tommorichards Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Im planning on building about 3 bass bodies, however, the wood im going to use is a bit thick, so ideally it would need to be planed, and our planer is bollox'd. Also, im rubbish at routing out the pickup cavities, as well as the control cavity. So is there anyone here who is good at this stuff that i could maybe send the bodies too for this treatment, and some coinage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nugget Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 How wide is the wood to be planned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettsguitars Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 (edited) Planned? Right question though. Postage would be a nightmare. You need someone local or save the coinage and get a thicknesser if it's a wholesale operation. Edited November 20, 2011 by lettsguitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nugget Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 [quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1321813936' post='1443391'] Planned? Right question though. [/quote] Well - It's Sunday.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommorichards Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Well, the only real reason it needed planing last time was because of 2 different thicknesses of woods, however, if i use the same wood, then it may just need routing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nugget Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Mr letts is right you could pick up a cheap Plannnnner/thicknesser for the cost of return postage, and have a new toy to play with. If the wood is as wide as a body you will need to find someone with an f'ing big planer or make a jig for the router (pretty easy to do) If the wood isnt glued and is a 2 or 3 piece body then most hobby builders could do that quick an easy. What size is the wood, what pup cavities and do you know where you want the control cavity and the size of it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 [quote name='nugget' timestamp='1321901507' post='1444272'] Mr letts is right you could pick up a cheap Plannnnner/thicknesser for the cost of return postage....[/quote] Where abouts? I'm the market for an "ok" thicknesser for bass bodies and the cheapest ones (Dewalt - not interested in anything less than their spec) are about £350+... and even then they won't take a full body because of the gate width limitations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommorichards Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 I like the idea of the router jig. As with regards to placement, i have no idea, as the design is still under construction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nugget Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Routing it down is pretty simple You need a flat surface, lets say the wood is 2" and you want to get down to 1.5". put the 2" thick wood on flat surface, then put 2 thinner (1") strips of scrap wood either side of that then put thicker wood (3") either side of that (the outer pieces need to be the same thichness)and clamp it all together tight. You end up with the outer edges higher than the rest. Get a flat piece of thin (3/4"), but strong enough not to flex, wood (could by ply or any old crap) which is twice as long as the width of the clamped together pieces of wood and bolt the router on top of that wood in the middle with a hole for the bit to come through. use countersunk screws so the heads sit inside the bottom of the wood. Then rest the router onto the outer higher pieces of the clamped together wood, the router will now slide on the outer high bits. As long as the outer bits are the same thickness and the worksurface is flat the router will be running approx parallel to the bottom face of the body wood. Lower the router bit till it touches the highest part of the body wood (with the router not running) and then that will be the reference point. move the router bit to the space between the body wood and the higher outer bits of wood (over the 1" strips) and lower the bit to say 2mm lower and then carefully run the router in straight lines all over the body wood. It takes a bit of time DONT cut too much at once. The thinner 1" bits of wood allow you to move the router bit off the end of the body wood without catching on the higher 3" pieces. AVOID running the router bit into the higher edges as it will cause the router to kick . I'm sure there are easier ways and quicker ways (without spending a fortune on a huge planer thicknesser) but as long as you're carefull and have a little time it does work! Make sure the bottom of the body wood is flat on the worksurface else the top wont be parallel, make sure it's all clamped together tight and clamped firmly to work surface. If you're gonna do a few of these make the jig a bit more permanent. I made one out of unistrut (stolen from work) which works a treat and is fully adjustable for width and hight. I hope that makes sense - it's hard to explain. Dave Ou7shined - Sorry I was refering to a cheap thichnesser capable of only doing 2 or 3 piece bodies, not a semi-pro level one. I got a good 2nd hand PT 8" max width for £80 with a stand and two new sets of blades. Perfectly good for the amount I use it. Set it up right and it cuts cleanly and perectly square, only cuts 2mm max but I'm in no rush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Local furniture making place should have a thicknesser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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