rapscallion Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Hi guys, Would it be possible to plane off the top of a guitar body and route out the cavities to make it a semi, then just glue and clamp the top back on? Am I just completely missing the point or is this a viable option? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapscallion Posted June 17, 2014 Author Share Posted June 17, 2014 Forgot to mention, planning on using a slab body black, not a contoured one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I had similar done last year on a wrecked Bass Collection bass. Top 6mm was planed off and new face glued on. You could have the same done and route out cavities before putting the new face on. No problem for any decent luthier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommorichards Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 yes, as long as you dont remove too much from where the neck line through the body is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I have a custom done in a similar way and my Warwick Dolphin had a chambered body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 (edited) From my experience, cutting something that wide could only be done on a (very large) bandsaw. The annoying thing about bandsaws is that the bendy blade tends to wander from your intended straight line, and the cut itself tends to be quite corrugated. By the time you have cut the top off and then made both faces perfectly flat, you'll have lost an unacceptable amount of depth. If you really wanted to keep the top, you'd probably need to add an inbetween layer to make up for this loss. One of the above methods makes a lot of sense - put the body through a thicknesser and take off the appropriate amount (maybe 8mm?) which will leave a perfectly flat face. Then chamber and stick on a new top. Edited June 17, 2014 by Roland Rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 .....or less than ideal option no.3 - rout chambers in the top and cover with a large pickguard ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 But do check your weights very carefully first. The last thing you need is several dozen man-hours of work producing a bass with so much neck-dive as to be unplayable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6feet7 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 (edited) I saw something on the internet the other day (sorry can't find it now) where a Telecaster was chambered out from the back (leaving the centre block for strength and pickups etc) and then had just the routing covered over.The guy did it with plastic, like a pick guard - he'd cut a small lip on the edge of the routing so that the guard was flush with the body, but if you did this with wood instead of plastic you could then paint over it and no one would be any the wiser and it would be a lot easier than cutting the guitar in half. He also put an f hole in it to make it a thinline. Edited June 19, 2014 by 6feet7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Why not skim off the back, rout it out and then put a plate on that, wouldn't it be easier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlungerModerno Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 [quote name='6feet7' timestamp='1403170578' post='2480377'] I saw something on the internet the other day (sorry can't find it now) where a Telecaster was chambered out from the back (leaving the centre block for strength and pickups etc) and then had just the routing covered over.The guy did it with plastic, like a pick guard - he'd cut a small lip on the edge of the routing so that the guard was flush with the body, but if you did this with wood instead of plastic you could then paint over it and no one would be any the wiser and it would be a lot easier than cutting the guitar in half. He also put an f hole in it to make it a thinline. [/quote] Sounds cool and cost effective. Unless you have a particular upgrade in mind (e.g. using flame maple on the front) breaking the finish all around the edge and redoing the pickup, bridge and control mountings (depending on route locations) is a fair amount of work. I'd go in from the rear in this case... that sounds a little smutty when said aloud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradwell Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 (edited) [quote name='rapscallion' timestamp='1402997513' post='2478587'] Hi guys, Would it be possible to plane off the top of a guitar body and route out the cavities to make it a semi, then just glue and clamp the top back on? Am I just completely missing the point or is this a viable option? Cheers [/quote] Basically how I built my thinline telecaster with one exception:The top of the guitar would definitely have to be sacrificed to do it properly, short of a massive industrial bandsaw you wouldn't get a straight enough cut to re-use it. However it meant I could put a nice new flamed and spalted maple to on what was an otherwise very plain body (the back and sides were painted cherry red with sunburst finish on the top + cream binding). Routing out from the back and using cover plates is probably the easiest thing to do if it's for a quick & dirty modification to a cheapish guitar. Making a custom pick guard could work but would never be my first choice for reasons of aesthetic preference. Neck dive could be helped by moving strap buttons if possible or putting counterbalance weights in the tail end if required. Think carefully about where you're taking strength out of the body with the router - I would recommend that you leave a fair amount of core material down the centre and around mounting points for the neck & bridge. Edited September 25, 2014 by Bradwell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Could be worth looking at photos of Rikkers and Sadowsky basses for where they make their cavities...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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