My latest screw up

[daveq]

I routed the slot for a 3 position switch last night. I used a 1/16" spiral down cut on my dremel and it came out nice - right up until I went to expand the length just a bit. The dremel slipped just a bit so I decided to route the rest of it to the same width - still not a problem. It slipped again! Now, it's almost 1/8" in width. Will the clear coat take up any of that? It's not going to be painted, so is there anything else I can do to cover this up?

[ryeisnotcool2]

you could inlay something over it like mother of pearl and then recut the slot?

[john]

i would have thought 1/8 inch would be fine for a selector switch.

and yes , i think the finish would make it a little narrower. but not 1/16th...

[daveq]

I was hoping for a slot just slightly wider than 1/16". If you think 1/8" is OK, then maybe I should just leave it alone?

Will the clear coat take up 1/32" (or close to it) on each side? I know some people actually plug these holes when doing the clear, but I guess in my case it would be best to not do this, right?

[renablistic]

wood filler?

[Drak]

As long as you center the switch lever in the middle nicely, I'd leave it the way it is.

Actually, 1/16" would be too thin a slot I think, the lever would 'bind' on it by the time you applied all the finish...I think 1/8" is closer to right than 1/16" would have been.

PS, don't forget to drill your mounting screw holes and slap the switch up in there and check for OK operation, make sure you made the slot long enough and the lever doesn't hit wood before it makes good contact in pos. 1 and 3.

I find to make everything work right, I have to make the switch area pretty damned thin (about 1/8") in the back cavity, else the wood stops the switch from travelling as far as it should...and I go lightly with the water stains on top when I'm around that area, I've had that little thin area do a bit of warping on me when I applied the stains 'too wet', then you go to sand everything flat, and you can sand thru that area if it slightly warped 'upwards'...

[G_urr_A]

I'd say the inlay idea is really neat. Just a little piece of some cool material holding the switch in place. I guesss you could even rout a bigger hole, and glue a thin piece of a different wood in there, and put the switch in that piece. Would look cool, imo.

[daveq]

Thanks guys. I would consider the inlay idea but the style/theme I had in mind for the guitar wouldn't match well with it (I don't think so anyway). I will remember it for future screw ups though.

I guess I will leave it alone and hope it doesn't look strange in the end.

[Drak]

If it's really only 1/8", I don't think anyone will ever notice at all.

[bowser]

another thing you could try is like on the Ibanez S series guitars, they have a plastic piece that the switch is mounted on. you might be able to make something similar out of wood, then paint or stain it depending on how you are going to finish the guitar.

http://www.ibanez.com/guitars/guitar.asp?m...?model=S470DXQM

but it would be easier to try and center it in the slot, if you don't mind the space on either side

[soapbarstrat]

I made it 1/8" on a wood pickguard. No one ever thought it looked too wide.

[daveq]

Thanks again for those replies. I guess after making this mistake and seeing what it could have been - it made it look really bad to me. After having some time away from it, it actually doesn't look bad now. I think I will try to keep it a little smaller next time though.

I really do appreciate your thoughts on this. I'm still amazed at how helpful the people on this site are.

Thank you,

Dave

[Hotrock]

I think you should start all over again and post the body to me!