Official Luthiers Forum!

Wondering which y'all use and/or prefer.
I need to get one or the other, but frankly the price of the StewMac set is much better.
Never thought I'd ever say that....

Thanks,

Don

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

A few years ago I remember the critical difference being the distance between the bearing and channel. The Stew Mac cutter didn't have as much distance there, so the bearing could slip into the binding channel if you cut it before the purfling channel. Evidently they redesigned it so that it's no longer an issue.

Looking at them both online, there doesn't look like much difference between the bearings you get with the basic sets. Stew Mac gives you .040-.200" in .020" increments; LMI gives you .060-.220" in .020" increments.

I have the LMI. Back channels are always clean, but the soundboard channels always have a little fuzz. I think that's just the reality of softwood, but I'd love to heard some tips if I'm wrong.

Clean and hone the cutter

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

and score it with a gramil for super clean cuts.

_________________
Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

The new SM router bit for binding is 6 degree downcut (unlike the old one which was just a straight bit). LMI one is not much different at 5 degrees downcut.
I have both the SM's but still have to use the new one. Probably I'll use the straight for bindings and the downcut for the purfling ledge.
Even the straight one was not too bad on the softwoods, as long as I kept it clean and honed.

_________________
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.

Yup, the new Stew Mac bit is downcut so apples to apples there.

I have the new StewMac full set and am happy with it. I'm pretty frugal too so that's why I bought the SM set.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Yes, I didn't see much difference between the two myself. Certainly, they have all the same combination of sizes, but one goes a bit more shallow and the other a bit deeper with the cuts.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Not a highjack so much as a sidetrack question, but I'm wondering if the flush bearing (which wasn't avaiable with the old version of the SM kit that I have) is any different than using a standard flush cut router bit? Any of you guys use it to trim the bindings once glued (which is why I use the flush cut router but).

Thanks.

_________________
Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

I was thinking about the end result. Does the binding router bit with the flush bearing gives a better result than a standard 1/2'' flush cutting router bit?

_________________
Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

I ended up getting the set sold by Woodline.com

http://www.woodline.com/p-2615-19-pc-lu ... g-set.aspx

The price seems good and the bearings also fit the LMI bit.
The only thing it doesn't have is the little spacer that the StewMac set has. That can be easily made I think.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

My Stew Mac set goes to .210. With the .140 herringbone that I have, it allows .070 binding.

Chuck

_________________
_________________

I have the complete Stew Mac set. The bit is very high quality and cuts clean. I make sure to give it a quick sharpen before each build. Overall I enjoy the set but I am disappointed that it won't cut any deeper than .210. Using thin marquetry purfling with .010 b/w on either side is not an option. I really need .230.




Don, how deep of a cut can you make with this set?

I'm using Luthiertool's binding jig. Takes some skill to use but the spiral downcut bit it came with cuts spruce with absolutely no fuzz!

_________________
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