Finished my templates today.......Thanks forum!!

Got several neck and body templates completed today. I've learned so much here the last few weeks by reading through the threads. We need to buy the guy that invented router bits and double sided duct tape a beer........!


Started with rough outs. Used my master to route these headstocks and remembered that you guys say to use a straight edge on the sides.......
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t468/jlaceytrc/001-2.jpg?t=1340593865


Im still shopping for a better router table/fence than the 30 year old Craftsman I got as a kid so today I just ran some drywall screws through a aluminum level and used it as a fence to run the router against. Lots of measuring and adjusting went on during this step. But once I got it, the template was nice and I used it to route the second one. I actually made a third neck template but I screwed it up and trashed it.
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t468/jlaceytrc/008.jpg?t=1340593865


Elevated a body rough out and applied the double sided tape......
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t468/jlaceytrc/013.jpg?t=1340593865


Stuck on the master template. If you look close you'll see a bit of John Deere green paint on this template. I should have taken some pics before and after but I didn't, concerning that paint. I have a Binks model 7 spray gun that I left at my Dad's work place a couple of years ago as I was restoring a 52 Ford truck I own. I found that gun Saturday at his building and it was covered in cured green paint, top to bottom, inside and out. I spent 4 hours saturday trying to save it. I think I did. Never realized I got green on this template until I saw the pic a few moments ago.
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t468/jlaceytrc/016.jpg?t=1340593865


I was very pleased with the results. No way I would have ever figured this out with out this forum........! Amazing how your templates look once you get a good master to work with.
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t468/jlaceytrc/019.jpg?t=1340593865


Got a pile of something to work with now. I remember someone here saying that they enjoyed making good template as much as building guitars. I think it's very cool that you can come here and learn this stuff....HUGE THANKS TO THIS FORUM !!!!!!!
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t468/jlaceytrc/021.jpg?t=1340593865

Jeff

Nice one...

Looking good. I need to start doing new templates.

Those really look great!

Got several neck and body templates completed today. I've learned so much here the last few weeks by reading through the threads. We need to buy the guy that invented router bits and double sided duct tape a beer........!

Started with rough outs. Used my master to route these headstocks and remembered that you guys say to use a straight edge on the sides.......

Im still shopping for a better router table/fence than the 30 year old Craftsman I got as a kid so today I just ran some drywall screws through a aluminum level and used it as a fence to run the router against. Lots of measuring and adjusting went on during this step. But once I got it, the template was nice and I used it to route the second one. I actually made a third neck template but I screwed it up and trashed it.

Elevated a body rough out and applied the double sided tape......

Stuck on the master template. If you look close you'll see a bit of John Deere green paint on this template. I should have taken some pics before and after but I didn't, concerning that paint. I have a Binks model 7 spray gun that I left at my Dad's work place a couple of years ago as I was restoring a 52 Ford truck I own. I found that gun Saturday at his building and it was covered in cured green paint, top to bottom, inside and out. I spent 4 hours saturday trying to save it. I think I did. Never realized I got green on this template until I saw the pic a few moments ago.

I was very pleased with the results. No way I would have ever figured this out with out this forum........! Amazing how your templates look once you get a good master to work with.

Got a pile of something to work with now. I remember someone here saying that they enjoyed making good template as much as building guitars. I think it's very cool that you can come here and learn this stuff....HUGE THANKS TO THIS FORUM !!!!!!!

Jeff

Are they made from the drawings thats available here on TDpri?

Are they made from the drawings thats available here on TDpri?

Yes , they were made from the T. Downs drawings I got here at TDPRI.

Might be the wrong thing to ask, but why have multiple templates? I am a virgin builder by the way. They do look nice though.

Might be the wrong thing to ask, but why have multiple templates? I am a virgin builder by the way. They do look nice though.

The accepted logic here is that if you have one good template and make another from it, you'll always have a master to make more from in case you mess up the first one.

