fridge Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 Hey guys i have "slight" problem: I am making a Tele shaped guitar out of a peice of Mahogany and a peice of purpleheart for a top. However when routing the edge of the purpleheart flush with a template the router did this in the blink of an eye: does anyone on here know how i can possible save this peice because i would realy hate to start it over. P.s the purple heart is going to be the carved top peice. the body will be painted solid black along with the neck and the purple heart is being rubed with mineral salts and a U.V protectant. also the purple heart is alittle over 3/4" so it can be taken down some. any help would be greatly apreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBlacker Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 This may not be what others would do, but I'd be temped to get some plastic wood and re-shape it. I just filled in a pup cavity with a chunk of wood and topped it off with some plastic wood. Gets very hard and sands very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridge Posted March 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 thanks for the idea man however, im leaving the purpleheart purple. Therefore the fill would need to be purple as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBlacker Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 Ah, I missunderstood then. Do you have any of the same stock left? Can you build a new small section? Rout out, saw off, the bad section, then glue on a new section? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 With an attitude in your sig about your whereabouts "wouldn't you like to know" and being a newbie, It's hard to give you advice since you seem to know where you are and everything else. Now as far as your problem. Based on your post .your are painting this black. So filling with new wood should not be a problem . but your next response says something different? If that is the case then consider filling with wood as suggested and doing a black burst on the top to cover the problem. Now , Welcome to PG and please be more considerate in your sig as to who you are. MK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 I'd be reluctant to use plastic wood. Doesn't that stuff shrink over time? That's a pretty big tearout for a blink of the eye, although I've never worked with purpleheart, so maybe that's what happens. When I've had tearouts, I always stop the router immediately, find the piece that came out, and glue it back on. That almost always fixes it, and is usually nearly invisible (especially under paint). One thing to watch out for is not to touch metal to the glue--it'll turn the glue line dark. If you can't find the tearout piece, then you might consider rebuilding that part with a piece of scrap -- cut and plane the tornoff bit , then glue on a new planed piece and reroute accordingly. You can probably match the grain of the new piece to the main body, and, assuming the joint is tight, the fix will be practically invisible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycee Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 Chamfer or round over the edge if it's not being painted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 As Mikro says you are providing some misleading information. First it looks like a 3/4" slab of Purple heart to me, Why would you be routing the body shape without making up the complete body blank first? Routers can cause tearout, learn to use the router properly and identify woods which are brittle and more prone to tearout. Stumac has info on routing binding channels read that. I have no idea what painting technique you are referring too, its hard to get a picture of what will or will not be covered with paint. If it was me I would just cut off the edge an glue on another piece of purple heart to match. Provided you still have some scraps left from the body profile. If it will be covered with paint use Bondo not wood filler. Even though it is sold as wood filler by some manufactures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBlacker Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 I'd be reluctant to use plastic wood. Doesn't that stuff shrink over time? Sorry, not trying to hijack thread there, but wanted to reply to this. That's a great question. It's my first time to use it. I filled in the pup cavity about a week ago, so far so good. But perhaps that's not enough time to judge. I've still not painted the body so the plastic wood is still exposed to the elements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 A couple of options, perhaps echoing a few already mentioned. When you say the body is being painted everyone assumes the purple heart top is also part of the body. But you plan to go natural w/ the purple heart, right? 1. You can alter your shape a little bit and then rout over the edge with a roundover bit. You juuust might make it even. 2. Find another piece of parent wood that is similar color and grain structure. Cut the mating edges making sure there are NO gaps and their respective grains are aligned. You might be able to blend it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 I'd be reluctant to use plastic wood. Doesn't that stuff shrink over time? Sorry, not trying to hijack thread there, but wanted to reply to this. That's a great question. It's my first time to use it. I filled in the pup cavity about a week ago, so far so good. But perhaps that's not enough time to judge. I've still not painted the body so the plastic wood is still exposed to the elements. Well, I was hoping someone with more experience with this might reply. All I know is from what I've read, which is that the wood is still going to move over time, and not at the same rate as the plastic wood. So there's a risk of things separating and otherwise becoming visible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I hate to state the obvious...but you say the P-Heart is to be a carved top. Well, aren't you going to carve away 98% of your problem anyway? Here is what I say: Carve it and bind it. Should carving and binding not take care of it, then get a different bearing for your router bit, a bearing -just- slightly smaller than the bit itself, it will allow you to re-route the body neatly a scant bit smaller than it is. So, in that case: Re-route it Carve it Bind it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridge Posted March 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Thank you for all your help guys. yes i am an exreme newbie to guitar building. as for the chunk being ripped out so brutaly what happend was i was routing along with my template when all i heard was the wood crack, so i imediatly shut the router off and checked the damage and that is what i found. as for the questions about the painting i am sorry for my misleading and lack off info. My original plan was to paint the back body blank and neck black. the purple heart was being used as a top because i like the coloure and grain pattern. It was to remain purple. Sorry for my misleading information earlier but i would like to thank everyone fot there ideas and suggestions. i beileve i am going with the burst idea as mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 (edited) Thank you for all your help guys. yes i am an exreme newbie to guitar building. as for the chunk being ripped out so brutaly what happend was i was routing along with my template when all i heard was the wood crack, so i imediatly shut the router off and checked the damage and that is what i found. as for the questions about the painting i am sorry for my misleading and lack off info. My original plan was to paint the back body blank and neck black. the purple heart was being used as a top because i like the coloure and grain pattern. It was to remain purple. Sorry for my misleading information earlier but i would like to thank everyone fot there ideas and suggestions. i beileve i am going with the burst idea as mentioned above. Ah A Canuck!!! Thats not a bad thing My son lives in the land above USA!! Mike Nice to meet ya! Edited March 16, 2009 by MiKro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridge Posted March 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 lol Nice to meet you to mikro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Herr Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Doesn't help your problem, but might help prevent it in the future. Nothing will prevent tearout, but you can do things to reduce your chances/make it smaller. Use a really sharp bit. Don't take off alot of wood in one pass. Do multiple passes or saw out the majority of the meat. Route with the grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridge Posted March 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 thans for the advise mike. i have been looking over the body and the suggestions ive been given and i beileve the plan of action now is to round over the sides deep enough to remove the mistake but not cross over to the mahogany. ive scrapped the carved top idea because after much review and a test peice i came to the conclusion it is currently out of my league thank you for the advise and suggestions everyone. ill post pics of the finished result when i get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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