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Dremel Tool for thinline f-hole

hackworth1
October 25th, 2009, 11:09 PM
If one has a little artistic ability, one can trace an f-hole design and route it in 3/16th inch plywood with a dremel tool. File and sand and you've got a great looking f-hole template. Then, use the template to make duplicates for practice. Following the template, freehand follow the f-hole carefully at lower dremel speeds with a dremel cutting drill. Some of the sanding wheels will match the contours of the f-hole. Note that a thinline style f-hole has a larger hole at the top and a smaller hole at the bottom. Thanks CJ for your help. Much appreciated.

mijstrat72
October 26th, 2009, 10:50 PM
I don't see why not. I believe that the dremel is one of the most underrated power tools one can have. I used one on the majority of my recent Esquire build, heres the raw body work I did with mine;

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn14/davepicguy/EsquireRouting.jpg

I used a "fast cutting bit" for all of my routing work, and found it to cut and route very well. The neck pocket is as tight as any production line made guitar. You just have to have a steady hand and some patience. Here is another shameless shot of the finished product built with essentially a band saw, and a dremel and a battery powered Black -n- Decker drill my wife got me for X'mas lastyear;

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn14/davepicguy/Esquirecomplete2.jpg

jrfrond
October 26th, 2009, 11:00 PM
The Dremel has NEVER been underrated in my book. I have been using it for years, and IF you are going to route with it or do any precision work, you should really purchase the router base so that you can use 1/8" shank router bits. There are TONS of Dremel and aftermarket accessories for the Dremel. My favorite source is Micro-Mark,a company in NJ that specializes in tools and supplies for model builder, instrument makers and such. I can't say enough about the Dremel OR Micro-Mark. Get a Dremel and the Micro-Mark catalog. Neither will disappoint.