Building a Guitar: HELP!

[The Posh Mushroom]

Hello Fellow Forummers,
I didn't know any better place to ask for advice, so I came here, please don't hate on me. Anyways, I am building a Tiger inspired guitar with strat wiring. I rear-routed the control cavity, and the pickups (like the Alvarez Dana Scoop Guitars)[see picture #3], as you can see in one of the photos. I now need to make a control cavity cover for this guitar. I got a sheet of black plastic from stewmac, but I can't figure out how to shape the plastic in such a way that it would a) be recessed and b) fit snugly into the recessed area. I can think of no templates that would work, and so came to this, so help me forummers, you're my only hope! :cool2:
(please tell me you can see these photos :nervous: If not please tell me.)




PS, do you really have to run a ground to the bridge, because I have a hardtail bridge and can think of no way of running a ground wire up from underneath without messing up the string through body holes...

 

[punchlinechar]

Re: Building a Guitar: HELP!

So I'm not sure about the back plate, but you absolutely have to ground to the bridge. The strings have to be grounded or you'll get a pretty good shock (the way I understand it)

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[BriGuy1968]

Re: Building a Guitar: HELP!

Hi... and welcome to the forum!

How about routing a lip around the cavity the depth of the piece of plastic and about 1/4" wide? Then you can make a paper template, cut the plastic to fit the new area, it will be flush, AND you'll have something to screw the cover to.


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[AlexR]

Re: Building a Guitar: HELP!

You effectively need a positive and negative template. One which routs out the body (negative) and the other which shapes the plastic (positive). As you have decided to make your own design, you will have to make your own templates.

 

[The Posh Mushroom]

Re: Building a Guitar: HELP!

So I'm not sure about the back plate, but you absolutely have to ground to the bridge. The strings have to be grounded or you'll get a pretty good shock (the way I understand it)

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

Ok. Thanks for telling me. I guess with a long enough bit I can drill under, and I can just smoosh the wires between the bridge and the body,so there's no soldering required.

 

[The Posh Mushroom]

Re: Building a Guitar: HELP!

You effectively need a positive and negative template. One which routs out the body (negative) and the other which shapes the plastic (positive). As you have decided to make your own design, you will have to make your own templates.

Thanks so much for the Reply! Anyways, that was what I was thinking but since I do not have a bandsaw, is there any easy way to do it? Maybe freehand routing with fences as a guide for the negative template, and then use forstner bits and files to precisely make my positive template? Any advice would help!

 

[AlexR]

Re: Building a Guitar: HELP!

A jigsaw would be a great tool here. Use some min 1/4" mdf and make the pickguard template first. Maybe some tracing paper over the body and 'freehand' using rulers and a circle guide like you might have used in school. Get the simplest shape you can with the most straight lines (for fence routing) and most regular/round transitions. If you have a holesaw or can borrow one thats great for those.

As you say, once you have the basic shape cut you can rout the precise lines and then tidy the curves with files and paper.
Once you have the pickguard template, only then make the body rout template. .....by tracing the pickguard onto more mdf and removing the middle. Then you have two pairs.

I am assuming from your build that you have pattern router bits.

 

[bruce bennett]

Re: Building a Guitar: HELP!

because you have "joined" your pickup and control cavities together. you've made your job a little tougher.. but not impossible.
First question to answer is can you live with a single LARGE backplate cover?
if yes, then draw out your cover area on the guitar first.. then rout it.
the next step is to tape some paper over the routed area and using an exacto knife cut it out and make a paper template for your plastic.
tape the template onto the plastic and You can cut the plastic with a hand coping saw or a bandsaw or even a dremel. then simply file it by hand until it fits the rout.
it will take you about as long to do this as it would to make a set of templates.

If you DON'T want to live with a Single LARGE cover plate. then you will probably want to have a "seam" very close to where your control cavity and pickup cavity meet.
but the rest of the job is pretty much the same as above.

I make custom backplates by hand all the time, and its really not that big a deal to file something to fit.

Just make your recessed rout clean and make it as simple in design as you can. make all your corners be the same size as your router bit.