Second body build.. Sapele and Flame Top body. CATASTROPHE!!

[War_in_D]

Fat Pete, THANK YOU! 

Regarding the uphill/downhill thing, here's another pic:

I always try to stick to this, but never route the 'wrong way', always moving the workpiece from right to left - I cut the full thickness of the body using a 50mm ~ 2" cutter with shank and end bearings which allows me to do the cuts shown as clockwise on the above pic with the template on top, then flip the body over to do the rest.

Thank you for ALL of that info, but I found this part especially helpful.  My bit is also ~2" and has bearings on both the top/bottom.  It never occured to me to flip the body over, allowing for ALL the cuts to move from right to left (and avoiding trying to climb cut on a router table)!  I can see now why the top horn did what it did.... twice.. LOL  The bit was basically acting like a gouge.  I just got lucky on that walnut body, I guess.

Thanks to PhilHill for the original pattern, and thanks again Fat Pete for that additional info.  Much appreciated! 

 

[dmraco]

I feel your pain.  Putting a router in my hands is like giving a child a loaded 45!
It can be your best friend or worse enemy.    I have not had issues with tear outs.  Another tip is always make sure your bits are super sharp.  This is an area not to buy cheap tools.

MY worse screw up was when my router was not completely locked.  While completing a neck pocket, the bit slipped and 1/4 of the pocket was routed too deep.  I was able to rescue with epoxy but i said a few choice works that day!

 

[War_in_D]

Yeah, the whole neck pocket thing just scares me anyway.  It seems that once you start cutting on that, you're past that point of no return.  If you jack that up, it's not going to be an easy fix.  I'm still waiting on the bridge for the walnut body, so I can see if everything lines up.  They printed the shipping label on the 13th, but that was it. I contacted the seller this past weekend to see what the hold up was and they told me that it was dropped at the P.O. on Saturday, but tracking says it still hasn't been picked up by the shipper so there is a little discrepancy there.  It seems that his father that helps to run the business is having some health problems so I'm being patient.  I'm not too worried about it, they seem to be a reputable business with a significant online presence.

 

[swarfrat]

I feel your pain.  Putting a router in my hands is like giving a child a loaded 45!

Possibly worse. A 1911 generally sends projectiles in a predictable direction. Not so the router beast when it decides to bite.

 

[War_in_D]

Possibly worse. A 1911 generally sends projectiles in a predictable direction. Not so the router beast when it decides to bite.

At this point.. I'm definitely more confident in my abilities with a 1911 than I am with the router beast. I've got way more time invested in that discipline than I do woodworking. LOL

Got the glue up of the top done over the past few days and trimmed the top flush with the sides of the body.  Before I attempted to cut the relief slots in the back of the top to help facilitate the bend.. I put everything together in the clamps, and bent the top over the forearm contour (very slowly) to see how it would react.  To my surprise, it actually went over the forearm contour without having to put in relief cuts.. So, I left it clamped like that for about a day to try to build a little "memory" into the top and then cut loose with the actual glue.  I'm pretty please with how it turned out, although I found another small chip in the body near the forearm contour that I have no earthly idea how it got there.  So, back to the wood glue and dust "bondo" to fix that one.  I'm beginning to wonder if this Sapele is just a brittle wood.

 

[PhilHill]

First off, I can see you obviously need more clamps...... :laughing11:  All seriousness aside though, this is looking really good. I noticed that you flattened out the clamp spots on the angle caul, excellent idea there to keep the clamp from slipping. Sapele is similar to mahogany in some respects, and usually mills well, however several factors can change that. Moisture content of that particular piece, the grain pattern, density of different areas of the workpiece, the sharpness and rotational speed of the router bit, the speed that the bit is fed into the wood, the width and depth of the cut..Etc, etc. In short, it's often a crapshoot on how it will turn out.In the past I've taken a plank of wood and crosscut in in half, glued the two halves together like a book match and it turned out that one side cut fine and the other side was a bloody nightmare of tear-outs and chipping. You don't always know how it will turn out. Soldier on my good Sir, you will triumph in the end, I'm sure......... :headbang:

 

[War_in_D]

First off, I can see you obviously need more clamps...... :laughing11: 

You read my mind..  :laughing7:

 

[Slackjaw]

Yeah. As you're discovering... a router is probably not the best tool for cutting out the full-thickness body shape?? Aeons ago when I last built a body from scratch, I used a bandsaw for the basic shape, then various sanders for final shaping (disc, cylinder, etc.). Then used a hand router for edge treatment and cutting out the cavities by employing fencing. Of course this is when I had a complete woodshop at my disposal...