Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello all im thinking of getting a laminate trimmer for cutting binding channels and rosettes, the one im looking at is the bosch gkf 600 im in the uk and i think its called the colt in the states, i used a dremel with a jig i made that registered off the sides for the binding on my first guitar but found it a bit under powered so was wondering if i could make the same sort of jig for the bosch (the problem im thinking of is fixing the bosch to the jig) allso does anyone know if there is a circle cutting jig available for the bosch, any opinions would be appreciated thank all Rob

For the circle cutter, make one of these Wells/Karol precision circle cutter jig for a laminate trimmer for yourself:
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10117&t=18858

I went with the Makita - I think it is the 3704. It works fine in the Stewmac binding jig.

John

PS

Personally I would stick with the dremel for the rosette and sound hole - I found it to be a delicate task and the heavy laminate trimmer may not be harder to control.

J

My PC 310 in a Wells jig produces MUCH cleaner and precise results for rosettes than my Dremel ever did.

+1 on what James said

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I've got quite a few... the Colt, Makitka, PC, Ryobi.... they all work well. My favorite is the Makita (3707FC), but the PC is close. The ryobi is a distant last.... The colt is a nice unit too, but I've heard some stories of inconsistencies.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

+2 on what james said.
never used a colt,
but that 310 is a good tool.
i really like the shape of the base, and the height adjustment.
very accurate.
all my pc tools have been workhorseys,

I use a dremel with base and circle cutter from http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/Tools/Dremel-Tools-and-Accessories/View-all-products.html for rosettes and a Bosch 600 (colt) for bindings - built my own binding jig.
Dremel and base seems to work fine for the rosettes as long as you don't expect to take big bites.
Bosch has the power for binding ledges, no problems there. But I couldn't find a decent fully adjustable circle cutter in UK.
Nice not to have to change routers from one jig to another, but if you're using just one, make your own circle cutter as suggested, and binding jig is even easier to make.
I'm sure any of the laminate trimmers mentioned would make a fine tool with the wells-karol jig for rosettes, maybe I've just been lucky with the dremel, but works fine so far. When it expires I'll maybe go for the Proxxon, still small and light to handle, but better built.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

John mentioned inconsistencies with the Bosch Colt & I have found one very annoying trait with this otherwise excellent tool.
It is fine used on my binding jig, or whenever you are working with a bearing bit. When using it with the base against a fence I have found a problem. Every time I re-set the depth, the bit changed it's position, relative to the base. Really frustrating when making several passes to achieve a desired depth of cut.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has had the same problem.
Personally, I find Dremel tools disappointing for precision work. They are OK when gliding along with the grain, but as soon as you change direction & start fighting the grain, the light bearings & shaft allow for too much runout.
I built my rosette router jig before the Wells jig made the scene. It was designed around an ancient Makita 1/4" router. I don't find the size & weight a detriment at all. Actually, I think the extra mass helps.

I use the ridgid on my welles jig & the hand held binding jig whose name escapes me now even though I had to drill my own mounting holes. The guy from precise bits said it had the least run out of anything out there. I have yet to try it on my .025 bit from him.
MM

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Mike McNerney

I have bought the GKF 600 from Axminster and I am about to start binding my 2nd guitar.
I'm trying to adapt one of the bases for the task. I will post some pictures and let you know of the results .