Making a routing template from a lacquered body

[Lostheart]

I was wondering if any of you have ever made a routing template from a Tele body with the finish intact and supposed to stay that way.
I have an original Fender Tele in pieces here and would like to have one more template based on an original Fender.
How would you fellas do it?
Use one of StewMac's Robo Sander and use the edge of the body as a guide?
Sounds like a quick way of doing it...but not all that safe!
Or be safe and file the template always checking back?
Would you take the lacquer coats into account and make the template a hair smaller?
I've only made templates from drawings that I glued to MDF and cut and sanded along the lines...
Any help is appreciated...
Cheers,
Sascha

[telex]

I would just run a sharp pencil around the outline of the guitar, straight to the MDF. Rough cut a tiny bit wide of the line, then use a spindle sander, or files to fine tune the template.

When I made neck templates, I sprayed white Zinser primer on the masonite so that I could see the lines easier.

Remember, you will sand the body anyway, so I wouldn't really worry about the finish thickness.

[Lostheart]

Originally Posted by telex

I would just run a sharp pencil around the outline of the guitar, straight to the MDF. Rough cut a tiny bit wide of the line, then use a spindle sander, or files to fine tune the template.

When I made neck templates, I sprayed white Zinser primer on the masonite so that I could see the lines easier.

Remember, you will sand the body anyway, so I wouldn't really worry about the finish thickness.

Thanks, Telex!
I was trying to find some good use for my Stew Mac Robo Sander and thought that this tool will provide me with a spare and acurate template pretty fast.
But I guess you're right and the ol fashioned method you listed above is still the safest way to go...

[Jack Wells]

I made a neck template using a Telecaster neck as a template for the template. I made it first using 1/4 in. MDF then used that template to make a thicker 3/4 in. template.

A body template would be easier I think.

1. I would do this all on a router table.
2. If the body has protruding ferrules, remove them
3. Draw the outline of the guitar on 1/4 MDF.
4. Saw close to the line.
5. Apply masking tape around the perimeter of the body along the back edge.
6. Double stick tape the body to the rough cut template. The MDF will be between the router table and the body.
7. Install a flush trim router bit (bearing at the end). Carefully adjust the height of the bit so that only the bearing rides on the body.
8. Turn on the router and go.
9. If the cutter doesn't cut the complete thickness of the MDF because of the small space between the cutter and the bearing, this could be remedied with sandpaper.
10. Use the 1/4 in. template to make a 3/4 in. working template.

You could probably do something similar with the Robo-Sander in a drill press. My Robo-Sander experience is limited but from the times I have used it, it doesn't seem as accurate as a router bit with guide bearing.

[milkshape]

I made my tele templates from an unfinished body and a home made pin router using 3/4 mdf. The pin router is just melamine, 2x4s, and a "modified" half inch bolt. I plan to do exactly as you describe for a mini strat. here are some shots of the turbo pin router and the body blank. Note in these shots the router bit is only poking up a half inch at most through the router table, no where near the original. One advantage of using a finished body is your templates might be a bit bigger, but since your are most likely going to end up sanding this is a good thing. It was fun doing it, but if I needed to save time I'd talk to Mr. Kirn.

[Jack Wells]

Deleted double post.

[Jack Wells]

Milkshape ....... That is just excellent .............

[Lostheart]

Just returned to this thread after spending the sunday at the dutch beach, forgetting all my guitar woes. ;-)

Thanks everyone who chimed in...as mentioned before I was trying to cheap out and get a template without all the sanding, lining up to the original body, measuring etc..

Originally Posted by jwells393

1. I would do this all on a router table.

And that's where the problem starts...I don't have a router table, only a hand held router that won't stay on without holding down the knob. I guess it's a safety feature they incorporate into 99% of all routers they sell here in Germany.
But that's cool because most of the stuff that can be done with a router table can also be done with a hand-held router....I just have to be more careful not to tilt it and take a nice chunk out of the body that serves as a guide.
Maybe I'll give the Robo-Sander another shot and see if I can get accurate results with it....I assume that the only problem will be the radius at the neck pocket since the diameter of the Robo-Sander is significantly bigger.

Originally Posted by milkshape

I made my tele templates from an unfinished body and a home made pin router using 3/4 mdf.

Awesome tool...

