Template Routing Questions for Guitar Body

[Tom Lee]

Stewart MacDonald has a lot of great free information http://www.stewmac.com/

[Larry Fox]

Steve - you seem to be really concerned about your ability to do the routing on this guitar. It is definitely a pretty piece of wood you are working with and I can't say that I blame you. Have you given any thought to doing a dry run on something other than what you are hoping will be your final piece? I am embarking on the same type of project but am starting with the neck first. I have a bunch of quarter-sawn rock maple that will continue it's journey through this world in the shape of guitar necks. However, it is all still safe and sound in the lumber rack and I am already two poplar test necks deep into working out my jigging and work sequencing and expect a few more to end up on the firewood pile before I get it. Point being - poplar is a LOT cheaper to practice on than your "good" wood.

[Brent Gamble]

I'll echo the comment about test runs in scrap wood. On my first build I glued up some pine 2x6 and milled and routed it alongside the "good" stuff. When I made a mistake in the pine, I'd just plug it and re-do it until I got it right. Saved me no end of aggravation. Stewart McDonald has also been suggested above. They have some online tutorials and are also a good source for precision templates, if you're not into making your own. You can get a lot of differing opinions, but I think the neck to body fit is pretty important. If I'm buying a neck, I wait until I have the neck in my hands before I rout the neck pocket. YMMV.

[Steve H Graham]

The reason I didn't use something cheap like pine is that I was afraid I might accidentally do a good job the first time around, and then I'd have a worthless pine Telecaster body, when I could have had something worth keeping. And a pine body wouldn't teach me anything about joining pieces to make a bookmatched instrument. Although now that I think about it, I suppose I could have made a bookmatched pine guitar. That didn't occur to me before. Anyway, I figured I'd take a shot with walnut, and if it worked out, I'd have a nice instrument, and if not, I'm out fifty or a hundred bucks for an excellent learning experience. Maybe that wasn't the smartest move, but I'm having fun.

I'm not as uptight as I seem about destroying the wood. There's plenty of nice walnut down at the lumber store. I didn't think this piece was all that great until I got it assembled into a body; it surprised me. It's not like I saw the wood in the store and fell in love and decided I would die if I couldn't have a guitar made from it. There is probably something nicer at the store right now.

I don't like the idea of marrying myself to things I make. I've found that one of the best things for an artist or craftsman is to lose something he made and to have to make it all over again.

Now that the body is assembled, it's easy to put together scrap setups to test the smaller routs, and I'm doing that.

[Larry Fox]

The reason I didn't use something cheap like pine is that I was afraid I might accidentally do a good job the first time around, and then I'd have a worthless pine Telecaster body, when I could have had something worth keeping.

Certainly not trying to discourage your approach Steve but given the complexity of what you are trying to do this seems unlikely. Simplifying to be sure, but there are really only a hand-full of ways that it can go right and about a billion ways it can go wrong - the odds are not in your favor. This also assumes that you are only planning to make 1 tele. If you plan to make more than 1 you will need it to go right each and every time. However, if you take the time to work out your jigging and work sequence you can approach subsequent ones with the confidence that you will (should) be at least as satisfied with the current one as you were with the previous one. Different strokes but I am a big fan of accuracy and repeataility. Do you take this same appproach when working out a finish schedule or technique?

And a pine body wouldn't teach me anything about joining pieces to make a bookmatched instrument. Although now that I think about it, I suppose I could have made a bookmatched pine guitar. That didn't occur to me before. Anyway, I figured I'd take a shot with walnut, and if it worked out, I'd have a nice instrument, and if not, I'm out fifty or a hundred bucks for an excellent learning experience.

At that price those trials get expensive.

Maybe that wasn't the smartest move, but I'm having fun.

That all that really counts. There are enough opportunities in life to be sad and so few to have fun.

Now that the body is assembled, it's easy to put together scrap setups to test the smaller routs, and I'm doing that.

Nice - as I said I am following this thread closely as I am really interested in the process and the result.