I have my initial templates which I made out of 1/4" plywood. After decades of use, any dings got fixed with plastic wood or superglue and baking soda. Personally, I never found any need to make multiple copies of any of them. I attribute this to using the stew mac bit which is only 1/2" long, running double bearings on the shank, and pre-hogging out waste with a forstner bit to allow the bit just to clean up the rout. It seems that people who wreck their templates try removing the entire depth of the body or rout in one shot in most cases. I run double bearings because I have had them fail during a rout... and yes, it messed up my template.... they were fixed with the above mentioned products.

Might be the wrong thing to ask, but why have multiple templates? I am a virgin builder by the way. They do look nice though.

Thanks for the comment and tough I have yet to build a guitar, this would be my take on making several templates...........


* It seems that building good templates would be the best introduction for actully building my first guitar, so by building several I learned what worked and what absolutely does not work. Like trying to stick your router bit in a predilled hole while it's running. Don't try this . I almost ruined my master by trying this. The bit grabbed the edge of the hole I had drilled in my bridge pup opening and went crazy. So from this I learned to make certain the bit is in the hole and clear before powering up the tool.

* MDF is nasty stuff once you get to the sanding and router steps of the process. It took me alot longer to clean up the MDF dust than it did to make the templates. I elected to do this outside under our open carport rather than dusting out my work shop. My wife's car was dust covered as well as everything else with-in a 900 sq foot area. So by making several sets at once I only had one mess to clean up and hope that I don't need to make anymore templates for along time. Plus I don't really have any other use for the MDF and my shop is small with limited storage space. I had rather see three body templates than one very odd shaped left over piece of 3/4 MDF taking up shop space, so I got 3 bodies and 3 necks out of the piece, 24"x48"x3/4".



I guess I just wanted to learn as much as I could that day, plus I didn't wanna have scrap left over that would be in my way, and it was such a mess I was glad to have enough templates to do me for awhile. And you never know when you'll make a mistake and ruin your working template. If that happens it would be nice to just toss it in the trash and grab another with out going through the hassle of repairing your damaged template or setting up to make a new one........Other than that, one good template that's well taken care of should be enough for anybody........


Jeff


Jeff

Thanks for the comment and tough I have yet to build a guitar, this would be my take on making several templates...........


* It seems that building good templates would be the best introduction for actully building my first guitar, so by building several I learned what worked and what absolutely does not work. Like trying to stick your router bit in a predilled hole while it's running. Don't try this . I almost ruined my master by trying this. The bit grabbed the edge of the hole I had drilled in my bridge pup opening and went crazy. So from this I learned to make certain the bit is in the hole and clear before powering up the tool.

* MDF is nasty stuff once you get to the sanding and router steps of the process. It took me alot longer to clean up the MDF dust than it did to make the templates. I elected to do this outside under our open carport rather than dusting out my work shop. My wife's car was dust covered as well as everything else with-in a 900 sq foot area. So by making several sets at once I only had one mess to clean up and hope that I don't need to make anymore templates for along time. Plus I don't really have any other use for the MDF and my shop is small with limited storage space. I had rather see three body templates than one very odd shaped left over piece of 3/4 MDF taking up shop space, so I got 3 bodies and 3 necks out of the piece, 24"x48"x3/4".



I guess I just wanted to learn as much as I could that day, plus I didn't wanna have scrap left over that would be in my way, and it was such a mess I was glad to have enough templates to do me for awhile. And you never know when you'll make a mistake and ruin your working template. If that happens it would be nice to just toss it in the trash and grab another with out going through the hassle of repairing your damaged template or setting up to make a new one........Other than that, one good template that's well taken care of should be enough for anybody........


Jeff


Jeff

Great job man and I completely agree with ya that this forum is a very special thing and the craftsmen here are fantastic and generous and I'm grateful for all the help I've received from this forum.

Build on!!

One thing you might do is wick some superglue into the edge of the MDF templates. This will keep it from fraying and/or swelling around the edges and provide a good surface for the router bearing to ride on.

One thing you might do is wick some superglue into the edge of the MDF templates. This will keep it from fraying and/or swelling around the edges and provide a good surface for the router bearing to ride on.

Thanks, I didn't know that.

Jeff

Thanks for the replies and all well received

An alternative for sealing mdf edges is shellac. The beauty of shellac is that is just wipes on and dries in minutes. Smells nice too :grin: