jmrentis Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 Hey Neil, those are some truly spectacular tops of maple, I only hope I can find some that nice for my project. I was curious as to how much of a top do you prefer for a 1 3/4" solid body? Also would you change anything for a chambered body? BTW the wood I am using for a back is purpleheart and it is a very hard and heavy piece at 1 3/4" to start and I am going to chamber it and put a maple cap on it. I was just wondering how thin I should go on the purpleheart. I don't want it too thin because then it would cost me a fortune to find a piece of quilted maple thick enough, but I want to lower the weight as much as possible, chambering will help, but the thinner I go the less weight it will be. The light weight is necessay for my back, other wise I won't be able to lift it. Thanks for the help on the router question, I never knew that they came in 4 flute bits. Spiral seems to be a great thing as well as carbide, I'm sure it makes for a longer lasting bit, but I'm sure they make up for it in price. I think you said that the 4 flutes cannot plunge, but you could start with a forstner bit then use the 4 flute right? Thanks for the help and great pics, very nice looking bodies! Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8 Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 Hey Neil, those are some truly spectacular tops of maple, I only hope I can find some that nice for my project. I was curious as to how much of a top do you prefer for a 1 3/4" solid body? Also would you change anything for a chambered body? ← Hi Jason, It depends on whether you plan on carving the top and if so how deep will the carve be. For a 1 3/4" thick guitar I would normally expect somebody to have a 3/4" cap and a carve of around 1/2" deep but it's up to you. BTW the wood I am using for a back is purpleheart and it is a very hard and heavy piece at 1 3/4" to start and I am going to chamber it and put a maple cap on it. I was just wondering how thin I should go on the purpleheart. I don't want it too thin because then it would cost me a fortune to find a piece of quilted maple thick enough, but I want to lower the weight as much as possible, chambering will help, but the thinner I go the less weight it will be.← In which case I would suggest a 1/2" top with a gentle 1/4" carve which would give you greater leeway when choosing how much to chamber it. Of course chambering doesn't just save weight it alters the tone significantly. To save a lot of work and heartache I suggest it would be good idea to play a few chambered guitars and see if you like the sound of a chambered guitar. The light weight is necessay for my back, other wise I won't be able to lift it. Thanks for the help on the router question, I never knew that they came in 4 flute bits. Spiral seems to be a great thing as well as carbide, I'm sure it makes for a longer lasting bit, but I'm sure they make up for it in price. I think you said that the 4 flutes cannot plunge, but you could start with a forstner bit then use the 4 flute right? Thanks for the help and great pics, very nice looking bodies! Jason ← You could use a forstner bit but that entails two seperate operations, drill + router. By swapping the four flute for a plunge cutting three flute I can stay at the same machine and carry out the tool change in less than a minute. San Diego huh? nice part of the world. My eldest is studying in El Cajon. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdguitars Posted June 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 ahh the soap opera that is PG.com, this forum is about building guitars right? As with all setups, each one has its pluses and minuses... Maybe I should have spelled out everything in my post than just asking a basic question... the only stupid question is the one not asked right? Like I said earlier its been a rough f'n week, you people have no idea what I have been going through at home, and this is not the outlet for those concerns. I post here for a break and to learn something. Having said that, I had piece of basswood that had a huge amount of tearout more so than I had ever seen. I had cut about 1/4 inch out on the band saw and that was the perfect tearout point I guess.... The next body I did after reading Davids post, was cut about 1/8 - 1/16 to the line. Virtually no tear out. Problem solved, lock this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 Hey, Derek and anyone else, Like XLR8 I have been using a 4 fluted endmill in my LP project in my cnc. Seems to be working well. The cutters I am using are carbide and they are center cutting, so you can plunge. I found this place online that sells the cutters I am using. Their prices can't be beat. cme-tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 (edited) David, do you use a template bit or flush trim bit? I have seen spiral flush trim bits but I couldnt afford the $80 price tag. ← I use one like this: 1/2" shank 3/4" dimaeter 2" length sprial trim bit. For $42 you can't go wrong. I still have the first one I bought and it still cuts sweet. I cut 1/16" pr closer to my line so it barely have to do any work. And please use a router table with a bit this long. Here's my setup. EDIT: Here's a great article on router bits. ~David Edited June 20, 2005 by Myka Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 I have a question........ I have this pin router table. I want to purchase a bit that I can plunge with and will cause less tear out. Can some one please suggest some bits? I see xlr8's 4 flute bit there but no plunge. I just dont want to spend $50+ on the incorrect bit...any help much appreciated. ***PLUNGE SPIRAL BIT KEY WORD HERE*** *I noticed in the descriptions of alot of spiral bits they leave out if you can plunge or not with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 I have a question........ I have this pin router table. I want to purchase a bit that I can plunge with and will cause less tear out. Can some one please suggest some bits? I see xlr8's 4 flute bit there but no plunge. I just dont want to spend $50+ on the incorrect bit...any help much appreciated. ***PLUNGE SPIRAL BIT KEY WORD HERE*** *I noticed in the descriptions of alot of spiral bits they leave out if you can plunge or not with it. ← Try this cme tools 1/2" endmill 2" length of cut, centercutting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 I have a question........ I have this pin router table. I want to purchase a bit that I can plunge with and will cause less tear out. Can some one please suggest some bits? I see xlr8's 4 flute bit there but no plunge. I just dont want to spend $50+ on the incorrect bit...any help much appreciated. ***PLUNGE SPIRAL BIT KEY WORD HERE*** *I noticed in the descriptions of alot of spiral bits they leave out if you can plunge or not with it. ← Try this cme tools 1/2" endmill 2" length of cut, centercutting ← But is it safe to plunge with? Thats where Im lacking the knowledge...how can I tell if a bit is plunge capable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8 Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 But is it safe to plunge with? Thats where Im lacking the knowledge...how can I tell if a bit is plunge capable? ← You see that bit where is says centre cutting, that means you can plunge with it. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 But is it safe to plunge with? Thats where Im lacking the knowledge...how can I tell if a bit is plunge capable? ← You see that bit where is says centre cutting, that means you can plunge with it. Neil ← Thanks Neil...that is exactly what I needed to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdguitars Posted June 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 I was having some custom band saw blades made by a company that carries this stuff, Onsrud bits. The rep told me these are the best bits out there. this is what Factories cnc machines use. Prices are high but a great company to buy from. This is the one he recommended: http://www.onsrud.com/Products.asp?Action=...+2%3A53%3A12+PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 David, I was contenplating that exact bit a while back but was worried that since the blades were angled up I would have to worry about the bit trying to push the piece up. Guess I was wrong. BigD, Why do you need custom blades? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 Problem solved, lock this thread. believe it or not,just because you started this thread does not mean you get to decide when to lock it,so stop asking...i have lost count of all the times you demanded a thread be locked just because you did not like it...this is not a forum dedicated to helping only you learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdguitars Posted June 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 whatever wes, lost count? seriously... I like the forum when its about building guitars not strokin some ego, or I know better than you BS... those posts were so out in left field. Thanks for cleanin it up. I know what you mean point taken. Anyway, I have a rikon 18 and I have bought the 142 blades from lennox but wanted to try a different blade so I got some awesome resaw blades from this company here in il. They are 1.3 thick so resawing is a breeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 whatever wes, lost count? seriously don't be offended...you are not the only one...but you do it alot...i mean ALOT. it is one of my peeves that whenever someone disagrees with an opinion given on a thread they cry "LOCK IT UP" even if there is still learning going on. i cleaned it up...it is still productive...it will stay open Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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