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Anyone else feel like they should be playing heavy metal while they do binding channels haha… so nerve wracking for some reason.
Using the elevate jig and the end product is fantastic, but man …. Haha
Again not knocking the jig it’s great… I just need more reps


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Every way of cutting binding channels significantly increases my pucker factor. Metal would just make it more intense. I’m too old for that much all at once!

I find it helps a lot to just go through the motions and dedicate some muscle memory to the job. Tool off, everything else set up for the real thing. I use an articulating arm I built but I do a practice run, uphill/downhill, all the way around once or twice. Then the real run seems a whole lot calmer and more familiar.

For things I don't do every day that take some dexterity, it seems to help me a LOT with the stress levels.

Brian

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Me too!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Glad I’m not the only one:) then I think man this thing could REALLY chew up a finger ha


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I do have to brag on that elevate jig…. It does a great job:!! I mount mine to a bandsaw so it’s the right height


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I severely messed up a guitar back once when I was cutting binding channels with a tower setup and didn’t control the body cradle well enough. The bit climbed and jumped and chewed a big arse hole in the back. After my temper tantrum, it was actually pretty easy to replace it. But ever since, I hang onto that cradle pretty well!

I mount mine to my bench vise and sit on a stool while routing.....

It definitely takes some practice to get comfortable with it.

I absolutely love the Elevate jig!

From the time I pull it out of the drawer and rout the top and back binding and purfling ledges is about 15 minutes....

I also do the bench vise and stool thing. Works fine.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Also a good idea.


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Sounds weird but my biggest challenge is hand position for the most control. Again I think I just need reps/)


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Hey SnowMan, how well is your chip catcher working? I’ve been thinking of getting something similar to tie into a 6” flex hose but wasn’t sure if it would work.


Steve

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I had built a jig similar to the Elevate gig many years ago based on another forum and love how it works. Of the 73 guitars I have built I only ever messed up one and it was probably due to a dull bit. One thing I am trying out now is cutting the purfling first then cutting the binding. If I am only going to do binding then I will use a gramil to line it out first.

Key words - sharp bits!!!

I mean it works better than nothing:) I need to construct a little arm of sorts to clamp on the table in the right position to hold it . Currently it’s held in place by a troji ha.
I haven’t worked out exactly how to use the jig w dust collecting but I’m getting there.

Clamping it to the bandsaw so I can stand was a big help in positioning.


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Hard to get dust collection in there when you’re trying to swing the body around.


Steve

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

When you cut your binding ledges, did you cut from the wide part of each bout to narrow, using climbing cuts as necessary, or did you make a cut in one direction all around? When I toured the Martin factory 30 years ago, they were using a similar setup and made one cut all around. I’ve been cutting mine freehand with the StewMac bearing set for the past 30 years. I go from wide to narrow so that the router doesn’t tear out my precious wood. I just got one of the Elevate jigs but haven’t tried it yet. Chris’ directions indicate that unidirectional does it, but I worry. I don’t play any music when I cut binding ledges—the router is too loud.

Just cause it’s the way I’ve always done it, . I do wide to narrow with the Elevate jig then a one way pass all the way around. No problems so far.


Steve

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Does the elevate jig use a downward spiral cutter? If so, that might be why they specify One direction is fine...

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Pat

As a tower with the LMI bearing set user for 20 years I just did my first with the Elevate. A local kid who worked in the binding dept at Santa Cruz told me they used an elevate style device for the binding and a tower for the purfling.

I am assuming it was both to save wear on expensive bearing guided bits and eliminate any irregularities in the purfling cut.

Anyway the first one went really well. I followed the directions and did a climb cut all the way around several times and then a pass in the opposite direction. That is what I do with the tower device too.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I'm not sure I would feel confident in my skill in using the elevate jig, besides it is quite expensive. I feel comfortable using the fleishman jig I made many years ago. I took the measurements off one my friend had and put it together. Not as much "pucker factor".

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com