Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi folks...I've fairly new to posting on this forum but I've been reading some amount over the past year. I've got a few commissions to build some Tele and Strat type guitars and wanted to put my CNC to use for Lutherie as opposed to Cabinet Making. My router is a Hohlzer Cosmec 250. It's a big machine 11,000 lbs of steel...4 x 8 table with 2 work zones. Massive Vaccumn hold down pump. It has a very heavy duty spindle , turning at 18,000 rpm. ISO 30 tools and an 8 tool carousel. I use it daily to cut out cabinet and furniture components. So now..after 7 years..it's time to build some guitars.

I've built a dozen or so electrics and half a dozen acoustics over the last 10 years....so I'm fairly well jigged up with a pile of Stew-mac and LMI tools and gadgets.

Basically..I'm looking for a Ballnose bit for cutting the neck profiles, body relief's etc and some sort of outline cutter...to shape and profile the bodies. Also... cutters to do the Tremolo, Control cavities and pickup positions.

I've been reading a lot of posts looking for specific tools / parts and was hoping a few of you could give me the condensed version! lol.

For example...in cabinet making..the conventional wisdom is you use a chip breaker and do a roughing pass on solid wood and then come around with a different bit for a finishing pass. I don't see that being done in the Taylor or PRS video's. It seems to be one bit / one pass to create the body outline. So...any help to help me get my tool order started would be appreciated.

I have accounts with tooling suppliers who stock Vortex, Onsrud / Gladu, FS Tool and Dimar. So any of those would be my first choices.

Thanks in advance folks...

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Jeff Scott

1" solid carbide ball, 6" total length, 4" cutting, 2-flutes for your carving. 3/4" if your tool holders are small. Use square end carbide end mills designed for aluminum for everything else, or buy bits from the router bit suppliers. They're just standard 2-flute solid carbide cutters with the sharpest edge you can find. The aluminum bits from Ridiculous Carbide work very well and are priced to sell.

You don't need to get fancy with tools, nearly all issues people have are with the toolpaths rather than the tools used.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

That's great advice Bob. I did some cutting of Aluminium honeycomb panelling for a boat builder last year. I used FS Tools Aluminium bits. I'll start there.

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Jeff Scott

Bob...are the end mills you use Upcut or Downcut?

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Jeff Scott

Up cut.

99% of my work was done with eight tools:
1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 flat 2F
1/4, 1/2, 1" ball 2F
3" face mill

I always kept two of each, four of the 1/8 and 1/16, as my tooling guy could get anything I needed next day.

90% of the work was done with the 1/2" flat and ball, the 1/8" flat, and the 1" ball.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I'll add that downcuts are safer if you're routing highly figured tops.