Guitar build #2- marbled California Claro Walnut

[line6man]

Going direct-to-wood mount on the humbucker, Joseph?  I see the dogears on your pup rout don't go the usual extra depth.

No, there will be a ring.

Since I don't have a plunge router, I'm probably going to just do it the same way I did my last build, which was to drill down holes for the screws with my drill press. That works ok for me, there is really no reason for the plunge cuts unless you have humbuckers with very deep mounting flanges.

I'm working on the control cavity next. I'll put up pics and explain my method when that's done. :blob7:

 

[line6man]

Ok, so I did not take many pics of the creation of the template for the control cavity itself, but I have pics of the control cover and will take pics as I do the recess template and route. I figure that part might be interesting to some of you, since I am creating my own templates here, instead of using generic StewMac templates.

First off, I drilled a small hole through the body as a pilot for the pot. Then I created a template for the control cavity and centered it based on the pilot hole. The creation of this template will be explained later, when I do a similar one for the control cover recess route.

For the control cover, I started with an outline of the inside of the control cavity route on graph paper, and drew my control cover design around it. For the observant; yes, the control cavity shape (Smaller half-circles) is not perfectly rounded. I was lazy sanding the template for that, since it will never be seen.

Once the shape was drawn, I transferred it to MDF with carbon paper.

The MDF was then cut and sanded.

Then I selected a piece of scrap Maple, which I had previously resawn to rough thickness.

The template was attached with double stick tape.

Rough cut with a bandsaw.

The next step was to trim the wood with a table router. I have decided not to post pics of this, as it was admittedly a rather dangerous procedure, since the size of the workpiece forced me to get my fingers closer to the bit than most people are comfortable with. The table router simply cuts the wood, as a bearing follows the shape of the template. This was the end result after routing.

Now for final thicknessing. I used a little jig that I made from MDF and a nail gun, a while back. It works great for thicknessing small pieces of wood like this.

First pass.

Finished cover.

Next, of course, comes the mounting holes and countersinks. I'll snap a quick pic of that when I do it.
Then I need to do the recess template and routing for the control cover. I may do that later tonight.

 

[Cagey]

Holy jumpin' Jesus Christ on a camroller!

Are you nuts?​

Y'know, you could end your guitar playing career in a matter of milliseconds pulling stunts like that, and it would be easier than putting a bite of butterscotch fudge in your mouth. I mean, God damn! It's not like getting cut - your finger(s) would be ruined! No more feeling your wife or child's face, no more feeling anything. Tactile sense is gone. Just... damn. You're pissing me off. You've obviously worked with routers before - have you learned nothing?

At least, the next time you're tempted to do something like that, and I know you will be, use a flush cutter bit instead of a template/pattern follower. It puts the bearing on the end of the bit instead of the shank side and allows you to lay the piece cut side down instead of up when you're on a table like that. Still wicked dangerous business, but the chances of you getting hurt are probably a couple orders of magnitude lower.

 

[line6man]

Holy jumpin' Jesus Christ on a camroller!

Are you nuts?​

Y'know, you could end your guitar playing career in a matter of milliseconds pulling stunts like that, and it would be easier than putting a bite of butterscotch fudge in your mouth. I mean, God damn! It's not like getting cut - your finger(s) would be ruined! No more feeling your wife or child's face, no more feeling anything. Tactile sense is gone. Just... damn. You're pissing me off. You've obviously worked with routers before - have you learned nothing?

At least, the next time you're tempted to do something like that, and I know you will be, use a flush cutter bit instead of a template/pattern follower. It puts the bearing on the end of the bit instead of the shank side and allows you to lay the piece cut side down instead of up when you're on a table like that. Still wicked dangerous business, but the chances of you getting hurt are probably a couple orders of magnitude lower.

A bit with the bearing on the other side would have been the preference, but I don't have one in my bit collection. It's just as dangerous, however; it's not the cutting that's scary, it's the size of the workpiece. You have to get your fingers close in there no matter what you do. Now on the other hand, this wouldn't be a big deal at all if the control cavity cover were the usual size. With standard-sized control covers, you get to keep your fingers at a nice five or six inch distance.

In any case, any time you're working with routers, you pay attention and be careful. You have to be mindful of where your fingers are, and never let your eyes wander from what the bit is doing.