[Ronkirn]

Jack's right on, I will add, be careful that the router bit you buy is precision cut, so that there is no damage done to the body, the masking tape, will help, and also watch the pressure you use as you hold the body against the bit's bearing. The finish on older bodies gets very brittle and it's quite easy for the bearing to crack the finish as you track around the body.

Ron Kirn

Here’s some photos as I made a few templates…

First, have something really nice to make a template with.


The Jazzmaster is a ’63 but the date is so faint, it would not photograph, but you can see the tape around the edges to protect the finish.

here, I’m making the neck pocket, and will use this to produce the final version of the neck pocket template, it’s a ’55 Precision Bass.


More to follow. . .

[Ronkirn]

The nice thing about doing it this way is you cannot get more accurate, except for whatever sanding went on 50 years ago.



Sometimes, it’s not necessary to protect the finish, because they were NEVER protected.


Here’s where it gets touchy, you have to be aware of wiring channels etc, because as you go around the internal cavities, also thin sections such as the Tremolo rout in this ‘61 Strat require extreme caution


But stay with it, and you’ll get ‘er done.



Sorry, but 20 years ago when I made the Tele Templates, I didn’t see any reason to photograph it, I’m working on getting another, and will post photos when completed.

I hope these shots will help, a photo is worth a thousand words, and since I’ve been ragged on for posting thousand word Diatribes, I’ll just let the photos do the talkin’

Ron Kirn

[Lostheart]

Originally Posted by Ronkirn

I hope these shots will help, a photo is worth a thousand words

Brilliant...thanks a lot, Ron!
That's a great tutorial for making templates from Tele bodies.
As much as I wanted to find a use for my Robo Sander from StewMac I use the router instead...

[milkshape]

Originally Posted by jwells393

Milkshape ....... That is just excellent .............

thanks jwells, I believe I was inspired by a picture you posted, "standing on shoulders" applies. Learned a lot from everyone here.

[tdowns]

Excellent thread!!

[milkshape]

So Lostheart,
Ich hat keine router Tisch, Ich habe mein gemacht.
My table was made from a 2 foot by 4 foot melamine I picked up at the home center plus some dry wall screws. We're talking 10 or 15 bucks total. It is extremely easy to put together. Tools required are circular saw (or table saw if you got one!), hand drill, router. I can go into more detail if you'd like. It's much easier than routing a tele body in my opinion.

[seekir]

Cool pin-router milkshape. Is the "pin" a half-inch bolt? Less potential to damage the original body with your rig. I guess you set the pin in the body and plunge the router when you're doing pickup routs? Or maybe you locate the cavity position on the template and drill a clearance hole in the template before positioning the sandwiched body and template and dropping the pin in the body?

[milkshape]

Originally Posted by seekir

Cool pin-router milkshape. Is the "pin" a half-inch bolt? Less potential to damage the original body with your rig. I guess you set the pin in the body and plunge the router when you're doing pickup routs? Or maybe you locate the cavity position on the template and drill a clearance hole in the template before positioning the sandwiched body and template and dropping the pin in the body?

Thanks seekir,
Yup it's a half inch bolt with the head cut off and the rough edges filed smooth. It didn't put a mark on the alder blank. I set the pin the pickup slot and then plunge from underneath. Once I had everything on the interior of the body cut about a half inch deep into the mdf template I took the template off the body and placed the pin in those partial cuts, raised the bit so it went all the way through the template. It is difficult to line up the bit and the pin but not impossible. The table is a knockoff of a table jwells had posted a long time ago, the pin and arm part came about during lunchtime discussions with a friend at work who used to build chairs for a living.

[seekir]

It is difficult to line up the bit and the pin but not impossible.

It looks like it'd be tricky without some kind of fine-thread adjustment mechanism on the pin "arm," still, if you can find pins to match the radius of your bits fairly closely your rig looks like a great home-shop alternative to expensive commercial outfits.

[milkshape]

The holes through the 2x4s (yeah, now we're talking precision!) are over sized so I can move things around. I try to get it lined up "best" to the front and attempt to do all the cutting at that spot, good for the body shape, not so good for the pickup and control cavities. But those can have a bit of fudge. Ya' know if my old router had a half inch collet I guess I could just chuck the pin and I'd be right there! The good news here is that my old router did die, and it's replacement has a half inch collet. Thanks! I would have never thought about that. Time to make new templates.