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Ok, I got it completely put together. It's leveled. I understand about "leveling" the body and so on. Now it is time to choose a bearing and set her up. How does one set the height or depth of the bit? Todd, could you please post that bit choice chart again?

Mike

I glued a piece of my binding and purfling together, in a strip about an inch long. Then I got a piece of shelving board (big box store, white spruce, cheap) and put in my Williams jig, leveled it, and then made a number of test cuts/practice cuts until I felt totally comfortable that my bearing sizes were correct, and that my binding/purfling combo fit with a minimum amount of overhang (to reduce the amount of scraping/sanding after the binding was installed). Then I marked the bearings to know what size binding worked best with it.

Then I inserted/leveled the guitar, and made one last test cut near the neck pocket (this will be hidden by the fretboard) before routing out the purfling channel first. Made the bearing switch, routed out the binding channel second. I'm sure there is some scientific way that is muuuuuuuch better than what I did, but it worked perfectly.

And remember, based on your bearings, the first cut, your purfling cut is the width of your purfling and binding combined.

Scrap wood is your friend!!

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

I took the advice (thanks Bill) and just started cutting on some scrap. The jig works like a dream!! I want to thank all you guys for your help in this. I am VERY happy with the jig. Todd, thanks for the jpg again, I saved and printed it this time.

Gonna keep cutting scrap till it sinks in. Maybe tomorrow night I will cut on my junker body to see how it works with that.

Mike

Maybe we could do this again? At least with the odd bearings not included in the kit? Surely there are enough new users to do this!!

Mike

I brought up the same thing a while back. I wasn't able to get in on the first deal, but I'd FIND a way to get in on another one!

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Wes McMillian
Santo, TX
http://www.wesmcmillian.com

Man I have been having a time deciding how to work this thing. Thank goodness for scrap wood.

I have decided on a new approach. I just bought a couple more of the nylon bearings (do-nut)

I am going to size them for depth of cut. That seems a more reliable method than adjusting the bit up and down.

Thoughts?

Mike

Mike it would seem to me no matter how many donuts you have the bottom of each donut is Zero depth datum point. It does not matter if the donut is 1/8" tall of 2 ft tall. The depth of your cut is the distance between the bottom of the donut and the bottom of your bit flange + or – a few thousands. You have to have some way to fine adjust the bit clearance (cut depth) usually this is via the routers base height adjustment.

Now lets say you use your method of changing donuts to change bit exposure to control cut depth, and you have used one bit for 6 months and you need to replace it. How do you insure you that you install the new bit the same distance from the bottom of the router base as the old bit was within .015"-.020” you can't so at that time you have to adjust the router bit height at the router base height adjustment to achieve a specified variance between the bottom of the bit flange and the bottom of the donut. It is no differnt doing it once every new bit than any other time. It works just the same way.

I suspect this is an area you trying to over engineer. At some point in time or another you have to index of the bottom of the donut as a starting point. I know some trimmers have poor adjusting mechanisms, but none the less that is where the adjustment needs to be made.

OK. Gonna show my ignorance here. What the heck is "router base height adjustment"?

This is not a plunge router. To my knowledge, the only way to do this is to move the bit up and down in the chuck. Gonna find the user manual Was wondering what that finger dial was on the bottom of the router.

Mike

One more thing. Was planning on putting an ebony strip on both sides of the binding for contrast. The strip is less than 0.02" thick. I can cut both depths, the the xtra 0.02" depth hardly seems worth it (think of it as thin purfling).

Mike

I'll be darned! Never knew it had depth control.

Mike (bozo)

I gather you found the height adjustment on the laminate routers base

Should make things easier hua?

Its the way of the engineer. Its a curse. I was born with it.

Mike

I guess it is a good time to mention that it helps to mount the laminate trimmer in an orientation that make the height adjustment easily accessible

As it turns out, I did that by accident.

Mike

Step 89. Stop procrastinating. Cut the dang thing!

So I did. It worked like a dream. I am now drinking a beer trying to calm down.

But I am glad I tested and retested over and over till I understood it. I bet I played with it for 2 weeks before I felt good enough about the process!

Thanks all.

Mike

this thread frightened me whilst i read it. to me it so very clearly illustrates the need for those not familiar with a new power tool (or hand tool for that matter) to thoroughly [i][u]read the instructions[i][u]
before ever even thinking about plugging the tool in.

There's always a rightous one in the crowd. Sorry for frightening you.



Mike

mike, i doubt you would be so flippant if in your ful ignorance you had over extended the bit out if the collet trying to set depth and had the bit exit the collet at 28000 rpm or so, as an acquaintance of mine did earlier this year. fortunately he was not injured, very fortunately!

I dunno what to say to you (c)michael. I did read the instructions, missed the part about the depth thing. I know, doing that could have killed me or worse! Sorry for being flippant, but its the only finger that still works.

Mike

That's not funny!

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Waddy

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