Official Luthiers Forum!

I have limited tools in my shop. Band saw, drill press, thickness sander and belt sander with disc.

I need something to be able to cut down pre-slotted, pre-tapered fingerboards that a purchase from various people.

I need to trip the taper down so I can add a veneer and then binding on the fingerboard. Obviously my cuts need to be very precise so I maintain the proper fingerboard width.

I would also like to be able to use a jig (to be purchased or built) with this tool for pre-shaping my brace radius.

What do I need? I have a router, lam trimmer and dremel with precision base.

Is there something that wold work with my router that allows very precise adjustment of the fence without requiring a 2nd mortgage on the home?

Thanks

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P A U L B U R N E R
Burner Guitars

Hi Paul,

here's my answer (I'm a very inexperienced builder).

I also wanted to have a bound fingerboard on my current built. What I did was to mark the fingerboard with a sharp knife. I then put my router in a vise upside down and used the router base as my router table (without a fence). I cut as close as I dared to the marking and then smoothed out all the tiny irregularities on a large sanding board. Worked really well, but I was quite anxious while doing this. I triple checked the vise and the router because I was afraid the vibrations might loosen the grip, but no problems.

With regards to the radius in the braces - you could also use a template sander like this
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=59448&cat=1,42500
in your drill press. Much cheaper than a router table.

I have often been thinking about a router table lately as well. It sure would be nice to have one, but it's not on my priority list right now.

Those are my workarounds and they may be bad ideas for reasons I have not considered - as I mentioned, I'm pretty new at this guitar building...

best, Christian

A router table surely could be used for what you are doing.
A pattern making bit with a bearing guide could easily make a clean square cut.
just make a template out of stable material .
Scribe a center line on it and the f.b.
Then use a full f.b. length of doubleside tape(Stew Mac)
or use registering pins in the fingerboard(glue side) to hold the template & F.B. together.
Your template should be the width you looking for so you can run that f.b. with template against the bearing of the bit on a router table to cut a perfect size cleanly for you.
Plus I use my table for trussrod slots,and arching all braces that need to be arched.
And anything else you need that has to precise and repeatable.

Mike

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Mike Collins

Todd, I actually don't own a block plane - I know, hard to believe. People will say, "How can you build a guitar without a block plane". I plead the fifth!

I wouldn't even know a good block plane if I saw one. What do I need (not to hijack my own thread- LOL)

Thanks

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P A U L B U R N E R
Burner Guitars

I've done the fingerboard thing with a coping saw and a good deal of sanding; it's not too hard to sand it right to the line. This was before I owned any planes, though. I'd probably try out my new block plane if doing it again.

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Evan McCartney

Go to Fine Woodworking's internet site and look up inexpensive router table. It's a piece of plywood and a 1x4. This will do just fine to trim down a fretboard for binding.

Steve

I'm with Todd. It seems like setting up a router table to do this is way overcomplicating a very simple task. If you use the money on a block plane instead of a router table, you'll have a block plane as well.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Paul, I use a small inexpensive, in my case free, my brother in law gave me all his tools when he was dying of cancer.

I have used the tailend off the thirty dollar router table. I built a smallish table out of plywood and castoff post spindles, it's heavy with three quarter inch top. Screwed the router table to the top, making it about 6 inches taller than my belly button, great height.

Here is what I do with mine: 1. Pattern following router bit does great for mold building. 2. Pattern bit again for cutting my main braces, tapered 28'R and Scalloped on the other side 3. I cut the dovetail in my rims once the blocks are glued up on it, using a jig. 4. I cut the dovetail on my necks using a jig. 5. Plus I love round over bits for rolling the edge on about anything from a hand rail to toy swords for my boys. It is so handy it's one of the most used stations in my shop. Also on top of this table is a table top belt sander by Delta. Slap the Mini Clearvue Cyclone on that and it's terrific too.

As for trimming fingerboards, I use my table saw with a super sharp blade. I think I copied Kathy Matsushita on that. A sliding jig that has a couple plastic Knob tensioners hold the board in place and slice precisely either side. I'm certain you could take a slotted board and slice off enough to bind cleanly. Good luck. If it wasn't Kathy, then it was Charlie Hoffman's site.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

A router table is nice, and nobody can really live without a block plane, i like to trim fingerboards to size with a jointer (the kind you plug in) after the correct taper is cut.

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

OK so I've got about 7 planes; everything else worked but I'm still waiting for the ripped abs.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Paul...Todd is right, as usual!

The plane is an essential...IMO, go that route before even thinking of a router table.

BTW...how are you jointing your plates before gluing? Get a #5 plane for this application as well and build a shooting board that you can use for both applications and a few more.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I bought the 4 inch circular base accessory for the Bosch colt...it costs around $8.00, cut a "rosette channel" for it and epoxied it into a 2ft square piece of ply. There is a hole right through to accommodate the trimmer bodybut smaller than the round base. This gets clamped to my workmate, the trimmer hanging underneath and works fine. When its done 4 screws and it disappears as i have no space. having said that i only used it for trimmng fb @ soundhole and peg head.
I block plane.as often as i can just cuase most of my catastrophic errors occurr when something is making noise

Here's a great block plane to have:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... 1182,48942

If you get the ball and knob for this (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... 1182,48942) it will function effectively as a smoothing plane as well. Or, you can get a Stanley #60 1/2 or #5 off Ebay.

