And the mistakes begin! (Part 1)

Pictured: How I probably should have been doing this all these years.

I like the new template.  And I like the new process I've started using for routing body blanks.  Because I took my time (and used the disc sander) while making the Les Paul template it is probably the best one I've made yet.  In addition, taping the template to the body allows me to use just one clamp - so, I can go half-way around the body, move one clamp, and do the other half.
That's a lot faster and easier than my previous multi-clamp process.

Switching up the router bits takes time but makes for a smoother finished product.

Pictured: a couple of passes. Not pictured: a slap in the face.

The above image is after two passes with the 1/4 inch router bit (seen below).

Judge me by my size, do you?

Take a look at this bit for a sec.  You will notice that the blade is the same width as the ball bearing beneath it.  That's how this whole template business works.  The ball bearing follows (is pressed up against) the template and the blade (aka bit) cuts the wood beneath to match.

(fyi - the above router is upside down)

As long as the blade and the bearing are the same width - all is right with the world.
Remember I said that.

If you look closer at the base of the router bit you see where it enters the router collet (it's the part that holds the bit in place).  If you lower that collet too far down  it starts to rub against the template - usually burning it or deforming it in the process. If you are truly not paying attention - it will do both.  I speak from experience as at least two of my previous templates have burns and/or gouges from that particular mistake.  This is the service I provide.  I make these mistakes so you don't have to!

With the above router bit I can only make two passes on the body before I have to switch out the bit for a longer one.  So, in went the 3/4 inch bit and I made two or three passes.
...and things were looking good.

Pictured: Looking good.

As I said in a previous post (and as you can see below) at some point you can remove the template and just use the body blank as your template.  When and how you do this is based on how long your bits are.

...and now get your mind out of the gutter.

I made a total of 5 or 6 passes with the 3/4 inch bit - until there was 1/4 of an inch (maybe 3/8 of an inch) left on the bottom to remove.  Then I moved the clamp to the other side of the body blank to make the same 5 or 6 passes on that side.  And I don't mind saying that things were still looking pretty decent.  I was really happy with how this was all working out.

Pictured: Happiness

I was ready to switch to the last router bit.  Go back up again to that picture of the router bit above.  Now imagine the blade and the bearing are reversed.  That's what the final bit looks like.

You flip the body blank upside down (so the stuff you are going to trim off is on top), put the router on top of the body blank, and now the cutting edge is between the router base and the bearing.

And that's about when it all went to bollocks...

Pictured: Bollocks

Where did I go wrong?  Happily it was not my technique.  It was my organization.

I have about 20 or 25 router bits.  Most are in plastic boxes that are labeled with descriptions of what the bits are.  Some even have pictures for the drummers in our midst. But I also have a bag of loose router bits.  There are no labels or descriptions on these bits.  It appears that I have purchased a "binding" router bit at some point.  More important, however, is that I forgot that at some point I bought a binding router bit!

A binding router bit is one where the blade is wider than the bearing.  It is used, funny enough, when you want to inlay binding on a guitar.  So when you lean that bearing up against your template (or body blank) it digs in about an 1/8 of an inch deeper than the bearing.  And that's how you get the mistake above.

I know for a fact that this isn't the last mistake that will be made on these builds.  My hope is that when it comes time to actually put binding on this guitar that I've just made my life easier instead of harder (a man can dream, can't he?).

Thankfully I realized something was amiss fairly quick.  I switched to the correct router bit and was left with the below final product from todays routing adventures.

Dig.

I think there's hope for these two yet.