shad peters Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 (edited) howdy folks, i have a question about mounting fender style 3 and 5 way switches. i have wired up a couple t-body guitars before using 3 way switches, but in that case i had the convenience of a control plate that was ready for mounting. on all my other guitar I have always used 3 way toggle switches which are as simple as drilling a hole. my most recent build will feature a more complex wiring scheme and needs a 5 way switch. i got one in the mail today from stewmac, and im not sure what the best way to mount this bugger is. i assume i am going to need to make a bed for it in the control cavity and take the thickness of the top down to around 1/8th in that area. what has got me stumped is how to make the little slot for it. it cant be more of than a 16th of an inch wide. i have a couple ideas for how i could do it, but there must be some simplistic common method for this out there. here is the guitar it will be going on CIMG1520 by Peters Instruments, on Flickr Edited February 16, 2011 by shad peters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 I have done it a few times, the last time around was done by drilling some relief holes along the length of it, then a jigsaw blade fed into the slot and cut that way. I used a small, 16tpi blade and it had great results. some painters tape applied over the area might help keep any 'grain lifting' to a minimum. ^^ That guitar is stunning ,sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shad peters Posted February 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 that is kinda what i was thinking about doing but it just seemed a like it might not be the cleanest way to do it. i would be afreaid to use jigsaw though. i think if go that route then i will probably use a small thin bladed handsaw. and thank you sir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 ... I won't lie, I used a fine toothed blade and held it with a little pair of vice-grips, cause I'm geurrilla like that. The blade has down-facing teeth, so it cuts on the down stroke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hey Shad, The other option is to use a dremel in it's base with a small router bit. Clamp a guide to the guitar and run it along that. Should get nice results. Here is a LINK to a pic of the same thing on my last build. Post #61 you can see a front shot and a closeup of the cavity. Chad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hey Shad, The other option is to use a dremel in it's base with a small router bit. Clamp a guide to the guitar and run it along that. Should get nice results. Here is a LINK to a pic of the same thing on my last build. Post #61 you can see a front shot and a closeup of the cavity. Chad. +1 dremel +straight edge does it just fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hey Shad, The other option is to use a dremel in it's base with a small router bit. Clamp a guide to the guitar and run it along that. Should get nice results. Here is a LINK to a pic of the same thing on my last build. Post #61 you can see a front shot and a closeup of the cavity. Chad. +1 dremel +straight edge does it just fine +1 to the +1 .... that looks awesome,Chad ! infinitely more professional looking.... I gotta get me one of those dremel things..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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