Edges On Body Not Straight

[JOBeirne]

When I but my blank, unfortunately the bandsaw cut at a bit of an angle. Since I am building a Jem guitar, I would like to have the edges as level as possible. I've already used a random orbit sander and done lots of hand-sanding, but it still seems uneven.

Should I try using a spokeshave to level them out?

Thanks.

[Arseneau]

It would be pretty hard to get a nice even edge with a spokeshave. A router pass around the edges would probably be your best best.

[unclej]

if you have access to a spindle sander you could straighten it out with that. the spindle stands at ninety degrees to the table and will give you a straight side. they're also great for sanding the inside curves of the horns.

if not take Arseneau's advice but add a template. get yourself a top-bearing straight bit long enough to cut the entire thickness of your body. attach a template to the top of your guitar and run the router around the template and there's your straight edges.

good luck!

[Mickguard]

A follower bit would work well too, if your router goes deep enough...put your template on the bottom of the guitar in that case...but definitely work with a template.

[Arseneau]

As an addendum to my earlier post and in complete agreement with unclej and Mickguard: yes definitely use a template. I was going on the assumption that that would be obvious, but I definitely should have mentioned it. You could do some real damage otherwise.

[Southpa]

I've done it the hard way. When you cut out a body with a jigsaw you can't help having a few angled areas here and there. After that it was just some heavy sanding with coarse grit on a rigid block and constantly checking with a carpenter's square. When ever doing freehand cuts with ANY tool or machine be sure to stay outside the line. Or else your guitar will be just a little bit smaller than you thought it would be.