Routing a finished body

[AVClub]

I have one of the newer import Kramer Barettas that I enjoy tinkering with and want to add a neck pickup. Does anyone have advice for the best way to route a finished (poly) body? From my research so far the best advice seems to be use a template, score the paint with scalpel/X-Acto using the template, route using the template first barely touching down on the finish, slowly lowering after each pass. From here I could use a drill to remove some material, and then finish off with the router. Does this sound like a good method? The pickup will be direct mount with no ring, so I want the route to be really tidy. I know some manufacturers route cavities after finishing, but I will be using a router and not have the luxury of high precision as a CNC would afford me. I already have a full sized router, but thought a smaller trim style router may be better for a job like this. 

Thoughts?

[henrim]

Sounds like a solid plan to me. Scoring the paint is important but also use a sharp router bit. I would probably skip the drill part if I was doing just one pickup cavity but then again drill bits are much cheaper than good quality template routing bits. You didn’t mention it but that is what you would like to use. A template routing bit that has a top bearing. For pickup cavities you need to have a relatively short bit unless your template is very thick.

Router bit diameter is going to determine the pocket radius. If you want tighter corners you may want to drill the corners first. Or chisel afterwards. Which ever suits you. Just be aware that when you score the outline that the corners on the template may be tighter than your router bit.

 

[Bizman62]

Scoring with a knife is a good idea. Just make sure you score all the way through, making several passes to avoid chipping. After that you can remove the finish up to the scoring before routing. A thick layer of finish may behave oddly when routed.

[Crusader]

On 1/22/2023 at 5:34 PM, henrim said:

................... but also use a sharp router bit

Yeah that's the first thing that came to my mind

[soapbarstrat]

Minimal pressure while scoring. And I assume you know, scoring does not mean going all the way through.

[AVClub]

7 hours ago, soapbarstrat said:

Minimal pressure while scoring. And I assume you know, scoring does not mean going all the way through.

I do, however would there be harm in going all the way through? Would simply scoring produce a crisper edge?

[henrim]

Scoring means that you just break the surface. Going deeper with knife may chip the paint. But it depends. Listen to it. Anyways just a light score helps the router bit not to chip the paint.