Don't bother getting a plane unless you are prepared to learn to sharpen it properly--at a minimum will require sandpaper or a couple of sanding stones. Also consider the fact that you will develop a new problem known as PAS--Plane Acquisition Syndrome. Just as contagious as GAS or TAS. I have already been through the 12-step program for this and was able to stop with my collection of 20 planes or so.

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Without music life would be a mistake.

~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Besides finger planes I don't own any other planes....
Router table and table saw works works for me.

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

I do other woodworking besides guitars and i can think of many reasons i could use one. I don't have one yet but I'm planning on building one after i finish a few projects i have around the house. If you search the web there are some good free plans out there.

A router table is a great tool. They don't have to cost a lot of money, and in fact, can be made from the scrap wood that most of us probably have.

IMO a router table is a handy tool to have. But, for lutherie work, I haven't found anything it will do that a table saw won't do better, and it sounds like you don't have one. The guys are right, a block plane should be #1 in your arsenal and will make quick work of this. Myself, I do all my FB tapering on a table saw. Quick, accurate, and extremely easy. I have a dedicated sled that works for my most common FB taper, so there's no setup whatsoever. Just drop the FB in and go to town. I recently had an issue that I had to rip the bindings of a FB (twice!) and the sled paid for itself right there - ripped 'em off slick as could be in one pass - well, one for each side.

So, if I were you I'd identify my budget. Go for the block plane, regardless, and get a good one. After that, the next purchase I would invest in is a table saw.

Of course, as it was pointed out, a router table doesn't have to be expensive at all. Couple of pieces of 3/4" ply and a solid hardwood fence that can be clamped down and your good-to-go on your router table needs.

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

Well, you can't do this on a table saw.



This is my 'router table' used to profile braces to a spline curve. as Wes says, you can build your own and make it as basic or as sophisticated as you like. I can't imagine being without a block plane though.

Paul,

I use my little mini router table as much as any other tool in the shop. I couldn't be without it at this point. Size(my shop is an old bedroom!) dictated me to get the Rockler benchtop one. After setting it up I could have made one a little cheaper, but not if you count time involved. Here is a photo:



Regarding the subthread, I have a bunch of inherited planes but I haven't taken the time to learn how to set them up and maintain them correctly, much less all of the ins and outs of what to cut, where to cut etc... with them. There isn't anywhere in my building where I miss having them but that is most likely because I don't know what I am missing!

Regarding them router table, though, you will not be sorry about getting one.

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

Like Todd said, it'll change your life. It's the fastest, easiest way to go from rough to flat & smooth (within limits of course). I too have a router table, jointer and sander etc, but for many, many operations, it's done in 30sec with a block plane.

I got turned on to hand tools in kind of a weird way: I bought a door for my house at a time we didn't have two nickels to rub together but the door needed to be trimmed down by about a 1/16th to an 1/8th. It wouldn't fit on my table saw and a power hand plane was like $60 (way too expensive at the time) or $20 for the crapsman hand plane (#4). I bought it and with difficulty, used it to trim the door. After using it, I investigated how to sharpen it and managed to get it pretty sharp.

I was building furniture only at the time mostly using stuff I bought from the borg. You know, the stuff that comes pre thicknessed with lots of planer marks on it. I used to spend many an hour sanding out those sanding marks with a crappy non-random orbital sander. One day I grabbed the hand plane and took a few strokes - within seconds, the board I was sanding was perfectly smooth. Something that would have taken at least 5 to 10 minutes with the sander. My life had changed. I now keep a block plane with a couple extra irons (high angle, standard) within very easy reach. I too like the L-N ones.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

I started building without a single plane. Then I started to slowly collect a few and
learned how to use them And Sharpen them and now I wouldn't be without my planes.
Especially my block.It's the way to go for your fb. Paul.
I also have a small router table that is very handy.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Seriously...I'm still wondering how folks joint their plates without shooting with a plane. I have a very precise Delta Jointer and I still can't get acceptable edges unless I shoot with a plane...they just don't pass the light table test unless they're planed.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

That sounds a little rocky to me, freehanding your FB into a router bit. You're not getting the benefit of the precision that a router can provide. Also, I like to have the whole workpiece supported, and a router base just isn't big enough. Potential for disaster, if not injury. I'm glad you got away with it, but I'd recommend one of the other approaches next time- any of them! Things happen fast with routers, as you know! Planes are calming, and fun to use. If you're anxious- that's worth listening to!

Sure you can. Faster and easier. Just buy or build one of these:

http://www.luthiersuppliers.com/products/p6.html

Rod shows one he built here:

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=19760&hilit=braces+table+saw

I stand by my above comment. Router tables are great tools, but I rarely use one for guitar work. Braces? Block plane. (I've yet to build the radius jig for the table saw.) Truss rod slot? Table saw. I seriously can't see any other use for a router table for myself. If it works for you stick with it, but the table saw is still king in my shop.

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

OK I know I'm being picky, but neither of those jigs will produce a true radius. They produce a spline curve.
On a 5' radius over a 20" span, the difference between a spline curve and a radius is about 0.1" at its worst point.