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A Few Routing Questions


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A have a few questions about routing bindings and purflings.

If a guitar already has binding does it need to be removed or is it ok to rout purflings with the binding still attached.

Does a Dremel tool have enough juice for this sort of thing.

What Size routing bits do I need for routing bindings purflings and inlay.

Do I need to attach a wedge to correct the router angle problem or is that only and issue with bodies.

At he moment I only have a Dremel but I am going to buy a router base and some bits

Is their anything else I need that I might not know about besides glue and binding and purfling material.

Thanks

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If a guitar already has binding does it need to be removed or is it ok to rout purflings with the binding still attached.

You probably won't be in danger so long as you're leaving a strip of wood between the purfling & the binding. Should you tough the binding with the bit, there COULD be trouble.

Does a Dremel tool have enough juice for this sort of thing.

Too many variables: which Dremel model, what type of wood, width of channel, quality of bit...

What Size routing bits do I need for routing bindings purflings and inlay.

Are you wanting to do it in one pass or multiple?

Do I need to attach a wedge to correct the router angle problem or is that only and issue with bodies.

IIRC, Stew-Mac (and others) have a product to address this issue.

Is their anything else I need that I might not know about besides glue and binding and purfling material.

Does the guitar currently have a finish on it? If so, you should refinish the area. Get "Understanding Wood Finishing" by Bob Flexner and read it 46 times.

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If a guitar already has binding does it need to be removed or is it ok to rout purflings with the binding still attached.

You probably won't be in danger so long as you're leaving a strip of wood between the purfling & the binding. Should you tough the binding with the bit, there COULD be trouble.

Ok Thanks

Does a Dremel tool have enough juice for this sort of thing.

Too many variables: which Dremel model, what type of wood, width of channel, quality of bit...

400i Digital , Maple and Rosewood , 5 mm including Purfling , Carbide

What Size routing bits do I need for routing bindings purflings and inlay.

Are you wanting to do it in one pass or multiple?

About 3 Passes.

Do I need to attach a wedge to correct the router angle problem or is that only and issue with bodies.

IIRC, Stew-Mac (and others) have a product to address this issue.

Sorry that didn't really answer my question.

Is their anything else I need that I might not know about besides glue and binding and purfling material.

Does the guitar currently have a finish on it? If so, you should refinish the area. Get "Understanding Wood Finishing" by Bob Flexner and read it 46 times.

How do this compare to Finishing Step By Step

Edited by aggravated_alien
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I've never read it, so I can't say. But... I don't believe Stew-Mac would put out a book on guitar finishing that would have bad info in it. FWIW: Flexner's book is about the same price, but covers a LOT more info and territory than just finishing guitars. If you ever plan on doing any woodworking besides on guitars, get Flexner. Otherwise, I'm sure you'd be fine with Stew-Mac.

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I've never read it, so I can't say. But... I don't believe Stew-Mac would put out a book on guitar finishing that would have bad info in it. FWIW: Flexner's book is about the same price, but covers a LOT more info and territory than just finishing guitars. If you ever plan on doing any woodworking besides on guitars, get Flexner. Otherwise, I'm sure you'd be fine with Stew-Mac.

Thanks for that.

What about the routing questions.

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Didn't see your responses - mixed in with mine.

The 400 series is the most powerful they have, so if it won't do the trick through maple & rosewood, you're SOL. The carbide bits should do fine.

When routing with a dremel, you HAVE to remember that it's basically a craft tool. The motor isn't designed to handle huge amounts of stress. If you do the routes too deep or try to force it to go through the wood faster than it wants to, you'll dork up the whole thing and risk burning out the tool. That being said, it's not only feasible to do inlay with a dremel, but it's done regularly and with great success. This is one of those crafts that it's really good at. You just have to be very aware of the limitations and capabilities of the tool.

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A have a few questions about routing bindings and purflings.

If a guitar already has binding does it need to be removed or is it ok to rout purflings with the binding still attached.

Does a Dremel tool have enough juice for this sort of thing.

What Size routing bits do I need for routing bindings purflings and inlay.

Do I need to attach a wedge to correct the router angle problem or is that only and issue with bodies.

At he moment I only have a Dremel but I am going to buy a router base and some bits

Is their anything else I need that I might not know about besides glue and binding and purfling material.

Thanks

Where are you installing the purfling and what material is it? If you're using shell or a wide material then I would start the purfling and binding from scratch to get a better end product with less messing around.

If there is a smallish gap between the binding and the purfling-to-be is small, there is the risk of easy chipout using a Dremel tool as there is some small grain created in there, and small mistakes can leave a big problem.

Personally, I would reconsider the tool choice instead use a manual purfling cutter. You can take all the time in the world to get it right the first time, and without rebinding.

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