MDF template Build Process

[Sycoss]

Hello to all, i'm relatively new here and have been enjoying reading the hundreds of threads that tdpri have to offer. I have built guitars my whole life, partscasters and scratchbuilt. But have decided to enter the inevitable realm of jig building so i can build guitars more efficiently in future. I thought i would document my builds in hope that someone else will find them useful.

First build is mdf strat templates, (with no master to work from, and limited tooling) I'm making vintage strat templates from an online blueprint.

First pics are the templates drawn out onto mdf, apologies for my poor scribbling skills, but i understand it well enough ;)

[Sycoss]

Today i began on cutting the template, i'm doing it whenever i get a spare few hours and in a particular order to ensure accuracy. Tasks achieved today: Outer shape rough cut, holes drilled and countersunk for tempalte attachment.

Holes drilled with a hand drill and countersunk with a router bit.



Using the router to rough cut as i have no band saw and refuse to do it by hand ;)





Shape now roughed out and ready for precision cutting tomorow, i routed a big hole near the neck pocket for a purpose. I am going to attach the template to a guitar body that i allready own, i will use a flush trimmer to cut the template neck pocket to ensure perfect dimensions on the template.



Thats all i managed today what with breaking a drill bit and the usual interuptions! Back tomorow to update on shaping and flush trimming.

[Colt W. Knight]

Are you routing free hand? YIKES!

[rapfohl09]

Originally Posted by Colt W. Knight

Are you routing free hand? YIKES!

I will share the same sentiment, yikes!

I have seen people do this before, and the router really wasn't designed for that. MDF is forgiving enough since it is stupidly soft, but still.

[DeepSouth]

Colt and Rapfohl09 are right - routers can do you some serious damage trying that. The cutters can spin at over 20,000 rpm. They can either throw the job, or throw a bit, or part of router bit at you. They can also kick like a mule and take your finger or even your gentleman's sausage right off Please be careful - routers can be really evil - trust me.

Safer and more accurate tools for roughly cutting the template to shape would be a bandsaw, scroll saw or jigsaw.

For finishing the roughly cut template down to the line you drew accurately you could try a ROSS (a rotating oscillating spindle/bobbin sander) for the inside curves, a belt or disc sander for the outside curves, good old metal work files (would you believe), wood rasps and plain old cork sanding blocks. I'm sure there are other ways to skin the cat as well - but they are the ones that spring to mind.

We all mean well here - we are just trying to keep you in one piece

[alexlaguna29]

Freehand router - this gives me chills! BRRRRRRRR!

[Guitar novice]

Hi Sycoss

Welcome to the forum.

You probably have much more experience than me but I found the router a scary tool. The mdf gave me a false sense of confidence. That was taken away in an instant when dealing with grain.

Good luck.

[Sycoss]

Hi folks, thank you all for your wise advice, advice which i heartily agree with. I use a router every day for 6-8 hours at work so i understand your fears!

To use a router for this type of work i always make very small passes and never put any stress on the motor, as mentioend mdf is soft so my powerful router goes through it like butter.

But as always i shall be careful and remain safe, more to come tomorow :)

[crazydave911]

Originally Posted by DeepSouth

Colt and Rapfohl09 are right - routers can do you some serious damage trying that. The cutters can spin at over 20,000 rpm. They can either throw the job, or throw a bit, or part of router bit at you. They can also kick like a mule and take your finger or even your gentleman's sausage right off Please be careful - routers can be really evil - trust me.

Safer and more accurate tools for roughly cutting the template to shape would be a bandsaw, scroll saw or jigsaw.

For finishing the roughly cut template down to the line you drew accurately you could try a ROSS (a rotating oscillating spindle/bobbin sander) for the inside curves, a belt or disc sander for the outside curves, good old metal work files (would you believe), wood rasps and plain old cork sanding blocks. I'm sure there are other ways to skin the cat as well - but they are the ones that spring to mind.

We all mean well here - we are just trying to keep you in one piece

First off, welcome to the TDPRI forum!

Second, coming from someone who free-handed for years, of course only you know if you've done this enough, to be careful enough. Everyone is concerned and properly so, Colt is the voice of cold experience . Here's hoping you build safely, and enjoy the community here, this is a special place



Dave

[Dunkerhook]

Originally Posted by Guitar novice

Hi Sycoss

...The mdf gave me a false sense of confidence. That was taken away in an instant when dealing with grain...

+1. When copying templates from 1/4 to 3/4 MDF -- on the advice of other forum threads, I found myself saying "hey, this isn't so hard" and so forth.

And then...

Thankfully, scrap hardwood for practice isn't hard for me to find. "Unplanned design changes" are much easier to take when it isn't on an expensive blank.

[stng72]

Using the router freehand is dangerous and does not give you the best results. Get a jigsaw with a fine blade and then sand the rest to shape.

[Sycoss]

Again Thank you all for your safety tips; a level of risk is always involved in using power tools, to put some of your minds at rest the only freehanding is the template edges. Also i am a carpenter by trade and use far more dangerous tools 8 hours every day at work. So i know the importance of not being too over confident.

Some suggestions have not been practical, in a perfect world i would use a completely different approach, i would CNC the template, or at least use a bandsaw instead, however i explained in my posts that this is a build with limited tooling and no master to work from, so this is merely one method.

@crazydave911 thankyou for your kind words i'm sure i will enjoy being a part of the forum as much as i have as an onlooker.

Brad

[bcruise]

Welcome, Sycoss....Although I do a small amount of free-hand routing also, I generally find it faster (and safer) to make a 1/4 plywood template first, and then my 3/4 inch template...mdf or ply....using a template pattern following router bit. As you well know, the MDF can (and does) get dinged up quickly....the 1/4 inch ply works quickly, and, since it doesn't get used in the actual build, usually stays in pretty good shape...very handy when you need to make another 3/4 template.

Good luck...have fun....stay safe!

[Sycoss]

Hello again all,

Finally the rain has eased off and i have finished slabbing so today i could dedicate a few hours to my template build. (Or so i thought)

I Picked up an alder body from guitarbuild.co.uk a while back, (Strat shape and neck pocket allready cut, saves me time in the long run). So my idea was to attach my template to the body and use my router to flush trim the neck pocket from the pre-cut one. Well i didn't get any photo's of that process, i was a bit focussed on getting that right, but it came out perfectly, my mdf template now has a perfectly aligned and cut neck pocket. (As you will see in the pics).

I also decided to start on the pickup route, with no master to work from, getting nice straight edges is my main hurdle; i overcame this buy clamping a piece of wood with a straight edge, parallel to the straight line i need to route along. Now all i have to do is run the routers flat side along the wood and it routes perfectly straight. :)




Above you can see the complete neck pocket, and the top of the pickup route has a nice straight edge, after a few more passes the edge was done. Next i was going to happily do the same to the two bottom angles of the pickup route, just got started on the one side and the router conked out; the bearings are...(As we say in the business)...shagged. Well new bearings shall be picked up soon then i can get it completed. This is where i got to.



Now to get the bearings asap, ask the man upstairs for good weather and get the template done. Sure would be easier with a master to work off, but i do like to suffer.

P.S. Quick piccy of my Fender MIM standard that is being auctioned, wondered what the opinions were of my mods? :P