Adding forearm contour to tele

[ICTGoober]

by hand? no thank you lol. power tools are your friend, but you need to be careful and go slow as to not mess it up. a good round over by hand would take forever

Let's not go that far, shall we? I love power tools - it's why I have so many (and want more of them), but I love hand tools, too - and I use them when I can. I've done forearm roundovers and belly cuts on guitars with hand tools in less than an hour that looked great, plus I got paid for them. They have their place guys, and in the end - as long as the job gets done and done well, it doesn't matter.

Like I told one of my bosses years ago when I worked in the tool & die shop at Beechcraft - "You guys don't care whether we write a program and run these tools on CNC, or make them with a goddamn file and sandpaper as long as they are done on time, and inspection buys them off - right?" "Yes". "Fine, then get out of my face and let me get to work!".

[solspirit]

Let's not go that far, shall we? I love power tools - it's why I have so many (and want more of them), but I love hand tools, too - and I use them when I can. I've done forearm roundovers and belly cuts on guitars with hand tools in less than an hour that looked great, plus I got paid for them. They have their place guys, and in the end - as long as the job gets done and done well, it doesn't matter.

Like I told one of my bosses years ago when I worked in the tool & die shop at Beechcraft - "You guys don't care whether we write a program and run these tools on CNC, or make them with a goddamn file and sandpaper as long as they are done on time, and inspection buys them off - right?" "Yes". "Fine, then get out of my face and let me get to work!".

Well said.

[solspirit]

Even with power tools, you still have to finish it by hand. Even with a belt sander it will take almost as much time as a rasp, I would venture to say, just as much time if not more. The only quick way is with a shaper; and a very few hobbyists own one.

[jeremy]

of course you need to finish it by hand.

and i do get your point goober, but again, im not going to do that by hand. not that you couldnt, but itll take a hell of a lot longer for your average person

[solspirit]

Your average person isn't proficient with power tools. Just using power tools doesn't always make the job quicker, especially if the person is not experienced.
I could do it with a belt sander or grinder, but it wouldnt be much faster than if I used a rasp.

[ToneFiddler]

I am not talking about the forearm contour itself.
Just the edge routing, which the the OP wants be be bigger at the forearm cut (strat 1/2" size) as opposed to the rest of the body (tele 1/8" size).
how would you even guide the 1/2" router bit at the forearm contour edge? (without a cnc)

Edit: rereading the OP again this is not what he wants, so forget about it.

[ToneFiddler]

Has anyone done something of this nature to a Tele before? I'm debating taking my tele body, rounding the edges to 1/8" (traditional tele edges) except a Strat style 1/2" roundover for the forearm. Does this type of thing have a name?

Images would help if you have any.

As ICTGoober already explained:
if you only want the 1/2" big strat radius at the forearm position without doing an actual forearm contour, the transition of the 2 radii will be the problem.
I still think it's more safe (and therefore easier) done by hand. Only talking about the transition!

[ehdwuld]

Clamp it to a table
and get to work

No matter what method you choose

Success or failure is determined at the END of the project

Let's get started gentlemen

Fortune favors the brave

[Chistopher]

As ICTGoober already explained:
if you only want the 1/2" big strat radius at the forearm position without doing an actual forearm contour, the transition of the 2 radii will be the problem.
I still think it's more safe (and therefore easier) done by hand. Only talking about the transition!

Yeah I am waiting to test it out on some scrap wood first. It wouldn't have to be perfect, but I don't want to mess up a perfectly good piece of wood for no reason either

[GuitarDoc]

Using power tools (belt sander) will end up giving you a more even contour. Of course you still have to finish it by hand with sandpaper. If you only use rasps and sanding, it will be very difficult to get a nice even contour.

[solspirit]

Using power tools (belt sander) will end up giving you a more even contour. Of course you still have to finish it by hand with sandpaper. If you only use rasps and sanding, it will be very difficult to get a nice even contour.

Only if you don't know what you're doing.
simply using a rasp doesn't make you a carpenter or luthier.

[ToneFiddler]

Using power tools (belt sander) will end up giving you a more even contour. Of course you still have to finish it by hand with sandpaper. If you only use rasps and sanding, it will be very difficult to get a nice even contour.

he doesn't want a contour

[Aceman]

Yeah I am waiting to test it out on some scrap wood first. It wouldn't have to be perfect, but I don't want to mess up a perfectly good piece of wood for no reason either

You said it was pine. No good wood will be ruined in this venture.

[ehdwuld]

My project pine tele body that Jerry gave me has been waiting almost 6 years for the forearm and tummy cut

I feel your hesitation

Rip that bandaid off

Doeit

[GuitarDoc]

Only if you don't know what you're doing.
simply using a rasp doesn't make you a carpenter or luthier.

No! If you DO know what you're doing, using a rasp is way more difficult to get an even final product.