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Danger Will Robinson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.140” added purfling +.09 binding =.23”
.09” side thickness + .21” lining thickness =.30 total thickness of rim and lining. Unless the .14 purfling is .06 or less tall and you use a stepped channel you have a major problem. You do not want to rout into your linings if possible and if required no more than .03"-.06" max. More than that and you dagerously reduce the glue joint area of the top and back .

it sounds like good advice from a lot of folks.
i use the binding jig that mark kett used to sell through guitarjigs and like the williams jig is a life saver.
if i were you i'd try to hold off just a little before removing the top. get your self set up with the right equipment, fill the channel up with epoxy and test the equipment. once you feel like you're on the right track, then remove the top to use on a new guitar.
if, by some stroke of luck, the epoxy or some other solution fills the gaps enough, you can always go for a very dark sunburst on the back. check out some of hesh's work to see how great this can look.
good luck,

phil

By the way, just how did you cut the channels in the first place? Freehand?

Mike

I originally cut them with a jig like Arnt's and the others that are similar...with bearings guiding against the side and a small contact area on the top/back surface.

Darrin

Michael:

I meant the total depth of the purfling plus the binding would be .140. Am I misunderstanding this? I thought I would fill in the worst spots and then route a purfling channel to make up for the extra cut area. Since my bad spot went in .130, if i just go ahead and cut a purfling channel all the way around, I should cover my extra with .010 to spare, shouldn't I? I do intend to do a stepped channel.

This is my first and I know it isn't your first rodeo, so if I'm missing something, or if I'm confused as to your explanation, or my initial description wasn't clear....whack me in the head and tell me to pay attention.

Darrin

So... this is a freehand technique? You really should build or buy a williams jig. It's idiot proof (which means I can do it).

You put a lot of time & energy into building the body. Don't let the absence of a proven jig keep you from achieving your goal.

Go ahead and stand on the shoulders of giants. The results are worth it.

Mike

I used a setup like your Darrin too.
Because of the small contact area on the top you need to take a lot of care to ensure that both the rollers are in contact with the side and that the lower one contacts first (after startup)
Did one job satifactoraly but I found it nerve wracking to use and converted it to a pillar mounted arangement with drawer slides and counterweight and only the top bearing.

I bought, a while back, one of the binding channel cutting jigs from Stewmac...the one with the aluminum post and the lamitate trimmer mount, along with the carriage the guitar body rides in. I'm sure it's not as good as the Williams jig, but I have used it to cut channels in more than 20 guitars now, and I don't have any major complaints with it. It beats the heck out of the screw-on-the-dremel outfit, which left an unreliable, uneven channel unless held perfectly, every time, all the time. It could be made a little more beefy, but it works.

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Brad Tucker