut, certain woods can be more prone to grabbing on a climb cut. When this is a possibility, consider working in the traditional method- from the bouts towards the waist and ends of the instrument.
Regardless of the cause of the failure, I'd like to replace the cutter and shaft for you. Is your shipping address still the same as when you placed your order back in November?
~Chris Ensor
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
ElevateLutherie.com
Thank you Chris!
FWIW - yes, I was cutting the entire binding channel at once (as demonstrated in his tutorial and other videos I've seen of the jig). Making multiple light cuts makes sense and I will do so in the future. I was also routing from the bouts to the ends/waists as suggested. Router grabbed near the mid point of the bottom of the instrument as you can tell from the damage photos.
"The learning continues," the best take away from this thread. The quest to do things better, to learn a new skill, a way of doing/looking at things, is one of the great pleasures for me in guitar building. Sometimes these lesions come easy sometimes hard, very hard. Sound like you are on the path to better results to the frick'n binding game.
I've had a router jump and rout through my fingernail on my first build. I'm lucky I didn't lose a finger. Lord knows I've had my problems prior to buying the binder.
The fix that Ed gave you is a good one. Yes, figured woods can grab and once torn, can go deep and tear to pieces. Thank goodness you weren't hurt! Most of my builds are with figured woods. I go slow, with the grain, and I work small sections (like 4") at a time.
Just chalk it up to figuring out a new design element. You could even fit a rectangular piece of contrasting wood in there. Forgive the dorky drawing.
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