Norris Posted January 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2018 I'm limited by the length of my neck blank. I had to be careful to avoid any wastage when I did the scarf as I knew it was tight on length. There should be enough to reach the other side of the pickup route though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted January 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 I finished routing the body this evening. First a pass with a top bearing bit, following the mdf template... Then removed the template and did a second pass. Finally flipped the body over and switched to a bottom bearing bit for the last pass... The little Makita router in the second photo is so much easier to use. It's very light, and held with one hand on top and a couple of fingers pressed down onto the base plate. It's a joy to use. The larger router was much more fatiguing, being much heavier and having a large cut out area in the base plate - that made it much less stable and lead to a 1mm deep gouge on the top horn because my arms were aching. The gouge will sand out, but was a bit disappointing as I was being very careful. Next time I'll just use the Makita. The class also have a bearing guide for it, which is what I used to cut the binding rebate on the Nozcaster - lovely bit of kit 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted January 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 The aforementioned gouge (The different coloured stripe is where the router bit cut in the opposite direction on the final pass) And the body routed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 5 hours ago, Norris said: The aforementioned gouge (The different coloured stripe is where the router bit cut in the opposite direction on the final pass) Routers keep you humble. As you said, that will be nought but a moment to sand out. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Both myself, @KnightroExpress and maybe @curtisa have that same Makita RT0700/RT0701? I have to agree that it's a lovely little tool, however the single locking collet needs to be kept clean and it's important to ensure the shank is held tightly. The spindle lock isn't worth a damn. It might be worthwhile considering seeing if the course tutor will make up an offset base for the Makita. Keeping the tool held parallel to the top tightly makes work even smoother. The same would apply for the larger Makita also. Half of the tool's weight is held off the workpiece, and given that the base has a fookin' great hole in it, there's precious little real estate left to keep all of that mass from tipping around. A big round piece of 6-10mm clear acrylic/Perspex base with a smaller hole for the bit makes a world of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted January 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 1 hour ago, Prostheta said: It might be worthwhile considering seeing if the course tutor will make up an offset base for the Makita. Keeping the tool held parallel to the top tightly makes work even smoother. The same would apply for the larger Makita also. Half of the tool's weight is held off the workpiece, and given that the base has a fookin' great hole in it, there's precious little real estate left to keep all of that mass from tipping around. A big round piece of 6-10mm clear acrylic/Perspex base with a smaller hole for the bit makes a world of difference. We did consider making a larger base for it with a much smaller cutout to improve stability. However only having 2 hours of class time I persevered with what I had. I might well revisit it at some point though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted January 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 4 hours ago, ScottR said: Routers keep you humble Amen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Totally why I suggested that your tutor do it.... I could easily make one up and mail it, however my acrylic stock is something like 10-12mm. You lose too much cutting depth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 On 17/01/2018 at 4:19 AM, Prostheta said: Both myself, @KnightroExpress and maybe @curtisa have that same Makita RT0700/RT0701? I have to agree that it's a lovely little tool, however the single locking collet needs to be kept clean and it's important to ensure the shank is held tightly. The spindle lock isn't worth a damn. Aye, I have the RT700 (actually marketed here as the RT700CX, whatever difference that makes), and find it a really good alternative to the bigger units when I don't need the extra horsepower or mass. Haven't had an issue with the collet. My unit shipped with two spanners - one for the collet nut and a smaller one to grip a pair of flats on the spindle shaft. I don't bother with the pushbutton shaft lock when installing bits. All I usually do is insert the bit into the collet, tighten the collet nut finger-tight and use both spanners in a squeezing motion one-handed to get the collet snugged up onto the shank. Undoing can be done in the same motion by ofsetting the two spanners in the opposite order and squeezing together again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 The X part indicates the accessory package that comes with the motor. I think the model of the bare bones router is RT0700C, or RT0701C. Not sure of the differences between those though. Incidentally, buying two precision guide fences is perfect for trenching a truss rod down a blank. Well worth the money. Derailed enough for you yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted January 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2018 14 hours ago, Prostheta said: Derailed enough for you yet? Carry on. I'm seriously considering getting one Amazon (UK) have the RT0700CX4 for £109 at the moment - that includes the bearing guide. Seriously tempting if I had any money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 19, 2018 Report Share Posted January 19, 2018 The edge bearing is crap. It's just a chromed sleeve. I'll get the size of bearing I used to fix it. The plunge base is incredibly useful too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoltar Posted January 19, 2018 Report Share Posted January 19, 2018 I reckon you should treat yourself and get one, Norris. I've got one too and it's much better than the Bosch palm routers I've been using