SguitarM527 Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 ok, for those of you who read my topic on the template situation, ive gone ahead without them. i cut out my body and its hasnt been smoothed around the sides yet i just have a few questions: 1.) Do i need the templates to start smoothing the edges? 2.) which is the best method to use (routing, spindle sanding etc.). thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShreddyKrueger Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 1. no, you do not need the templates to sand. 2. it would probably be best to just use regular sandpaper. for 2 reasons a. you can get to hard to reach areas easier. b. you'll respect it more if you have to put more work in to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 As I recall, it's a Tele, right? With the templates, you'll be closer to the original, but you can still get it to look good without. Just be extra careful with the horn; that's where you can make errors that can make it look distinctly non-tele. You can use a router if you have a lot of wood to take off, otherwise use a drum sander on a drill press to true up the sides. Off-hand I don't know the radius of the round-over on the edge; you could rout that or smooth it over by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 ok, for those of you who read my topic on the template situation, ive gone ahead without them. i cut out my body and its hasnt been smoothed around the sides yet i just have a few questions: 1.) Do i need the templates to start smoothing the edges? 2.) which is the best method to use (routing, spindle sanding etc.). thanks in advance Yes it's alot faster and easier if you used the templates simply because you will use it as a guide instead of free hand sanding it out. I know your building a Tele, but I basically explained the way I use templates in the Making Of A Strat Pictorial. Even if your not using premade templates, it's easier to make your own templates and sand out the rough edges of a 1/4" piece of wood, than a 1-3/4" hardwood guitar body. I know this because I have been down that road before, and have spent hour after hour trying to get wavy edges straight. That's why I say patience pays, because you might hurry up the process by skipping the template process, but in the long run you'll end up spending 10 times as long as in the sanding stage later on. So what time did you save? None, you ended up wasting time in the overall process. I've always heard it's better to work smart than hard. And it's true in guitar building also. So if it was me, I'd use the templates and route or sand it down the the exact dimensions. As far as the best method, I really like to use a Robo-Sander nowdays, even now on body blanks, since you have no tearout and can work it down till it's perfect without being scared of making one wrong move and having to scrap the wood. If you have a newer router bit, it will work great also, but keep it moving at all times, or you'll burn the wood. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SguitarM527 Posted July 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 thanks for the responses.... i have a wooden template that i used to trace the body shape on, i made it myself from a CAD drawing, but it isnt sufficient for the final project... would that temporary template suffice for sanding.... also, i have a belt sander and a random vibrating sandor... i also have a disc sander drill attatchment... which of these, if any, are best for sanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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