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There is no poll feature on the new OLF so I thought I'd start a thread to see what folks are using for cutting rosette channels and for inlay work.

Up cut or Down cut? Is there really that much of a difference to justify the difference in price? Give us your thoughts.

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Realistically speaking Rod, I don't have any trouble with up or straight cutting bits. With rosette inlaying, if proper care and steps are taken before cutting, you shouldn't have much unmanagable "fuzz", on binding and purfling they do seem to cut cleaner, but if I have a suspect top that I think is going to be a tough route, (like redwood and some cedar) I take the body to the spindle sander with 80 grit and sand away the excess as opposed to routing it off. Once you get close to the glued surface it doesn't tear out if you cut channels in steps instead of all at once. shellac sealing initially adds some insurance too. Lately I have gotten in the habit of brushing on a thin coat of polyuerathane and sanding it back off. I inlay my rosette when the top is still very thick so it takes only a minute to sand out the quick drying poly, seems to be stronger than shellac too. So to me the standard bits are fine.

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Nehemiah Covey
www.coveysacoustics.com

Rod my friend I use spiral down-cut bits, 1/8" and smaller, for rosettes and they do fine. Regardless of if I am cutting out a wooden rosette or routing the channel I always get a sharp edge with no fuzzies.....

I use down cut if I have them, No fuzz.

Down cut bits for rosettes.

I had trouble using down cut bits for binding channels. With soft Tassy blackwood the bottom of the channel tended to chip out, which I assume was from the chips being forced downwards. So, straight cut bits for the binding channels.

I use down cut for rosettes and bindings. I've found though that using a single 1/32 inch down cut for a single thin purfling line (rosette) will really pack the slot and not give the best results. I plan to move more toward a “seal-the-top” approach as mentioned above and an upcut spiral on the next go.

Joe