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Been away for awhile but hopefully I'll now be able to hang out a bit more.

I will soon be cutting binding strips for the Cuban Mahogany 00 I'm building and this will be the first time I've used wood binding. I bought a beautiful Cocobolo binding stip from Hibdon Hardwood that is 0.096" thick and a little over 1.5" wide and I need to cut it up into binding strips. So I have a couple of questions about binding sizes and the best way to cut these strips.

- Should I thickness then cut into strips or cut into strips then thickness in my drum sander? What thickness would you recommend for binding, 0.062"?

- What's the best way to cut into strips? I have a thin kerf, circular saw sized Diablo blade I can use on my table saw. Can I use a zero clearance insert with that blade? Can I get by with setting the fence at the desired width of the binding and cutting the strips between the blade and the fence (set the fence one time and cut all the binding strips)?

- Finally, what width binding looks good and does anyone change the width of the binding depending on the body size? I'm leaning toward 0.200" width but I'm open to suggestions.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

My wood bindings are 0.075" by 0.340". That height includes the side purflings which are about 0.064in height so the actual binding is about 0.275". I would thickness after cutting. I used to cut all this on the bandsaw, but Todd convinced me to use a 7-1/4" plywood blade in my table saw for the job and I've been happier with the results. I use a zero clearance and cap the exposed blade above the work with a scrap of wood clamped to the fence, this keeps the thin stock from climbing off the blade and improves the quality of the cut.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

You could use a slitter something like this, which would give you two pieces per set up. I've used it to cut wood bindings and there's no loss to kerf!
viewtopic.php?f=10117&t=19132
If I use a tablesaw, I cut "outside" & reset the fence each time......... definitely safer & you don't explode any.
Either way, I'd pre-thickness with "luthiers friend".

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Dave
Milton, ON

I thickness the whole blank first. I then cut to width. Mine are generally .080" in thickness and .280" in height. I don't stick to the height measurement very strictly, just kinda what I am feeling like for the build. I use my fret saw blade to slice them up on the table saw. I cut just a bit taller than I need and then sand them to the height I want in my drum sander.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

That is a great suggestion, thanks!

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Pictures?

Dave, thanks for that link! Just finished reviewing it and it seems a neat method to try.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I'm looking into having a blade custom made. A 6" rip blade with about a .040 kerf. A bit expensive on the frontside expenditure, but sure would save a lot of wood going up the dust chute... Hmmmm....group buy?

Thanks for those dimensions and procedure Todd.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Chris, thanks for sharing the dimensions you use. I'm a little torn on how wide to make these bindings. 0.200" is the minimum.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I always cut my strips on the bandsaw. Oversized. I do get the thickness right before I slice. Then, after cutting on bandsaw, I pass them together through the thickness sander to get them all to the same height.

Mike

Thanks for your comments meddlinfool and Mike.

Mike, if I understood correctly, you stack all the binding strips together and sand to the correct width (the 0.2-0.28 dimension)? I was wondering if that was doable so thatnks for pointing that out. I guess I could cut leave the thickness slightly oversize, cut the width slightly oversize, then sand width and thickness to final dimensions on the drum sander.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Yes, stack sideways, and do passes on each side until all saw marks are gone. Don't work just one side. Make sure you rotate so that all possible pass directions happen. This way, they won't get "canted" on an edge. Try to maintain the stack order (not hard to do). And, cut your strips oversize. Already thinned and sanded to proper thickness. I never thin to desired thickness nor sand height to desired height. I want the installed piece to be proud on all edges, Then I scrape and sand to final look.

Mike

What about this blade? Bad idea?

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Speci ... 3&xsr=4330

(but seriously, I can do the same or close on my bandsaw, and then sand. If it's the waste of the wood you are worrying about, then a thin kerf blade may be the way to go)

Mike

Bad idea, it will overheat (damhik).

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I have used it a few times, I use it to rip all my purflngs, and I use it regularly to make binding if I'm cutting them out of side scrap. I use the LMI one, which won't give enough height above the table to rip a 1/4" purfled binding blank. Plus, it's a cross it blade, and yes it does overheat, and you need to stop every now and then to clean off resin.
I basically want a rip version of that blade. But I was quoted 250$ a blade, kinda steep...

I asked some folks at SMC, here is a suggestion:

http://www.carbideprocessors.com/tenryu ... saw-blade/

at 5/64" kerf (smidge over 1/16"), it's a tad over twice the 1/32" kerf from Stew Mac.

But it is not crazy priced either. And it is a ripping blade. Amazon has more Tenryu listings.

These guys have a 1/16" kerf (no sure if for ripping)

http://www.infinitytools.com/Laser-Thin ... ucts/1800/

but they are getting into the crazy price regime. Maybe that Tenryu is the way to go?

Mike

I have the Diablo on-hand and will likely be using it. My biggest worry is chip out while ripping (the strip from Hibdon is so thin).

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Do you mean this blade?

http://www.diablotools.com/blades-7.html (Freud Diablo Part# D0724X/A)

Mike

This is the one I have and I think it's the one Todd is referring to:

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

If I do bindings like that, which I don't do much anymore as I prefer to cut them on a band saw from a block, I would thickness first and then cut with a knife. Clamp a straight edge to the sheet and run a razor blade over it maybe 6 or 7 times to free it.

But I don't have a table saw

+ another on the Freud Diablo in 7-1/4" x 40 tooth. Used with a zero clearance insert.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Yup. Gotta use a ZCI or your will never accomplish much except tear up your wood.

Mike

Cut the Cocobolo binding strips tonight. I had bought a practice side from RCT and it was white oak so I thiined it and practiced cutting strips from it first. It went well so I thinned the Cocobolo and tried it. It went pretty nice. Only issue I had was the stip was only 1.5" wide and unfortunately, the sides werent flat so I had to get them flat and I barely had enough wood left to cut 5 binding strips.......but I made it.

I used the dimensions Todd suggested, used a zero clearance insert, used a wood block clamped to the fence on top of the strip, and used the Freud blade shown above. Turned out nice and I sure appreciate the tips!

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

This binding cutting setup uses a .030" x 1.25" blade mounted on a pneumatic die grinder which travels manually on a single linear way. The material being cut is held stationary by a couple cam clamps. One of the two tab stops is shown in the picture and is adjusted with a 10-24 screw at the other side of the table. The table will hold a 2'x4' sheet. The .030 blade is flat ground carbide which leaves a nice square edge on wood but ABS requires deburring with a scraper.

Edit: Blade guard has been removed for photo.