in the past (GKF600s). I use a Triton (which I also love) for big jobs but this little Makita is brilliant for more intricate stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 19, 2018 Report Share Posted January 19, 2018 Okay, I've got to throw some balance into this mix. I've not compared the Makita directly with the Bosch or DeWalt equivalents. The DW has LED lighting which is nice, but perhaps not all that useful. It does have more HP though. The Bosch? Not sure. If you look at my teardown of the Makita, you can see a few potential weak spots. It isn't meant to be a workhorse, but it could be one if used within known limits. You can't reasonably run heavier bits in it for instance. My 25mm x ⌀19mm templating bit vibrates too much for my liking thanks to weight and imbalance. I suspect some of these problems exist in the other two also of course. I do think a double locking collet would be welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted January 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 Having done some clean up sanding of the router marks last week (still plenty to do but the furry bits have gone), this week I got my 80 grit sanding table out. The front - good enough for a first sand And the rear, still showing some tooling marks from the plane around the edges (it really didn't like the plane) The back needs another hour or two of sanding to finish levelling it off. Then I'll concentrate on the area where the neck will join to get it all flat and square. Hopefully by then the customer-sourced bridge will be in my hands so I can check the height and calculate the neck angle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu. Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 On 19/01/2018 at 8:49 AM, Norris said: Carry on. I'm seriously considering getting one Amazon (UK) have the RT0700CX4 for £109 at the moment - that includes the bearing guide. Seriously tempting if I had any money! If you're seriously in the market, check out the Katsu trimmer on Amazon: Katsu! I think router digs are just part of the build process! It wouldn't be guitar work without one 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted February 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 As mentioned in @ShatnersBassoon Les Paul thread, I marked out the neck angle And marked out a 40mm wide tenon After which I proceeded to make one of the angled cuts the wrong side of the darned pencil line! Tired + cold coming on = not a good time to make crucial cuts. There will be some chisel based fettling to come in a further instalment soon Oh, and I bought the Makita trimmer router. I should have a chance to try it soon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 Aside from the mis-cut, that's a great way to achieve the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 I spent a couple of hours squaring up the sides of the tenon, using a micro-plane, a freshly sharpened chisel and set square. It's now 40mm wide, parallel to the centre line and square to the top surface 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 The next job was to cut the base of the tenon at a right angle to the side cuts - which means I can route a normal, constant depth mortise in the body. After marking out I cut down the heel to leave a 30mm tenon - approx 2/3 of the body thickness. I clamped a steel rule in place to ensure the cut was at right angles to the centre line. Having done that I then used the bandsaw to rough cut the base of the tenon, leaving about 1mm to clean up. Tackling it with the micro-plane or a very sharp chisel still resulted in tear out - the grain and the angled cut just didn't like it, whichever direction I tried to cut in. So before I wrenched too much wood out I switched to using a cabinet scraper. It will take much more time, but I'll stand half a chance of having a flat surface rather than something more akin to a muddy sports field! No pictures yet as I still have about 0.1mm to go, but ran out of class time 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 14, 2018 Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 How sharp is sharp though? My chisels are uncomfortably sharp to the point where being near them is cause for concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Prostheta said: How sharp is sharp though? My chisels are uncomfortably sharp to the point where being near them is cause for concern. Probably not as sharp as yours Still, the cabinet scraper gives me a lot of control, does not cause tear-out, and takes a much longer time to make a major cock-up - so hopefully I'll avoid that. You know how patient I can be... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 16, 2018 Report Share Posted March 16, 2018 Most of my sharpness is in the care taken with handling and storage, with regular polishing on leather impregnated with a little Autosol. Not entirely unlike looking after your shaving razor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 I've finished squaring off the tenon for now. It's 30mm at the narrowest, and that's the depth that I'll route the mortise. I'll cut it to length when I know the width of the pickups (still being dithered over by Dan!) I've also tidied up the slight dodginess of the shoulder cut using a cabinet scraper So while "we" decide on the pickups, I spent some time designing the inlays (I love inkscape!). I won't reveal those yet, but I've been highly recommended to get them made by Small Wonder Music. So I won't be faffing about cutting MOP on this particular build. I may need to start yet another thread soon, because as a fallback job in case this build grinds to halt, I've decided to rebuild my un-playable 12-string acoustic. The neck has come un-glued and the top is badly warped. As a short cut introduction to acoustic building I'll be making a new top from the yellow spruce I bought this evening and building it up from there. It has a lovely tap tone and is nice and stiff to take the strain of 12 strings, plus I'll also be making laminated braces (apparently, according to my tutor ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 It's always good to have a fallback project for the times the current one goes stationary. The one you're proposing sounds fascinating. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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