This is one of my favorite fixtures...it is a very cool device that allows me to route the overhang of tops and backs on the rim, then route in a perfect binding channel. There is a powerful laminate trimmer mounted on the vertical column, that rides up and down on a bearing guided slide mechanism. This trimmer holds the bits that flush-cut, and cut the channels. It rests on the top/back of the guitar using a nylon guide which only rides on the 1/2" outer edge of the body. The body is turned slowly on an adjustable platform until one complete pass is made for both the top and the back.
By indexing only the outer edge, the router remains perfectly vertical, maintaining a dead perfect route for the binding, despite the arching in the top and back. (A standard router hand-held, using a base on the top or back surface would pitch with the guitar's arch, and cause the binding channel to deviate in width and depth.)
It is also safer, as you are on the opposite side of the guitar body from the spinning bit! My binding has never been so perfectly laid into the channel, and due to a wide array of bearing guides, I no longer need to spend precious time scraping binding level....it goes in perfectly every time.
These photos show only the guitar back overhang being trimmed away with a flush-cutter bit.
It is a quilted mahogany body with maple and ebony center-strip.
Please visit my website for more on custom designed and built guitars!
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