Official Luthiers Forum!

I am going to purchase a binding router jig. I have been looking at all of them I could find on the web. Before I buy one I would like to have input from the OLF. Your preference and why? Pals, Vic.

Take a look back a few weeks. There was a tread that talked about different setups.

For what it is worth I use a Luthier Tools Router Base.

Pro's.
- It is small and packs away in a drawer which is really important in my shop where space is limited.
- Since it used a spiral router bit it can be adjusted to any depth of cut. (no follower bearings)

Con's
- The weighting of the tool is a little screwy so it is easy to screw up. This can be easily fixed by making a counterweight on the opposite side of the router. I have not done this yet but done right would make the tool pretty good.

Most people seem to like the the various designs where the guitar body is set in a cradle (ie Williams Jig or Robikie (sp?) style. They work well but require lots of room to store the jig when not using and require a little more setup.

I have seen the Mark Kent designed jig which indexes off the side of the guitar and works very well. I saw a variation of this design being used in the Taylor factory. It was out of production for a while but someone recently started selling the model again.

Good luck!

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Brad
Avon, OH

Newbie here. I built the Williams/Fleischman jig and it works great. As has been mentioned, it is a bit bulky but it is very easy to use.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

I'm the guy Brad mentioned who has brought the Kett jig back into production. As he said there was a lot of discussion around this a few weeks back.

Here is one of the links http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=38581

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

I have used a Luthier Tool router base, a StewMac tower and a Fleischman jig.

If one is very careful with the Luthier Tool base and develop a technique to keep the tool from tilting in, it is a very nice tool because of the precision adjustment of the cut vs. relying on bearings.

I liked the StemMac tower because it held the router square, I placed mounting t-nuts in my bench so it was easy to remove the tool and put it in a drawer. The con I had with this tool was that I really needed to attend to the router with one hand (it is not counter balanced) and the feed the guitar on a carriage into the router with the other. I never really felt the secure using the tool. I did have good results on four instruments.

I finally made room (my only con for this tool so far) and bought a Fleishmann binding jig from John Hall at Blues Creek guitar and found it a dream to use. I can clamp the carriage holding the guitar down and then securely and calmly guide the router around the guitar.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Williams from John Hall.

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Pat

I just built a tower that uses the Stewmac bearing set.

Here's my sophisticated counter balance.

And here's the donut that I made from a piece UHMW plastic on my wood lathe.

I've only done 1 guitar with it but love it so far.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.