ROCKETROB Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Does anyone have some helpful tips for working with acrylic material? I'm having some trouble drilling it. I need to make a 5/8" hole to route the pickup cut out. Shaping the outside is working OK using a template and table router. Thanks, Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Hello Rob, A jewelers saw or better yet a scroll saw would probably prove useful. Drill out an area starter hole and saw carefully from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Use a drill press with a 5/8 forstner bit to start the hole, then go back to your router but with a straight bit to blow out the rest of the hole. Just use the same template. If I remember correctly, outside edges are beveled, pickup, post, switch holes and bridge route are straight, and screw holes are beveled. I'd attach the material to the template, drill a hole bigger than your router bit in each enclosed cavity and you're off. Use the drill press for all the holes and the router for all the cavities. Not sure what to tell you for the switch slot (if any) maybe a dremel with a 3/32 bit on it or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Use a drill press with a 5/8 forstner bit to start the hole, then go back to your router but with a straight bit to blow out the rest of the hole. Just use the same template. If I remember correctly, outside edges are beveled, pickup, post, switch holes and bridge route are straight, and screw holes are beveled. I'd attach the material to the template, drill a hole bigger than your router bit in each enclosed cavity and you're off. Use the drill press for all the holes and the router for all the cavities. Not sure what to tell you for the switch slot (if any) maybe a dremel with a 3/32 bit on it or something. ← With things that show or need tight tolerances like a pickup hole in a pickguard. You really cant beat a set of files. Power tools just take off too much too fast. Cut the opening to about 1/16 or less from your scribe/pencil lineand then file up to it. Its slower but more accurate. Once you have a template to cut them it makes it a lot faster with a router. But for a "one off" you really need files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCKETROB Posted May 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Thanks for the replies. I have good templates that I made;these work fine. I'm having trouble drilling the starter hole for the router bit. will a forstner bit really work on this acrylic? I have one; test is in order. How about "sandwiching" the acrylic with other material before drilling? I'm getting some chatter and snatching when I drill. The bit is a new blu-mol style. Thanks, Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Thanks for the replies. I have good templates that I made;these work fine. I'm having trouble drilling the starter hole for the router bit. will a forstner bit really work on this acrylic? I have one; test is in order. How about "sandwiching" the acrylic with other material before drilling? I'm getting some chatter and snatching when I drill. The bit is a new blu-mol style. Thanks, Rob. ← well, that's why i was thinking forstner.. it should make a much cleaner hole. Spiral bits pull the material off of the acrylic rather than scrape it away.. they'll also make your surface jump while drilling. You said "pickguards" so i assumed you were making more than one.. and if that's the case, you don't want to mess with little detail hand tools.. With the right template you should be able to do it all with a router and a drill press. For the pickup holes, you could always use a dremel router setup.. Straight bits work better with acrylic in my opinion, the spiral cutters really fuzz up the edges.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCKETROB Posted May 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 mledbetter: yes, I plan on making 3 guitars for now. Based on Tele style construction with some modifications. Two in Alder and one in Swamp Ash. I have two necks that I bought and I want to try and make one myself. These are the first guitars I've ever built. It's taking alot longer to collect the info and parts needed to do it. This web site is one of the best that I've found so far. Lots of great help here and nice people that are willing to share it. Thanks again. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted May 6, 2005 Report Share Posted May 6, 2005 How thick is that material you are using? Is it standard pickguard material or actual acrylic plastic? I am making all my routing templates out of acrylic and have found its machineabilty to be exceptional. I have had no issues drilling, routing or cutting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCKETROB Posted May 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2005 jay5: The material is standard 3-ply sheet from Stew-Mac. I also have some non-laminated acrylic .120 thk. and some PVC .125 thk. The PVC was pretty easy to work with. I have not tried the non-laminated acrylic material yet. Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted May 6, 2005 Report Share Posted May 6, 2005 jay5: The material is standard 3-ply sheet from Stew-Mac. I also have some non-laminated acrylic .120 thk. and some PVC .125 thk. The PVC was pretty easy to work with. I have not tried the non-laminated acrylic material yet. Rob. ← This may sound silly but if you are getting snagging or the drill bit is pulling the pickguard up. Try dulling the drill a bit like my countersinking info Here This way it grinds or scrapes the hole (just like a scraper leaves a cleaner surface than a plane) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringkilla Posted May 8, 2005 Report Share Posted May 8, 2005 Hello Rocket Stringkilla here. The real trick to drilling or routing plastics is speed. The drill press is best or a variable speed hand drill Dremel or RotoZip. A moderate speed of approx. 300 rpm and a sready feed rate is best for drilling. DO NOT USE A FORSTNER BIT OF ANY KIND HERE, NO SPUR BITS either if you dont want to lose the job. These type of bits are good for wood only, the brad point drill bit is good but a standard jobber bit with a 86 degree included angle tip is best. Simply drill through and go straight to the router and template. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCKETROB Posted May 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Stringkilla, I am using a drill press; but I had the speed set at about 2500 rpm. I'll give the low speed method a try. I wasn't able to work on my project this weekend so I have not tried all these great suggestions. I'll post back when I get some results. Thanks everyone for the tips. Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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