Today I finally got all the routing completed on the Pine Toronado scratch body build. The first step was to route out the control cavity to create a below-pot thickness of 6.5mm. I managed to do this (just) using my 12mm router bit from Stewmac. For the shape I used the Stewmac templates for control cavity and corresponding cover.
Both routes came out really nicely in the end, although to get the depth of the cover took me a few passes - incrementing by tiny degrees each time. Given that I'm only going to have a single tone and volume pot on this build, the cavity is about double the size it needs to be. It'll cost be a bomb in shielding, but for a first routing attempt I'm pretty stoked with how it came out.
Using the same templates from Stewmac, I also created a control cover from 1-ply black that fits the cavity pretty nicely. It isn't *perfect*, but when you have to grind down the shape on the bench wheel to fit, it never is (for me anyway). It's still the best fit I've ever achieved on a custom control cover and I'm super stoked with it!
The last job was to round over the edges of the body with my 6mm rounding bit from Cutting Edge Saws in Sydney. This was very painless indeed (I was amazed just how painless) and although it needs a little tidying with 180 grit sandpaper where it nears the neck cavity, the rounded edge looks really great.
So there you are! A guitar body from scratch, to a level that I would call "build-ready". That is to say, what you would normally receive in a commercial guitar kit! I'm pretty chuffed with myself I don't mind telling you. There's a few dings in the soft pine that will need filling (where the soft pine has been treated non-too-kindly), but that's a mistake I wont repeat next time. It's a great body shape and is going to look awesome when it's finished!
Before I can start doing the aforementioned finishing though, I still need to get the bridge positioned correctly so that the string-through holes can be drilled and the string ferrules installed. It's the last job before sanding and dying (painting?) can begin in earnest!
Both routes came out really nicely in the end, although to get the depth of the cover took me a few passes - incrementing by tiny degrees each time. Given that I'm only going to have a single tone and volume pot on this build, the cavity is about double the size it needs to be. It'll cost be a bomb in shielding, but for a first routing attempt I'm pretty stoked with how it came out.
Using the same templates from Stewmac, I also created a control cover from 1-ply black that fits the cavity pretty nicely. It isn't *perfect*, but when you have to grind down the shape on the bench wheel to fit, it never is (for me anyway). It's still the best fit I've ever achieved on a custom control cover and I'm super stoked with it!
The last job was to round over the edges of the body with my 6mm rounding bit from Cutting Edge Saws in Sydney. This was very painless indeed (I was amazed just how painless) and although it needs a little tidying with 180 grit sandpaper where it nears the neck cavity, the rounded edge looks really great.
So there you are! A guitar body from scratch, to a level that I would call "build-ready". That is to say, what you would normally receive in a commercial guitar kit! I'm pretty chuffed with myself I don't mind telling you. There's a few dings in the soft pine that will need filling (where the soft pine has been treated non-too-kindly), but that's a mistake I wont repeat next time. It's a great body shape and is going to look awesome when it's finished!
Before I can start doing the aforementioned finishing though, I still need to get the bridge positioned correctly so that the string-through holes can be drilled and the string ferrules installed. It's the last job before sanding and dying (painting?) can begin in earnest!
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