Thick Templates Best for Guitar Body?

[Steve H Graham]

Haven't been here in a while. Now I have a woodworking question, so I am skulking back. I hope everyone is well.

I am trying to make a 1.75"-thick guitar, using a Telecaster template. The guy who makes the templates recommends making 3/4" MDF template copies. While I was making a copy today, it occurred to me that it would be a lot easier to use 1/4" or 1/2" MDF, which would make it unnecessary for me to jack my router lift way up and hang the bit way out of the collet when making the guitar. The 3/4" stuff requires raising the bearing about half an inch out of the table in order to get the lower edge of the cutting surfaces even with the bottom edge of the guitar.

I was planning to use a 5/8" wide 1/2" template bit to start, giving me a 1/2" tall cut around the guitar. Then I'd flip the guitar and finish using a 1 5/8" bit 5/8" wide with bearings at the top and bottom. The uncut wood would be about 1.25" tall, so it would fit between the bearings.

The people advising me say the reason for the thick MDF is to allow multiple passes, presumably raising the router bit 1/4" per pass. They say I'll get chatter and bad results if I do more than 1/4".

I've forgotten about 90% of the little I knew about routing. I thought I could avoid tearing up the wood by trimming the wood closely with a band saw before routing, so there would not be much wood for the router to deal with.

I know these guys are sharp, but I thought I should run it by hardcore woodworkers. Is a thick template the best way to go, and is it best to do 1/4" passes? If so, I guess I was stupid to get that expensive two-bearing bit, which won't plunge.

I have a Bosch 3HP router, if that matters. I plan to use fairly hard woods, like walnut.

[John Coloccia]

I've used everything from 3/4" MDF to thin masonite. I always do mine in one pass, but I also cut pretty close to the outline on my bandsaw first. For me, the router is just for cleanup. In fact, sometimes, I just do the cleanup free hand my drum sander without bothering to use the router at all.

Where you REALLY have to be careful is around the horns. It's very easy to take a big chunk of wood out right at that point. The drum sander can really help out there if you have sharp horns. The Tele's curves are pretty gentle so you'll probably be fine as long as you're pretty close to your lines right off the bandsaw.

That's just what works for me. I don't see that there's anything wrong with doing it in steps if that's how you're comfortable doing it.

Now if you're plunging into a big block of wood to get your shape (i.e. without using the bandsaw to get close), then you certainly want to plunge in small steps or you will get a lot of chatter. That's a LOT of wood to take off in one pass. 1/4" at a time seems about right for that. Ditto for your neck pocket, pickups, control cavity, etc.

Again, this is just what works for me.

[Steve H Graham]

Okay, so it sounds like my plan will work. I spent $50 on that stupid two-bearing bit, so I'm glad to hear I don't have to go out and get new ones! I figured I could get down to within 3/16" with the band saw and then nibble the rest away with the router, but when they started talking about chatter, I assumed I had totally forgotten how routers work! I even got out my videos and Bill Hylton's book.

I'll play around with some walnut scrap before I fool with an actual guitar.

A drum sander would be nice. I guess I could stick a sanding drum in my drill press for this limited purpose.

Thanks for the help.

[John Coloccia]

A drum sander would be nice. I guess I could stick a sanding drum in my drill press for this limited purpose.

Thanks for the help.

I did that until just a couple of weeks ago when I picked up a Rigid spindle sander (I picked it up for $50 in practically new condition....that's almost a stealth gloat right there). Drill press is fine.

[Steve H Graham]

I had forgotten my router has variable speeds. Apparently that means I could use my router table for sanding, if I slow down all the way.

[pat warner]

"I know these guys are sharp, but I thought I should run it by hardcore woodworkers. Is a thick template the best way to go, and is it best to do 1/4" passes? "
***********************************

Safety, thrift, risk to you & work a big deal? Then plunge rout.
At least 200 choices for the best cutter, material (solid carbide e.g), length, diameter etc.
No bearings, most bits that will do you <$20.
Templet need be only ~ 1/4" thick in plastic, MDF for short run or aluminum for long run.
What? Yes, use collar (~1" OD), straight bit and medium sized plunger.
Whack at ~1/16 - 3/32"/pass. With this modest waste you can climb or anticlimb cut without tearout or surprises. Holds for end, roey, wavy, cross, edge grain or whatever.
No unnecessary & scarey cutter extension. Medium wt. plunge router ok too. 3/32" is never a load on a medium or small plunger.
No need to flip the work. Shrink the templet to accommodate collar offset.

