Rounding Body Edge

[DrummerDude]

Is there a way to round the edge of a guitar body without using a router bit and still maintain a neat and precise radius?

I can't find the right size router bit for the job (6mm radius), so I need an alternative.

Thanks!

[MiKro]

Is there a way to round the edge of a guitar body without using a router bit and still maintain a neat and precise radius?

I can't find the right size router bit for the job (6mm radius), so I need an alternative.

Thanks!

Double D,

6mm is approx .240 inches use a 1/4inch it's .250, I don't think a few thousandths is going to make that much difference.

mk

[Jon]

Sure thing, you can take a cove bit to some scrap wood to form a sanding block. Just rough the body close to the dimensions them use some double-stick tape + sandpaper or adhesive sandpaper on the scrap wood you went over with the cove bit and you can get a pretty consistent roundover this way. It will take a while though!

The bit looks like this: http://www.routerbits.com/cgi-routerbits/s...918788_30054+24

[low end fuzz]

what do you got against using a router; i got 3 roundovers; 1/4" (fender) 1.5", and 1.75"

that and a router table has made life sooo much easier, any alternative to them is just hard life;

i bought my whole new router setup for 170$ cad and if i knew how great it was i still would of bought it if i was only building 1 guitar in my whole life!

[alysum]

i enjoy doing it all manuall with scrapers and sanding :-)

[DrummerDude]

Thanks guys.

I simply can not find a router bit that is small enough for that job.

But I think I just found a few on eBay.

Jon, I thought of making something like that too. If I can't find a router bit, I will go this way. Manual woodwork is always fun for the elbow.

[Guest AlexVDL]

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[WezV]

thats basically the method i use when someone asks me to copy a neck shape

As for rounding a body, if you go slow its quite easy to get consistent results with a rasp and sandpaper

[Mattia]

Seriously, though, you should a) own a router if you're making guitars, first power tool to buy and a cheap router bit will work, and won't cost an arm and a leg. Every single lousy hardware store around here has 6mm radius roundover bits for sale. It's faster, will give you better, more consistent results, so why bother doing it by hand in this case?

[Guest AlexVDL]

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[DrummerDude]

@Mattia, I do own a router, of course.

It's like the tool that I use for almost every job you can imagine, even for cutting wood.

But router bits are hard to get where I live.

Normally they would sell you a whole kit of bits. No single pices available for separate purchase.

Still, I managed to find a dealer that was selling German router bits in separate pieces and not in kits but believe it or not, I went through this German company's whole catalog and there were no 6mm roundover bits.

Then the guy handed me the other catalog, this time of a Dutch manufacturer and guess what - they didn't carry any 6mm roundovers too!

Then I asked about a 45mm long straight bits (for evening the sides of guitar bodies) but the guy almost thought that I was making a fool of him and I realized that it was about time for me to get the hell out of there before he calls the cops.

Believe me, there's nothing guitarbuilding-friendly at the local hardware stores - they carry only **** that sells fast, mostly construction and building stuff because of the real estate frenzy that's going on here.

So I am left with two choices: buy online from overseas and pay big money for otherwise ridiculously cheap items OR do the job by hand using DIY tools and methods.

[black_labb]

if you get a 45 degree chamfer, then you can use that and thenuse sandpaper to get the full radius. thats what i did for my first guitar and it worked perfectly, cant tell. it didnt take too long either, but then again i did a rediculous amount of sanding as i didnt use a template, just freehand with the router to get the sides closish and square, then alot of 40 grit, so maybe it was alot of sanding on the radius, but didnt seem like much at the time.

[Mattia]

Where are you located? Because I find it difficult to believe something as bog-standard as a 6mm roundover isn't available. Try finding a store that sells to trade, or worst case, order something from Axminster.co.uk. Even a cheap Perform bit will do the job.