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| Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=38380 |
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| Author: | Pat Hawley [ Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:16 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
Can someone give me a ball park estimate of how many guitars can be done with, say, the LMI binding channel cutter before it gets dull and needs to be sharpened or replaced? I have said cutter and have used it on about fifteen guitars of various woods, the hardest being a couple of macassar ebonies. Still seems to cut fine but I'd rather not discover it was dull with some tear-out on a guitar in progress. So how often do you sharpen or replace your cutter bit and are there any warning signs that its getting dull? Thanks, Pat |
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| Author: | meddlingfool [ Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
I'd say about 25-30 for me, depending on wood type. Signs of dullness, to me, are fuzzy curly channels, and smoke (a dead giveaway...) |
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| Author: | Trevor Gore [ Wed Nov 28, 2012 5:05 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
I use the LMI cutter and always have a new spare on standby. I could probably get ~20 guitars out of a cutter, but prefer to do 3-5 then touch up the cutter by lapping the broad face on a diamond stone. About 5 minutes brightens the edges up. If you wait until you really need to do it, the honing takes forever and just doesn't get done. Edit: Probably have ~50 guitars on the current cutter. |
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| Author: | Robbie_McD [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 8:19 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
Great tip Trevor! I have about 15 on mine - still cuts well, but will hone it as described before the next one...and will order a spare..... |
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| Author: | grumpy [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:19 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
No need to guess at it; just wipe it clean, and take a good look(use a magnifying glass if necessary). A dull bit is easily recognized. A few minutes' work with a Dia-Sharp diamond stone(StewMac sells some as fret levelers...) can bring it back to like-new, or better. Best to not let them go dull before this treatment, in fact.... |
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| Author: | Fred Tellier [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:36 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
Great advice on cutter care, I have 2 one is only used for cutting the top purfling, and the other for all the hardwood cuts on sides and back. I also regularly clean the carbide tips but have not yet honed them, but will before my next binding cuts. I have about 15 guitars on the oldest cutter and probably 6 or 7 on the top only cutter. Fred |
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| Author: | grumpy [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:57 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
BTW, I must get 30-50 instruments from a StewMac cutter before it begins to make me nervous.... Then I mark it as "dull" with a Sharpie, and I can still use it for general woodworking. If I have a guitar top that I believe will be chip or tearout prone(after a while, we get to where we can almost always tell when we have a trouble maker), I'll do the top with a fresh downcut spiral bit and a "finger" depth guide on the router. The top have little radius and the sides not being tapered, routing it with a handheld router and finger guide works perfectly. I'll also use this setup when I have an odd combination of purflings for which I don't have a bearing... |
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| Author: | Tom West [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:09 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
Some of the glues we use do far more damage then most of the woods we cut. Tom |
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| Author: | meddlingfool [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:43 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
Won't you change the depth of cut if you hone it? Or are you taking off so little that it's negligible? |
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| Author: | nyazzip [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 12:38 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/care ... rbits.aspx |
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| Author: | Pat Hawley [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 3:16 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
Thanks for all the great responses. I checked out a couple of the diamond stones at Lee Valley and could see that it would be easy to spend over $100. on a couple of stones to lap the cutter. Then I went to Busy Bee Tools and noticed that they have some bits pretty cheap that I think would take the bearings from my LMI set. Here are a couple of examples: http://www.busybeetools.com/products/R%7B47%7DBIT-RABBETING-1IN.-X1%7B47%7D2IN.-X1%7B47%7D4IN.-SHANK.html http://www.busybeetools.com/products/RABBETING-KIT-1%7B47%7D4IN.-SHANK.html So I thought perhaps just replacing the cutter periodically would be simplest and if they lasted 20 guitars, that's a lot of guitars before reaching the payback from the stones from Lee Valley. But then I did more looking on the Busy Bee site and came across this set of three diamond sharpening stones for the lofty price of $3.99: http://www.busybeetools.com/products/DIAMOND-SHARPENING-STONE-3PCS-1IN.-X-3IN..html So I will probably do both, i.e. get a spare cutter or two and perhaps dedicate one to tops only and get the sharpening set. Again, thanks all for the tips. As always, very useful. Pat |
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| Author: | nyazzip [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 3:30 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
Quote: I checked out a couple of the diamond stones at Lee Valley and could see that it would be easy to spend over $100 on a couple of stones to lap the cutter. .....ha ha, yup, thats exactly the foolishness i've been talking about with that place... |
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| Author: | Alex Kleon [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 7:09 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Binding Channel Cutter Sharpness Life |
I've used those same cheapo diamond stones for touching up router bits with no compaints. Alex |
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