tsl602000 Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 schafferij (whats that in english??) What's that in Dutch? I could plane down a whole guitar top with the router if I made a router planing jig big enough (I have one that's big enough to plane down wooden strat pickguards). Soapbarstrat, you have a pic of that setup? I'd love to see that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 I don't have a pic of mine, plus I'm about 8,000 (???) miles away from mine now. But I did a quick google search and found something pretty similar that'll give a good idea : http://www.woodzone.com/tips/tip-images/planer/planing.jpg I don't use metal rods like on that one. I replace the router base with a flat rectangle board and wooded risers on the end to give the right height (held with machine screws, so pieces can be added for more height). For pieces that I shave down to around 1/16" thick, I'll double stick tape them to the board below (which is a pretty flat, thick piece of particle board --from a door). I usually hold bigger pieces down firmly by clamping long thin scrap on both sides. It's important that one of the scrap pieces is flexible so you can really pull it tight against the ends of board to be planed, then clamp it on the edge of the base below. To break a double-stick tape bond, I'll put drops of lacquer thinner around the piece of wood. Router uses a 3/4" carbide tipped bit. The piece being planed stays still, while the router jig moves around. And man does it move around with ease after I put paste wax on the base of the router jig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 Soapbarstrat, you have a pic of that setup? I'd love to see that. I will post mine soon, but my router is AWOL at the moment. I'm sure it's pretty much the same as Soapbar's setup, but large enough to do a full body blank. In answer to the question about cutting the neck - router and template. This is how a whole bunch of people on here do it. I made my own router table using less than £10 of materials, it works fine, though it's not exactly geared towards uber-high-precision. You can cut the back profile and taper with this, using different templates. A router and jigs can be fantasticly versatile, and is probably the most adaptable guitar making power tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 I'm assuming yours is better than mine in other ways other than just the size. The main reason I keep using this set-up is because after I plane wood, and lay my straight-edge on it, I usually only get a .005" gap maximum, so that's a pretty accurate system. I originally got the idea from 'shopnotes' woodworking magazine, and made my own variation. I think I've also seen a similar setup, where they have two side pieces, with threaded rod going across on both ends. Then the sides are tightened into the piece to be planed , by tightening screws on the threaded rods. The router sits on a large base on top of the side pieces. Not for factory type guitar making, but for a slowly built guitar now and then, I think the router can deal with this kind of wear and tear (not a Dremel. Mine's a 1 1/2 hp ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 I don't have a pic of mine, plus I'm about 8,000 (???) miles away from mine now. But I did a quick google search and found something pretty similar that'll give a good idea : http://www.woodzone.com/tips/tip-images/planer/planing.jpg i love that setup.... now i know what i am doing this weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 My dad just got a 15" planer I like Setch's improvised table though. I might try something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 another version : http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_impro...gs/index5.phtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morben Guitars Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 I'm an advocate of "use the right tool for the job"..but you can get carried away when shopping for machinary... I built a bunch of guitars using the same process as TRL.. Jig saw/Router & Template method. I've since built a reasonably nice shop, but still don't have a band saw...Nice for resawing, but I just don't think I'll use it enough to rationalize the expense right now. Chris, Buy a router. Skip the Disk/belt sander, Skip the planer, skip the band saw.. Now that's $817 you just saved...more than enough for your next 203 guitars. Tools don't make the craftsman...they make the craftsman lazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 tsl and the others are right about routers. If I was to list to a person what they will need to build a guitar from scratch, guess what's at the top of the list. A Router. It's the single most important tool you can have. With a good set of templates, flush trim bits, and good router, I can build a whole guitar. I think a bandsaw is a great tool to have, but you could have gotten by without it till later on. Belt Sanders are good, but aren't necessary for building guitars. In fact I built a copy carver for the price It would have costed me to buy a big belt sander. I can do a perfect neck contour, and total guitar top carving in less than an hour with it, with light hand sanding or using the 3D Sander to finish it up, so really no need for belt sander with that setup. I can see having a planer, but for me I'd rather bring a bunch of wood to someone who can do them all for me at one time, enough so that I don't have to bug them alot, I'm going to buy one soon, but then again, it's not necessary right off the bat, if you know anyone who would let you borrow theirs for a bit. I agree that a drill press is really a must, simply because you don't want your tuner hole to not be straight .. that in itself is reason enough to buy one. I think you should get a router for sure, and actually suprised you wasn't told before that they are without a doubt one of the most used tools in building guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted May 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2004 After all ya'll's help I've finally come up with what I am going to buy. And you all seem very intent that a router is the most important, so I'm gunna get one, but I've got a funny story for you. That neck thru that I have a pic of on this thread that I build in my woodshop... i used a router on it only TWICE, for the control cavity and for the bridge pickup cavity. But I can see now where i'll start using it more from what ya'll have told me. My choices: - Bandsaw (and I'm gunna build a fense for it so i can use it LIKE a table saw ) - Bendsander (sorry guys, I CAN'T live without this one, you don't know HOW much I used this one last time. I did my shaping after bandsawing with it, and I did my neck tapering with it, this I as a builder can't lose.) - Palm Electric Sander - Router, bits, and templates. - HAND NON-Electric Drill. I love them, that's how I did my tuner holes last time. They drill slow so they drill accurate and straight! I'm now at $875. Thanks for the help guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted May 20, 2004 Report Share Posted May 20, 2004 Man... If I had $875 kicking around, I'm not sure those are the things I would buy; however, you also need to buy what you feel comfortable with, and what will give you the confidence to do a good job. Me, I'd be happy for $40 to buy a binding router bit and bearings from StewMac, because my makeshift plans seem to be falling short so far. ;-) As for the drill, a drill press isn't expensive... but I guess some people just love certain hand tools for certain things! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 Due to other uses such as furniture making, I have a full woodshop at my disposal. When building guitars I use the same setup everytime though. I use my old Dremel Moto Shop scroll saw to cut the body. I prefer it over my band saw cause its easier in the tight curves, plus if it ever breaks down you can buy em' used on ebay for about $20-25. Quite a bit cheaper than replacing my bandsaw. I use my spindle sander to finish the edges of the body. I use my Delta floor model drill press to remove most of the wood in my pickup and control cavities and neck pocket, and for all the normal hole drilling. I then use my old Craftsman router to finish up all the cavities and neck pocket and for the truss rod channel. I use my Delta table saw for the fretboard and my Delta bandsaw for the neck. If I am making a carved top, I use my router and route steps going down to the desired depth and use rasps, sureforms and such for the final shaping. I use all hand tools for shaping the neck too, rasps, spokeshaves, sureforms and sanding blocks. I hand sand everything except the edges of the body because those need to be nice and straight. I know they were building guitars before the invention of electricity, but I couldn't imagine building a guitar without a router. It is a very important tool for all woodworking projects. If you really want to buy all the things in your first list, I say go for it. In the end, they will save you considerable time in the building process and you can use them in the future for many other projects as they come along. Before I bought my table saw, I had turned my $40.00 Skil Circular saw into a table saw. It took about $30.00 worth of 2"x4"s and a sheet of MDF and some other various parts, but it worked very well. It was a little difficult to adjust the blade height and angle, but still served its purpose. The only tool on that first list I would not get is the Dremel. I would definitly replace that with a decent router. BTW, has anyone seen that show that comes on PBS.... The Router Workshop. They build everything completely with a router. I watched them build an entertainment center with nothing more than a router. Great show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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