Major Help Needed

[Claptonfreak]

Hi there,

I'm a first time builder and I need some very specific instructions on a couple of things.

First of all, I'm building a Gibson SG '61 Style. I purchased a template from guitarbuildingtemplates.com and I recieved it a few weeks ago. I now need to know what the best way is to take advantage of all the precision that the template offers including shaping the body, routing the cavities and routing the neck and neck pocket.

Second, on the SG I love how the '61 side bevels are. They are precise and yet rounded for a warm feel. I have no Idea what so ever on how to shape the bevels. My closest guess is to use a small hand plane.

Any help is really appreciated,

[Kenny]

well, congradulations on embarking on this long and ardious mission!

i own a sg 61 reiusse and i love it too!

first your going to need a few things. a router would help

some tasps.

with the router, to take advantage of your templates you need these style bits. the bearing will glide along the template as the bit cuts the exact shape of your template underneath

Go to the bottom of the page for the diagrams....those are the ones you want

when you get your template in the exact posistion you need it, attatch it either with clamps, or double sided tape depending on your wood. the take your router and set it so the bearing is at the height of the template, and allow your router to eat all the wood away and then have the hearing hit the template. once it does this your in buisness and your able to get the shape the template gives you. (if you need more info just ask )

and asfar as the contours go, your going to be stuck doing those by hand rasps are fairly easy to use, and the bevels on the sg are fairy easy to get since they are uniform. i personally use this style rasp...

i use the flat site (not pictured) to do all shaping except for neck heels and neck volutes, which the curved side is very handy for. its just a matter of drawing the contours you want onto the body with like a pencil or chalk, and connecting those lines (by removing material with the rasp) to the outside edge at the given angle you want. that creates the engled bevel effect, and then just gingerly round over the sharp edges with the rasp. (or just take some sandpaper to it, that works just aswell) my first build was bubinga and i got a lot of muscle from using the rasp :-p, mahagony is a dream to shape. very easy. remember go slow and always check to see what your doing is right, becuase you cant bring back something you take away.

i hope this helps, if not just let me know how i can

[Mr. Preston Swift]

To take advantage of the template i suggest you get one of these, http://www.routerbits.com/cgi-routerbits/s...6902777_8673+47

And to sculpt the contours of the SG you should use a flat bladed spokeshave. You get the most control and cleanest results from using spokeshaves, http://grizzly.com/products/Flat-Spokeshave/H6438

good luck man, and work SLOWLY