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So if I had any brains I would have made a template of my last build with this mold and marked and cut these pieces prior to bending.

The idea- to cut the bindings out of the sides with matching grain patterns. This side set is 6" wide Dalbergia Cultrata. This OM will be 3.5" at the head and 4.5" at the tail. So there should be ample room to cut the bindings right from the side.

The plan- radius the top (spiderweb bed side) and cut the binding directly from the side. They will be separated with mahogany or curly maple purflng.

Question- what is the best way to get a smooth cut. I thought of using a simple stop on my die grinder and a very small end mill and just run it along all the convex curves, clean up with a plane.

Any advice or is there a better way to accomplish this? I screw things up regularly...

A gramil maybe?

This is why I ask questions, I didn't even think of that and now it seems like common sense. Thanks. Is there a cheaper one out there than the $60 shipped that I would have to pay LMI for these 3 little pieces of metal? I think it's funny that once you call something a "luthier tool" the freaking price triples. I mean seriously I can buy a 64GB memory card for my digital camera that is WAY more high tech than this tool for about the same price.

Will the angle of the blade affect whichever side the angle is facing? Especially if I am reversing the cut. Maybe an exact blade or a razor blade in a homemade jig would be better?

The Sloan book has a plan for making a good Gramil.
The blade is made from a good quality jig saw blade by grinding off the teeth and sharpening the end.

That said, I would be looking for a thin kerfed hand saw to cut this job.
Something like this
http://www.irwin.com/tools/handsaws/dovetaildetail-saw

Mark you line with making tape and then cut very slowly and carefully

I like the idea of a dremel and cut off wheel made for wood

Good luck

I suspect that if millions of people bought gramils the price might come down a bit. You can certainly make your own for much cheaper... I hear they're made from just three little pieces of metal.

The bevel on a gramil blade would affect the cut a bit and that's why you would cut slightly wide and finish with a block plane. But since I wrote my previous response, I, too, came around to thinking of a fine toothed saw. THIS ASSUMES THAT THE SIDES ARE NOT YET GLUED TO THE END BLOCKS. It also assumes you have a band saw.

I'd rest a side on its bouts and measure the height of the waist above the resting surface. I'd make a temporary fence a bit higher than that. I'd clamp the fence to my bandsaw just proud of my desired cut line. With a fine toothed blade on the saw and properly tensioned, I would hold the side as flat as possible to the table--starting with the neck end flat to the table and the tail end in the air, rotating the side as I progressed until both bouts were on the table. Carefully keeping the side against the fence, I'd advance it slowly through the waist area until the blade was engaging the lower bout. Then I'd rotate the neck end gradually UP, keeping the side stock on the table until the blade exited the heel end. Of course, I'd pay close attention to where my fingers were located at all times. You could use the band saw to make a support for the waist area, too. Tape it to the side just outside the cut line.

Yes they are made of 3 little pieces of metal and two screws. And my neighbor has a CNC Mill, just shot him the specs.

I like the Gramil idea. I only have a 1.3 TPI Woodmaster CT on a 3HP saw. That would destroy everything lol.

double post removed

You can buy an ordinary woodworkers cutting gauge (NOT a marking gauge) for $15, maybe less. Scribe both inside and outside.
Or something even cheaper.



Super glued on, although you can wrap them in cotton thread for added security.

You can make a woodworker's cutting gauge from a marking gauge by screwing a blade to the end of the beam. As had been said, cut from the inside and outside until the cuts meet. Cut with the bevel away from the narrow binding piece, that way the piece is essentially done when the cut is complete and you can use a plane to clean up the larger piece ready for the next cut if needed.

Why not do this before the side is bent?

Ed

"why not do this before the side is bent?"

I'm a dumb a$$

Ha! I like and agree with you comment about the price of luthier tools! But remember, machinists are craftsmen too, and need to earn a living. That always helps me when it comes time to dig out the ol' paypal!

Its already been said but with a properly set up bandsaw this is a piece of cake How were you going to contour them in the first place?

Get a 7 1/4" 40 tooth Diablo blade on that table saw with a zero clearance insert and use that to cut your sides. You'll be done in no time.

If you can saw to a line you could use a veneer saw.
http://www.veneersupplies.com/products/ ... r-Saw.html

I personally would not attempt it. I'd be too afraid I'd split a side. I have a gramil and I find it a little clumsy to get all the way through the wood (even on spruce, I've had it ride the grain). But good luck to you.

Easier to cut the bindings off before you bend. I do that whenever the sides are big enough although I don't usually use them on the same guitar.

Bandsaw works fine after bending, I've done it several times. I use a tall fence and take my time.

I would be afraid that a blade might start a split.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Hi again, Joey,

Regardless of the solution you use, please take some photos of your set-up. Believe me, you are not the first builder to find himself in this situation. I think a lot of readers will be interested in seeing your solution. If you're still turning this over in your mind, I'll just encourage you one more time to buy a fine toothed blade for your bandsaw. You'll find other ways to use it in the future.

Best luck to you,
Patrick

Well the thing is that I'm getting ready to leave AK in about a month and I can't really afford the LMI gramil or a bandsaw blade right now unless I find myself a well paying job in NY in the very new future. I was really hoping to be able to accomplish this task with the tools that I currently have or something that can be easily fabricated. That said the sides are brittle and I worry about cracking regardless of the method I choose. That is a big reason that I was leaning toward rotary. I will certainly post pics after I figure out which course to take.

Thanks for the input everyone.

You make it sound difficult. It's a very straightforward task that requires little in the way of tooling.

Sounds to me like your original end mill trick ought to work out well. The cool thing about doing it this way is that now your bindings are bent perfectly. If you have a drum sander it would be easy to thickness the bindings perfectly.

Indeed, a gramil or similar is very easy and would definitely be my choice. It's a self-jigging tool, meaning that each pass helps define the next pass a little better making for very consistent repeatable results. Start by just barely scoring the wood, then the next pass rides in the groove you just made. As long as you start with a sharp blade, have the work somewhat supported on a bench or similar, don't apply any real pressure or try to force things, and let the tool do the work by just riding in the groove, then it's pretty mindless and quick work. Even if it takes 50 passes you're done in 10 minutes with a perfectly flat edge on the resulting binding. A bandsaw or similar can easily grab unsupported wood, making it crack and even if it goes well you're left with a jagged edge that can be quite difficult to get perfectly flat when it comes time to fit the binding.

At first blush it sounds good, but putting bent bindings through a thickness sander is not a great idea... you're asking for trouble as at least one place you're sanding at 90 degrees to a very thin, tall, unsupported piece of wood. Ask me how I know!