newbiejon Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Hi i've been trying to work this out for ages and hopefully one of you guys will know. How do you give a solid body a carved top for example we could say like a PRS guitar? thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Like the name suggests you carve it. You can use gouges and fingerplanes to do it, or a random orbit sander or sanding disc attachment in a hand drill,. It helps to mark out the areas like a map, and to start it with a routed edge to get your depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdw3332 Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 When I posted a similar question, the best answer I got was "Take a piece of wood and remove everything that doesn't look like a PRS." Still haven't tried it although I sort of faked the look with a router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biblical Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 I have a question on this too. i think that PRS use a maple cap and was wondering how hey get it to fit all of the contours of the body front. Do they heat it and put it on or do they get a thicker top on it and then contour it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanKirk Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 I have a question on this too. i think that PRS use a maple cap and was wondering how hey get it to fit all of the contours of the body front. Do they heat it and put it on or do they get a thicker top on it and then contour it? They use a thicker top than I can afford and carve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biblical Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 ta for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biblical Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 so should i use 1/2" veneer then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanKirk Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 so should i use 1/2" veneer then I'm not to worried about hijacking this particular thread so I'll give my 2 cents. My understanding is that veneer is VERY thin, like 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch or so. When you say 1/2" that becomes what I'd call a 'top'. The 1/2" figured tops that I've seen are really pricey. I think 1/4" tops seem to be the most common. I'm just guessing but PRS uses tops that are ~3/4" to 5/8" or so and rated at least AAA and better. Really thick and REALLY expensive! The 'A' ratings I believe relate to how many grain lines per square inch, grain pattern and overall grain quality ie...no pitch pockets or knots. Higher the 'A' rating the better the quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biblical Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 what price would you say really expensive is for a top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted March 11, 2004 Report Share Posted March 11, 2004 When you see the $$ and look like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowser Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 how about this thick... http://www.ibanezrules.com/images/gallery/rg2001.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 niiice!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 Hi i've been trying to work this out for ages and hopefully one of you guys will know. How do you give a solid body a carved top for example we could say like a PRS guitar? thanks in advance If you do a search on these forums, you'll find everything you need to know. Ive talked about my technique on more than one occassion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...rved%20top&st=0 for this one i used an angle grinder with sanding disc and cleaned up with sandpaper...others use finger planes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLS Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 When I posted a similar question, the best answer I got was "Take a piece of wood and remove everything that doesn't look like a PRS." Still haven't tried it although I sort of faked the look with a router. What type of router bit did you use for that? It looks pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 Looks like a cove bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 That's a really good start; you could just leave it like that, or now try to smooth out the contours. I saw one tutorial (here?) where you take a flat body blank, draw contour lines on it (like a map) in the shape of your carve, which represent lines of constant "depth" below the flat top. Then go around with a drill press and drill a bunch of holes using the depth stop, shallow near the middle, deeper at the edge, following the "depth contour lines". These holes are then your guide as to how much wood to remove during carving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 Would a 1/2" radius half round bit be able to do something like that? I've got one with a ball bearing on the bottom that might be what I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 Kinda like the one on the right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 Is there a way to set the bit dept shallow enough on the kind of bit on the left so that you could use a combination of those two bits? Start with the one on the right, then switch to the one on the left, with the ball-bearing guide riding somwhere about 1/2 to 2/3 down into the initial rout? I know it wouldn't be a true "carve" and wouldn't look like one, either, but it might be an interesting 'semi carve' effect if it would work..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 Maybe, or you could try an ogee bit. Or maybe a combination of then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 The ogee bit looks like it would do what I was thinking-- as long as one got the right sized bit so that the 'shelfing' at the top doesn't happen. I would only want the curvy 's' portion. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 If you don't want the 'shelfing' at the top, just adjust the depth until that part is no longer cutting That second bit is more like what I'm after. I only want to use the router for the flat-ish area just at the very outsido of the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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