Official Luthiers Forum!

I might want to get a binding jig but not sure which one is good or the most cost effective. There's Stewmac Tru Channel and LMI's, as well as a bunch of others.

Which one is good? Bad? Overpriced?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I really hate to be bound by a specific combination of bearings, and I'd like to use adjustable stops of some kind, but how can I make the tru-channel type binding jig work? The way it's constructed makes it impossible for me to use the stop that comes with my laminate trimmer (it overhangs the base to provide the guiding function).

I also like to not be limited to using expensive Stewmac router bits because I can find cheaper router bits here.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

For inspiration, here's a Williams type jig that can be used without bearing rebate cutters and can be made yourself.
http://precisionworkshop.com/bindingjig

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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.

Is there any sort of plans or explanation on how it works? The links to that in your link is broken.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Google at your service -
http://www.defaoiteguitars.com/page33.htm

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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.

The rest of it is just the in-out (drawer slides), round and round (another lazy susan) and the up/down ( parallelogram).
Plans are available on ebay for $25 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Binding-Fixture-Jig-Drawings-by-Luthiers-CoolTools-/221235125905?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item3382a41e91

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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.

Check out Chris Paulick's post in the tutorial section.

"Routing Binding Channel Using A Binding Machine"

Sounds like what you are looking for.

thanks, I think I'm going to go with the Stewmac TruChannel machine.... it seems more simple and robust and weights less (therefore less shipping).

I'm not so sure about building the binding machine, especially with parts that are difficult to find in Taiwan.... that may not work too well.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

My Williams jig was awesome, but the footprint was a little big for our single car garage/gym/shop. When Robbie O'Brien posted a video on LMI's new "Professional Binding Machine," the solution was obvious. I'd attach the video, but I'm using my phone. Look it up.

Though if I didn't already have the LMI bearing and cutter set, I'd probably get the Luthier Tool handheld.

Luthier Tools has a Tru-Channel type version of their self-aligning infinitely adjustable binding cutter.
I have the handheld version and I love it, haven't tipped it yet. It's easy to control and not bery expensive compared to other versions and other manufacturers.

http://www.luthiertool.com/self_alingin ... utter.html

http://www.luthiertool.com/hand_held_bi ... utter.html

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I thought if worst comes to worst I will just make a little stop that mounts onto the board the Tru-Channel jig sits on. Then I can move that to adjust for depth...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Well I just placed an order for the Luthier Tool handheld jig... I figure I could really do with it taking less room (and therefore costing less to ship too). I went for the adjustable version (rather than standard) so I could do narrower bodies like archtops/electric guitars/ukes but sort of regretted it (because I can always put spacer in front of the unit to make a long continuous side register) but since he's throwing in a 1/4" downcut bit in it for free, I figure it's a lot less than the Stewmac jig when factoring in the router bit/bearings I would need to buy...

Also the downside with LMI is that it doesn't come with cradle or cradle hardware, and if you buy LMI's cradle it will make it cost way more (total cost of ownership, with bit, bearing, jig, cradle comes to around 500 dollars, before shipping). Stewmac jig costs a little less (maybe about 20 dollars less) including shipping if I don't buy it with the bit/bearing set, and about 40 dollars more including shipping if I do buy it with the bit/bearing set... plus I've heard the Stewmac jig has side play issue....

Will see if this jig is what I'm looking for... I heard it's very well made.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I love mine, that's for sure!
The downcut bit from Chris is super high quality.
Before I got mine I was using a cheap crappy wooden version that looked like it was made in someone's garage and getting good results.
The Luthier Tools version was a MAJOR step up.
The first guitar I bound with it was a cutaway OM, no problems whatsoever.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Still, 300 dollar's a lot in this crappy economy... but I got a student now and I can't really show him how to cut a substandard binding channel. I did find someone selling another one searching through past OLF posts, that was much cheaper but works exactly the same as the Luthier Tool jig. Problem is that one looks like a wooden contraption banged together in some garage, and it doesn't have a knob for moving the piece back and forth, just loosen some screw and hope you got the right setting.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com