pickup routes

[brian konn]

What is the best tool and way to route out the deep 30 mm cavites on the edges of the humbucker pickup routes. It's hard to see what I'm doing with my router base. Is there a better way.

Brian

[Brian]

The only way I'm use to doing it is either freehand (not recomended) or by attaching a template to the body using double sided sticky tape and using a router bit that has a bearing collar so you won't cut through the template itself.

You can accuire them at many fine luthier supply wearhouse's such as Stew Mac or Luthiers Merchantile.

[soapbarstrat]

if the pickup will use a mounting ring or be covered by a pickguard, you could just double-stick scrap pieces as guides and if they are thick enough, you can use a standard straight bit allowing the bit's shaft to "ride along" the "template" pieces. I did my first pickup rout that way in 1987 and it worked fine. I used 1/2" thick wood pieces with carpet tape and a regular straight router bit. Now I have the ball-bearing bit.

If you want those deeper ends to be perfect, you need to rig up a dedicated template pattern for just those ends and have a router bit that goes deep enough.

The "template pieces" could very well turn out as well as the pro templates, but there's a good chance they won't, so that's why I say to do it that way only if the rout will be hidden. Unless you're not like me and don't go crazy if things don't turn out perfectly.

I might be taking something for granted and not giving enough detail. I have a lot of experience with routers and use them all the time in my guitar repair work and my home rehab job work and am currently commissioned to build a special stair-building router jig for a home remodeling company.