 

[line6man]

I ran out to the garage again and tried to do the template for the recess. Unfortunately, getting that done right is a PITA.

First attempt.
Tracing the cover template onto MDF.

Hogging out some material with a forstner bit.

Spindle sanding. (You can see why this is tough to do right, with the way the MDF peels off at the top, obstructing the view of the pencil line.)

Getting close, but still a tight fit.

Dammit! Way too much.

Second attempt. Screwed it up again.:sad:

That's enough for tonight. Perhaps the third time is the charm; I'll give it another go tomorrow.

It only takes a minute or two to route MDF, so I decided to test route a piece, to make sure that my cover fits the control cavity as planned. Though the recess template is imperfect right now, the sizing is proper.

 

[Cagey]

You're rationalizing. This was incredibly dangerous and you know it. So you didn't have a $20 tool. Are we to assume that your fingers are worth $20, so it's a worthwhile risk?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to play the Oracle. I am certainly not without sin and have gotten away with more than my share of murder. Still - a word to the wise, is all I'm sayin'.

 

[line6man]

You're rationalizing. This was incredibly dangerous and you know it. So you didn't have a $20 tool. Are we to assume that your fingers are worth $20, so it's a worthwhile risk?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to play the Oracle. I am certainly not without sin and have gotten away with more than my share of murder. Still - a word to the wise, is all I'm sayin'.

Like I just said, it's not so much the bit that is cause for worry, as it is the size of the workpiece, which forces you to get your fingers in close to the bit. It's still dangerous with a bearing on the other side, you're only reducing the risk of getting hurt if your fingers touch the top. Nothing is going to keep you safe, should the workpiece/bit decide to pull you in from the side. That's true any time you use a table router, however. You should always keep your fingers away from the throat plate, and keep the guard down, when you can. In this case, I couldn't do that.

Come to think of it, I'm going to pull those pics. I'm only posting these so people can see what I did, I'm not trying to post a tutorial. :blob7:

 

[Johnny]

You're rationalizing. This was incredibly dangerous and you know it. So you didn't have a $20 tool. Are we to assume that your fingers are worth $20, so it's a worthwhile risk?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to play the Oracle. I am certainly not without sin and have gotten away with more than my share of murder. Still - a word to the wise, is all I'm sayin'.

I'm curious whether anyone has any opinions on the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b3CWkHHSYE

It seems like a relatively safe way of doing some routing.  Of course, it won't work in all situations, but I'm a cheap individual and like the low cost and the idea of not losing a digit while working on a guitar.  I don't own a router so I'm pretty ignorant of this stuff, but would appreciate any comments. TIA.

 

[line6man]

You're rationalizing. This was incredibly dangerous and you know it. So you didn't have a $20 tool. Are we to assume that your fingers are worth $20, so it's a worthwhile risk?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to play the Oracle. I am certainly not without sin and have gotten away with more than my share of murder. Still - a word to the wise, is all I'm sayin'.

I'm curious whether anyone has any opinions on the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b3CWkHHSYE

It seems like a relatively safe way of doing some routing.  Of course, it won't work in all situations, but I'm a cheap individual and like the low cost and the idea of not losing a digit while working on a guitar.  I don't own a router so I'm pretty ignorant of this stuff, but would appreciate any comments. TIA.

That's interesting. I'm concerned with the fact that a drill press does not turn very fast, and thus, could tend to tear out. My drill press goes up to 3000rpm, but my Porter Cable router spins at 27500rpm, IIRC.

I have a shitload of drillbits lying around, and a bench grinder, so I'm going to give this a try, however.

 

[Cagey]

I suspect this guy drew blood with a power tool once, passed out when he saw it and fell down and hit his head. Now he's terrified of the things, and is going well above and beyond the call of duty in the name of safety. He's probably also retired, and so thinks he can afford to spend the 3 years it'll take to build a guitar using these kinds of methodologies, even though he probably only has a few years left before he goes tits-up.

Routers are wicked dangerous; there's no question about it. But, they were invented for a reason: so you wouldn't have to do things this way. Properly handled, a router is a wonderful thing. They're a HUGE time-saver. Kinda like using a hammer or screwdriver (potential murder weapons) instead of a stick (not so much) to move or bang fasteners and other things to where you want them.