guitar101 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Building a semi hollow guitar. I have the body routed out and the neck angle glued. I was wondering how to route out the control cavities so the cover fits flush with the surface of the body. There is a small step around the main cavity allow the cover to sit lower that the body.I bought the StewMac template but is the routing done freehand or is there a router attachment to help make it easier. I'm not comfortable routing freehand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Routing/Control_Cavity_Templates.html This one? The template on the left is the template for the 'lip.' You'll probably want to raise it up/make a thicker template out of it depending on how long your router bit is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Most gibson semi-hollow bodies are wired through the F hole. No need for a cavity cover. Yes it is a pain... but once it is wired you usually don't take it apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkennett Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Most gibson semi-hollow bodies are wired through the F hole. No need for a cavity cover. Yes it is a pain... but once it is wired you usually don't take it apart. i had to rewire my dad's old ventura. it's just like this one. total pain in the rear. those f holes aren't really f holes, they're painted. i ended up having to remove the bridge pickup. i did all of the soldering without the pots, jacks, etc. mounted. then i inserted the big mess through the pickup hole and worked the parts to the proper place to screw them in. if i had to do it again, i'd break tradition and install a cavity cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 How thick is back of the body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helldunkel Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Building a semi hollow guitar. I have the body routed out and the neck angle glued. I was wondering how to route out the control cavities so the cover fits flush with the surface of the body. There is a small step around the main cavity allow the cover to sit lower that the body.I bought the StewMac template but is the routing done freehand or is there a router attachment to help make it easier. I'm not comfortable routing freehand. I use a binding bit to cut the recess I use the smallest ball bearing: Binding Router Bit Set This way I'm hitting the cavity and the result will be a nice and even recess all arround that cavity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Building a semi hollow guitar. I have the body routed out and the neck angle glued. I was wondering how to route out the control cavities so the cover fits flush with the surface of the body. There is a small step around the main cavity allow the cover to sit lower that the body.I bought the StewMac template but is the routing done freehand or is there a router attachment to help make it easier. I'm not comfortable routing freehand. I use a binding bit to cut the recess I use the smallest ball bearing: Binding Router Bit Set This way I'm hitting the cavity and the result will be a nice and even recess all arround that cavity I took a good look at them and I can see with your photo how to go about it.. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Routing/Control_Cavity_Templates.html This one? The template on the left is the template for the 'lip.' You'll probably want to raise it up/make a thicker template out of it depending on how long your router bit is. Thanks that was very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 How thick is back of the body? Not sure the guitar I am copying is about 1/2 inch but I have to check. That brings up a good point the thickness of the sides and body. I think 1/2 inch but I am not sure if this is OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Building a semi hollow guitar. I have the body routed out and the neck angle glued. I was wondering how to route out the control cavities so the cover fits flush with the surface of the body. There is a small step around the main cavity allow the cover to sit lower that the body.I bought the StewMac template but is the routing done freehand or is there a router attachment to help make it easier. I'm not comfortable routing freehand. I use a binding bit to cut the recess I use the smallest ball bearing: Binding Router Bit Set This way I'm hitting the cavity and the result will be a nice and even recess all arround that cavity I took a good look at them and I can see with your photo how to go about it.. Thanks. What kind of wood is that??? Looks great.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helldunkel Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 What kind of wood is that??? Looks great.. Thanks:) Its not wood (nuff said), I dont use wood for the control covers of my instruments which is not stable enough for my taste, the recess is only 3mm deep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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