Body Rollover Radius?

[Beebe]

I split the difference and use a 3/16" radius round-over bit .

Freud 104 34

It's the Goldy-Locks bit for Tele edges - not too sharp, and not too round .

I also use a little sand paper holder gizmo to finish sand the routed edge.

The sanding gizmo helps me to keep the radius even and true - better than I can do with just using sand paper and my fingers alone .


View attachment 877647



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Nice Gizmo!

 

[Telemaestro]

I was going to suggest the cornering tool that guitarbuilder suggested. Also consider making your own scratch stock. Garrett Hack has written some great info on scratch stocks. You won’t get the cleanest cut on the end grain, but a small sanding block with a concavity can clean that up quickly. The quickest way is obviously a round over router but, but as a hand tool enthusiast myself I would never fault anyone for taking the “hard” route. A couple of pencil lines, and some accurate work with a finely set convex soled spokeshave would also get you where you want pretty quickly, and fare the facets with some careful sanding.

 

[trev333]

I've settled on 3/16" and 1/2" for most styles of builds I do... 1/8" is a bit blocky/sharp for my comfort..

 

[old wrench]

Nice Gizmo!

These are the sanding gizmos I use -

WoodRiver - Sanding Pad Set 4 pc (woodcraft.com)

They have the radius built right in to them .

Set of four - 1/8", 3/16", 1/4" and 5/16" radius.

I use the next size bigger gizmo than the routed radius - that way the sand paper doesn't leave tell-tail scuff marks on the front or back faces of the guitar body .

.

 

[Deed_Poll]

I use 1/8" radius - and one advantage of this is that you can go right around the neck heel on the back, whereas with a larger radius (including on guitars like Strats and Jazzmasters) you have to sand quite a considerable transition from the larger radius down to a smaller / squarer radius to give the neck plate enough area

 

[trev333]

on my first tele body I used a small block of wood, drilled a 1/4" hole in it, cut a 90 deg slice out plus a bit more so the sandpaper didn't ride on the body, then sanded the radius with sandpaper in the block....

did the job until I got some small roundover bits and a trimmer to use,,,

 

[Mojotron]

I like to do a very sharp roundover - about 1/8" on the back side of the body so that it stays put when I am sitting down and a much wider one (about 1/4" to 5/16") on the front to make it comforatble.

Sometimes I use a router, but generally I just use a sanding block and go around the body in complete rotations for each stroke using even pressure - that actually takes less time than setting up a router and most of my guitars have an arch across the top that would not allow a router to be set up all that easily except on a platform to do a roundover like one would cut the binding channel on a Gibson-style build. It's just easier to sand in the roundover I think with the same or better results.

 

[beanluc]

Awesome info everyone! I'm thinking I'll go on the sharper side for my Esquire build.

I have that Bosch router but was also wondering if anyone has had any luck with a non powered tool. Something along the lines of this maybe? The one in my head is smaller, on a handle, and would go around curves easier.

https://www.ebay.com/c/757184015

I come from a boatbuilding town, imagine using a spokeshave all the way around.

Musical instruments are built to 1/64" precision, furniture building is precise to 1/32", the average house is good to the nearest 1/4", and hand built boats are built precisely to the nearest boat.

 

[trev333]

latest body waiting for a decision on what finish?.... shellac atm...

3/16 all around, then I roll the top bout just where your arm mostly rests to near 1/2 with sandpaper/rasp... just enough to soften it...

sometimes I do 1/8 around the neck plate area on the back and blend it in... or just sand it...

 

[Beebe]

I was going to suggest the cornering tool that guitarbuilder suggested. Also consider making your own scratch stock. Garrett Hack has written some great info on scratch stocks. You won’t get the cleanest cut on the end grain, but a small sanding block with a concavity can clean that up quickly. The quickest way is obviously a round over router but, but as a hand tool enthusiast myself I would never fault anyone for taking the “hard” route. A couple of pencil lines, and some accurate work with a finely set convex soled spokeshave would also get you where you want pretty quickly, and fare the facets with some careful sanding.

Great advice on using a pencil line! And thanks for supporting me up on doing it the hard way. I've been getting into hand tools lately. I could fashion a marking gauge with the pencil to get even lines.

 

[Beebe]

I come from a boatbuilding town, imagine using a spokeshave all the way around.

Musical instruments are built to 1/64" precision, furniture building is precise to 1/32", the average house is good to the nearest 1/4", and hand built boats are built precisely to the nearest boat.

Ha! Nice boat joke! Interesting info on precision. I might finally get to use that antique spokeshave I picked up on ebay. I've watched some you tubes where the mater woodworker would drag the spokeshave down the edge lightly with one hand to get a perfect gentle soft edge. Maybe I'll be there one day

 

[Beebe]

latest body waiting for a decision on what finish?.... shellac atm...

3/16 all around, then I roll the top bout just where your arm mostly rests to near 1/2 with sandpaper/rasp... just enough to soften it...

sometimes I do 1/8 around the neck plate area on the back and blend it in... or just sand it...

View attachment 877698

Nice! The one I'm working on also has a universal route.

 

[Beebe]

I'm happy to hear the edges on the early ones were sharper and also that the bodies were thinner, because I've sanded the heck out of this ToneBomb knotty pine body with a fret sanding bar and linseed oil to get through some cavities and gouges.

 

[Keep on Truckin]

latest body waiting for a decision on what finish?.... shellac atm...

3/16 all around, then I roll the top bout just where your arm mostly rests to near 1/2 with sandpaper/rasp... just enough to soften it...

sometimes I do 1/8 around the neck plate area on the back and blend it in... or just sand it...

View attachment 877698

Very Nice work !

 

[Dik Ellis]

This one’s 3/16” radius. View attachment 877603
not too hard, not too soft.

A P90 in the neck position. Yow, I'll bet she rocks

 

[Slowtwitch]

Early Tele's were 1/8" and when Strats started becoming popular, they soften the edges to 3/16 or 1/4" (can't remember). I like the tad softer edge. 1/8" feels very sharp, and also easier to sand through when finishing.

But not crazy round, it's still a tele

This is about standard for a Fender Tele

 

[kafka]

latest body waiting for a decision on what finish?.... shellac atm...

3/16 all around, then I roll the top bout just where your arm mostly rests to near 1/2 with sandpaper/rasp... just enough to soften it...

sometimes I do 1/8 around the neck plate area on the back and blend it in... or just sand it...

View attachment 877698

Milk paint

https://www.milkpaint.com/2014/06/shellac-trick-wmilk-paint.html

 

[ElJay370]

On my last build I borrowed an 1/8” bit to do the round over, but it’s such a small radius that I decided to avoid the hassle of routing and just do it by hand with some 220 grit sandpaper. Took my time, paid attention, came out fine. I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that the early Teles were done the same way.

 

[Bob J]

A P90 in the neck position. Yow, I'll bet she rocks

Waiting for the lacquer to fully dry. We’ll know in a month or so when she’s buffed and built, but that’s what I’m aiming for!