Official Luthiers Forum!

Has anyone used colored purfling? I'd love to see some examples...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Steve--

See this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=46253&hilit=herringbone

I have used a thin .020" red in my purfling design:

Glenn

Larson purfling...









Stella...

Dang, that's nice stuff. Anyone have a link that shows how to make these?

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

https://www.brentrup.com/page3/page3.html

I later bought a Proxxon mini table saw and the cut strips were much better. You can see the difference in the third photo. I had the "ladder strips" custom made by Gurian. Stella purfling was bought from LMI.

Here is my take on the gold glitter that Gibson used in the thirties. The binding and rosette boundaries are Mother-Of-Toilet-Seat

Some incredible instruments in this thread! Thanks

This is a parlour. I just sprayed it's big brother yesterday that used the other half of the neck blank. I'll be doing some other colours in the future!

Danny, I love that! Could we see more of it?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Hi Haans , I/m still using my ryobi 9 in BS with the 3/8in 6 tpi blade to cut binding and purfling strips. I looked at the Proxxon but was not sure if it was worth the extra $$ to use it as a dedicated binding and purfling strip cutter . I also have a large 36 in drumsander and 2 drill press thickness sanders. My question, is it worth purchasing in your opinion . ???/ thank you

Haans should answer for Haans, but I'll share my opinion. I have a regular sized, cast iron top table saw (a Rigid hybrid saw). For a short while, I also owned a Proxxon mini table saw. After experiments, I felt I was getting significantly smoother cuts from the regular sized table saw, assuming I used a very thin kerf blade and a zero clearance insert. I felt that the Proxxon did not have as much oomph and bogged down a bit on the thicker pieces. Plus, I could adjust the full sized saw with more precision. So, I sold the Proxxon. I guess my point is that the Proxxon would do fine, but if you already own a full sized table saw, I think you can tweak it to do comparable work and not buy the Proxxon. It might even do a better job than the Proxxon (which is what I experienced).

The blade I like best for this sort of cutting is the Freud 7 1/4" Diablo with the 1/16" kerf. I can get a lot of guitar wood cut with that blade. I also keep a Diablo 10" blade (1/8" kerf) on hand for the more demanding cuts.

Ernie, depends on how much purfling, ablam, binding, etc. you do. I used a 1/4 x 14tpi blade on my bandsaw and photo 3 shows what I got out of it. I also found the Proxxon on ebay, and got it for a lot less than new. Then too, you have to buy the zero clearance inserts and the super fine saw blade, and modify the fence and miter as shown.
As I made a lot of those purflings, I found it worthwhile. As Don says, it has no power, but you don't need any for this...



For me, it was pretty much a single use tool. It's all about what works for you...

I use my tablesaw with the fret slotting blade and a zero clearance insert...

I now have a StewMac fret slot blade, and some extra zero clearance inserts, so I plan to get it set up for both fretboard slotting and cutting the thinnest veneers. For anything thicker than a few layers of veneer, I will stick with the smaller Freud Diablo. There’s not all that much cutting depth with the fret slot blade.

Hi , Thanks don and haans for the detailed photos and information, and the others it is much appreciated and yes I do like to make my own original purflings and bindings. I feel that they add an artistic touch , particularly when using some pretty bland woods like Maple. My current faves are making different sizes of rope binding and wheat /herringbone motifs.Currently I have a CL older rockwell 80/s 10 in basic saw , Used primarily for ripping, rough stock , it sucks and leaves a rough cut even with the thin kerf diablo blade and the insert is stamped metal , So a O clearance insert is hard to retrofit.. Plus the fence is a total PITA not suitable for purflings and bindings. My older 31 yr old Union 3 hp taiwanese saw was used a few times with a O insert . jewellers 4in LV fret blade and a long clamping small clamp fence , I didn/t appreciate long thin pieces of wood flying all over the shop when ripped. I also have a clone of the rikon 10 in a 10 in craftsman BS it does not have a O insert, the fence sucks, and the blade is way too coarse with a 3 tpi. blade I/ve had the best luck with my underpowered 22 yr old ryobi O insert,and plywood overlay and uber thin .014 kerf 3/8in 6 tpi blade , and a DIY plywood fence, even then , If I feed it too quickly the long cuts are fairly uneven, and require much additional sanding with 80 grit on the thickness sander and a scraping before being finally glued up into strips. I like your idea Haans , I have seen proxxons for sale cheap on e - vil bay , and sometimes you can find an older small cast iron TS that can be retrofitted too just be set up for doing binding and purfling work . I use a lot of different exotics for my bindings , so this might be the way to go . In vancouver 40 yrs ago I had a small cast iron 8 in beaver TS from the 50/s it had a small usa rockwell probably a homehandyman type of table saw ???? Thank you everyone!

Freud makes a 7 1/4 inch diablo blade with 60 teeth now. Binding and purflings might be a good excuse to buy one (too many teeth for cutting thick stuff).
It's not that hard to make a simple arbor saw if you forgo the tilting option and hinge one end of the bed to set the blade height. That is how I made a fret slotting saw using an old saw motor and scraps of wood and corian. I cut the slot with the same blade as I use for fret slots so it is essentially a "zero clearance insert". For ripping I clamp a straight edge to the top. Crude, but cheap and it works.

There you go Steve. Doing your own layups gives you the ability to tie everything together in a unique way. Here's a black/rosewood/black heavy layup with a very lovely set of Oregon Myrtle.