[scott spencer]

I've made two hard body guitars, and have always used scrap 1/4" hardboard...actually paneling in one case. I build the template, trace the outline on the blank, cut it close with a BS, then rout using the template.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/Jordan%20Guitar/jgitter010-1.jpg

[Larry Fox]

Why would you need to make another template? Seems to me you could use the one you have, get as close as you are comfortable with the bandsaw, sneak a little closer with a spokeshave and then do final cleanup with the router. If you are riding the bearing on the template I think you would be sick of building Teles long before it wore out. Am I missing something?

[Jay Allen]

I had forgotten my router has variable speeds. Apparently that means I could use my router table for sanding, if I slow down all the way.

You aren't going to get a router to go slow enough to sand with, the variable speed won't go that far. IIRC, the slowest that any of mine will go is right around 8K, waay to fast.

[Steve H Graham]

The guy who sells the templates recommends copying them, because so many people rip into them accidentally with the router.

[Greg Hawthorne]

The usual issue with pattern cutting bits is grain orientation, and this is likely to be accentuated with something like a guitar body, where you could be cutting with and against the grain over a very short space. The dual bearing cutter is useful, but only if the cutter part of the bit is longer than the thickness of the guitar body (not a problem with your bit). If tearout is likely to be a problem with the wood you are using, you can mark the grain orientation and cut accordingly on one bearing (e.g. bottom), and then flip the workpiece and cut the area with opposing grain orientation using the top bearing. As regards the horn, I would leave them for hand fishing or a spindle sander if you want to want to avoid grief.

The width of the bearing surface determines the thickness of the template.

[Jay Allen]

The guy who sells the templates recommends copying them, because so many people rip into them accidentally with the router.

I probably would copy it just for that reason alone, but thicker is not necessarily better. I think I would go with 1/2" though, just for a little variation in where the bearing hits. There is at least a little bit of a gap between the cutting edges and the bearing itself, so a little thickness in the template is ok. Excessive thickness requires a longer bit though.

[george wilson]

Don't use your router for SANDING!! You might just ruin the carbon brushes in it,or get the windings full of fine dust. Besides,it won't go slow enough to use a sanding drum on,as said. You don't want any abrasive dust getting into it.

[Steve H Graham]

the slowest that any of mine will go is right around 8K, waay to fast.

I know it's not a brilliant move, but one of the woodworking sites says you can get away with it in moments of desperation. But I always have the drill press.

[Steve H Graham]

Again, thanks for all the great info.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to make a bookmatched walnut blank for the guitar.

I'm kind of surprised. Guitarmaking seems much easier than other projects I've considered. You just rout out a flat shape, drill holes, sand, finish, and screw stuff into it. No joinery. No carving.

The finishing is what scares me. I can't paint anything well.

[Bob Frey]

I just trace the template or plan on the wood, cut out with bandsaw and spindle sand to finish dimension. If I wanted to produce a quanity of the same bodies I would go with the thick template, bandsaw and then route to final dimension.

[Chris Fournier]

Personally I use 1/2" for my solid body templates in most cases.

If you want a really great finish routed surface then I would recommend that you try the following after you´ve bandsawn as close to the outline as you dare:

If you are using a bearing guided flush cut bit make sure that your bearing is on top condition, I use a pin router but this works with the bearing guided bit as well.

Source some 1/4" vinyl tape, the kind that they use to close up bags for food - companies specialising in packaging goods sell this tape - it's usually red in colour. I like this tape because it is very thin and you can build up multiple thin layers in passes. If you can´t find this tape use car painters pin striping tape - down side is that it´s thicker.

On your first router pass wrap your guide bearing with a couple rounds of tape.

Take your first router pass. Now remove a wrap of tape, or two and take a final router pass taking off a very thin shaving!

If you use the vinyl tape, you'll find that the cut is so light that you can climb cut difficult or reverse grain areas vastly improving your outcome.

Test on scrap with this technique to develop the touch needed for the tape you use.

Good luck to you.

[Steve H Graham]

That tape idea is neat. Thanks.

[Steve H Graham]

I finished the routing for the 3/4" template copies. I think the advice on 1/2" MDF is very good. Truthfully, I would like to make a copy from aluminum, because MDF is just hard cardboard, and it gives when a bouncing router bit drives a bearing into it. I have a few dings to repair.

I have a milling machine, but I don't know of any way to use a template with it.