Official Luthiers Forum!

What are your recommendations for very small router bits (1/32")? I want something with a 1/8" shaft so I can use it in my laminate trimmer. I bought one from Stewmac and broke it so quickly I don't even know how well it cuts (blame me not Stewmac).

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

I imagine Blues Creek sells them as well, since they also sell the high speed inlay mini die grinder setup .. I got my rig from Dave Nichols, with some extra bits 1/32 x 1/8 .... they last a long time.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

McMaster Carr is a great place for all kinds of stuff like this.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

+1

kekani427 on EBAY bits are what I use. Great prices, great bits and fast shipping. BTW, these are down shear carbide bits that make the cleanest cuts you've ever seen.

Tim

Precise bits...are precisely that!

+ plenty of great tips, tutorials, etc. on checking your equipment.

Ron,(Reed, owner) answers the phone regularly and actually stayed 15-20 minutes after closing on a Friday to answer my questions, even though I offered to call another day.

Make sure you don't have excessive run out in your bearings. I broke 3 bits in less than 5 minutes a few months back due to worn / sloppy bearings.

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Paul Bordeaux
http://www.bordeauxinlay.com

I just perused the precise bits site .. can I ask what bits you use Paul ??, there are so many to choose from. I have the 56K rpm mini die grinder set up for inlaying.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I also just purchased a bunch of bits from Precise Bits. I got them yesterday, but haven't had a chance to use them. From what I can see, they are very well made bits. You can get a discount by buying ten of one size at a time. They have really nice bits that are optimized for cutting pearl, which people seem to really like. I bought some of those, and also some for cutting fret slots and some for general pocket cutting in ebony and rosewood. What really sold me was that these are the bits that Bob Garrish used to do those really great inlay in an inlay celtic knots as shown in his avatar. Really sweet piece of work.
Just remember, that the better your bearings are, the better your performance will be, and the less bits you will break. You might want to check your spindle/router for runout to see if it's going to be a problem for you. Read their site for great info on cutting speeds and spindle maintenance etc.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Thanks, you guys are full of good ideas.

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."