TeiscosRock Posted September 8, 2006 Report Posted September 8, 2006 I've got this guitar I recently purchased, and plan on using it as my electronics 'guinea pig'. The only problem is, even with the swimming pool rout the thing has, I really have no room to put some of the stuff I'd like to put in it (DIY sustainer, some extra controls), so i need to rout a new cavity in the back of the instrument. The conflict is: I don't want to have to refinish the whole guitar for one cavity. How would I go about routing a cavity without chipping massive amounts of finish off of the guitar? I'm honestly not all that worried about scratches and such, as this is my beater guitar, but I'd rather not have big chips of paint missing around the new rout. Any ideas? Quote
Drak Posted September 8, 2006 Report Posted September 8, 2006 Buy and use the StewMac rear control cavity routing template and cover. Quote
TeiscosRock Posted September 8, 2006 Author Report Posted September 8, 2006 THats fine and dandy, but wouldnt the finish chip when i start drilling and routing? Quote
Nitefly SA Posted September 8, 2006 Report Posted September 8, 2006 Never tried this but I think it would work: Take a box cutter/razr blade and trace the routing template, pierce the finish, cut as deep as you can. then when you start routing if the finish pops off, it'll only pop off to where you have already cut. Quote
Drak Posted September 8, 2006 Report Posted September 8, 2006 No, if you use any decent quality router bit, it won't chip, at least mine never have. Actually, I think you have a better chance of chipping it using Nitefly's method than doing a straight ahead route on it. Quote
TeiscosRock Posted September 8, 2006 Author Report Posted September 8, 2006 (edited) Hmm. . . conflict of opinions! I may use the razorblade idea in addition to using a quality bit, just to be on the safe side. . . Edited September 8, 2006 by TeiscosRock Quote
Drak Posted September 8, 2006 Report Posted September 8, 2006 There is no conflict of opinions, he openly stated that he's never done it before and it was just an idea, I have actually done it many times before and know it works (at least on my nitro finishes) w/o chipping. Quote
TeiscosRock Posted September 8, 2006 Author Report Posted September 8, 2006 Err. . my mistake, then, sorry. Quote
Drak Posted September 8, 2006 Report Posted September 8, 2006 If you have to drill something and need to be very careful about chipping, then heat the area up with a hairdryer (carefully of course, nothing too extreme) before you drill. The heat makes the finish soften up a little bit so it's not so prone to chipping. You can also put a piece of tape over the area beforehand, but you need to be careful of using the hairdryer AND tape, as you can leave some sticky tape residue behind sometimes. Quote
TeiscosRock Posted September 8, 2006 Author Report Posted September 8, 2006 Thanks for the tips, Drak! I should be able to get the job done using some of these techniques Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.