How to Cut and Shape an Electric Guitar Body #guitarassembly
Summary
TLDRIn this instructional video, Mike from Guitar Assembly demonstrates the process of cutting out and shaping a guitar body. He begins by drawing the center line and using a template to outline the guitar's shape. Safety measures like goggles and ear protection are emphasized before cutting the body on a bandsaw. Mike then refines the shape using a router, highlighting the importance of grain direction and taking multiple passes for precision. The video concludes with advice on sanding out imperfections, encouraging viewers to watch more videos and subscribe.
Takeaways
- 🎸 Mike from Guitar Assembly is demonstrating the process of cutting out and shaping a guitar body.
- 🎥 The video is part of a series where Mike films step-by-step processes throughout the guitar build.
- ✏️ The initial step is to draw the center line on the guitar body blank using a 2H pencil to avoid denting the wood.
- 📏 A template is used to draw the shape of the guitar body, aligning it with the center line and considering the grain pattern.
- 🛠️ Safety gear such as goggles and ear protection are essential, especially when using a bandsaw.
- 🔪 The bandsaw is used to roughly cut out the body shape, cutting close to the line and being cautious of the blade bending.
- 📋 The template is reapplied to the body to mark areas that need to be flush cut with a router.
- 🔩 The template is attached to the body using double-sided tape and clamped to the bench for routing.
- 🛠️ A router with a large bit is preferred for safety and efficiency when cutting the guitar body shape.
- ⚙️ The router is set up with the bit at the correct depth, ensuring the bearing runs along the template for precise cuts.
- 🔧 The body is flipped and additional bits are used to finish the shape, with attention to grain direction and router movement.
- ⏹ The final step involves sanding out imperfections and smoothing the guitar body with 80-grit sandpaper or similar.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video by Mike from Guitar Assembly?
-The main focus of the video is to demonstrate the process of cutting out and shaping a guitar body.
What is the first step Mike takes when shaping the guitar body?
-The first step is to draw the center line on the guitar body blank.
Why does Mike use a 2H pencil for drawing on the wood?
-Mike uses a 2H pencil because it has a hard lead that doesn't require much pressure to mark the wood, preventing dents, while also not spreading or getting too thick, which gives a clear, fine line.
What does Mike use to trace the shape of the guitar body?
-Mike uses a template to trace the shape of the guitar body.
Why does Mike choose to place the template near the bottom of the body blank?
-Mike chooses to place the template near the bottom because he is going to put a top on the guitar, so the grain pattern doesn't matter to him.
What safety equipment does Mike mention is important for bandsaw work?
-Mike mentions that goggles and ear protection are important for bandsaw work.
How does Mike ensure the bandsaw blade doesn't bend while cutting?
-Mike ensures the bandsaw blade doesn't bend by setting the piece to be cut as low as possible under the blade to support it.
What does Mike do after roughing out the body on the bandsaw?
-After roughing out the body, Mike puts the template back on, aligns it with the center line, and then flush cuts with a router to refine the shape.
Why does Mike use double-sided tape instead of super glue to attach the template to the body?
-Mike uses double-sided tape instead of super glue because he doesn't have any super glue at the moment.
What type of router bit does Mike recommend for flush trimming to the template?
-Mike recommends using a larger bit for flush trimming to the template as he finds it safer than using smaller bits.
How does Mike approach routing the guitar body to avoid damaging it?
-Mike takes the minimum cut possible with the bearing running along the template, being mindful of grain direction, and taking multiple passes instead of trying to remove too much material at once.
What does Mike suggest doing after routing to smooth out imperfections?
-Mike suggests sanding the body with 80 grit sandpaper to smooth out any imperfections, which can be done using a belt sander, disc sander, bobbin sander, or by hand if no power tools are available.
Outlines
🎸 Crafting the Guitar Body Shape
Mike from Guitar Assembly introduces a video tutorial on shaping a guitar body. He begins by emphasizing the importance of safety gear such as goggles and ear protection. Mike uses a 2H pencil to draw a centerline on the guitar body blank, ensuring a precise and clean line without damaging the wood. He then aligns a template with the centerline and draws around it to outline the guitar's shape. The tutorial proceeds to cutting out the shape with a bandsaw, highlighting the need for a low and steady cut to avoid blade bending. After roughing out the body, Mike reattaches the template to refine the shape using a router. He opts for a larger router bit for safety and efficiency, demonstrating how to route along the template's edge to achieve a clean and precise cut. The paragraph concludes with a preview of the next steps, which include sanding out imperfections.
🔧 Finalizing the Guitar Body with Routing
In the second paragraph, Mike continues the guitar body shaping process by changing the router bit and flipping the body to finish the cut. He uses a bearing bit to ensure a flush cut against the template, which is crucial for achieving a smooth and accurate body shape. Mike advises taking multiple passes with the router to avoid kick-outs and damage to the body, emphasizing the importance of being mindful of grain direction and router movement. He also shares tips on how to avoid common routing issues by adjusting the router's direction based on the wood's resistance. After completing the routing, Mike suggests using an 80-grit sandpaper to smooth out any imperfections, whether by hand or with a sander. The paragraph ends with a reminder to watch other videos and a call to action for viewers to like and subscribe.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Guitar Assembly
💡Guitar Body Blank
💡Templates
💡Bandsaw
💡Router
💡Center Line
💡Grain Pattern
💡Pencil Lead
💡Double-Sided Tape
💡Router Bits
💡Sanding
Highlights
Introduction to the process of cutting out and shaping a guitar body.
Emphasis on safety measures such as goggles and ear protection when using a bandsaw.
Use of a 2H pencil for drawing on the guitar body blank to avoid damaging the wood.
Explanation of how to align the template with the center line of the guitar body.
Importance of considering grain pattern when positioning the template on the body.
Demonstration of cutting out the guitar body shape using a bandsaw.
Technique for attaching the template to the guitar body using double-sided tape.
Use of a router to refine the guitar body shape after bandsaw cutting.
Selection of the appropriate router bit for flush trimming to the template.
Advice on taking multiple passes with the router to avoid kick-outs and damage.
Mention of changing router bits to finish off the guitar body shape.
Technique for using a bearing bit to ensure a flush cut against the template.
Importance of being mindful of grain direction when routing.
Final steps in routing the guitar body and addressing imperfections.
Recommendation for sanding out imperfections using various sanding methods.
Conclusion and call to action for viewers to like, subscribe, and watch other videos.
Transcripts
hi i'm mike from guitar assembly and in
this video i'm going to show you how to
cut out and shape your guitar body
um please like and subscribe and i hope
you enjoy the video
[Music]
okay this is the same guitar body blank
that you see me
joined in in a previous video and i'm
going to be doing
most of this build i'm going to film and
just do step-by-step processes
throughout the build for you so but this
one what we're going to be doing
is with templates drawing on our guitar
body
cutting it out and and then routing
um the shape in uh using a template in a
router
so we start with simply drawing on the
center line first
and we'll draw that on exactly where the
body was jointed
just make marks around so i can see that
i'm using a
2h pencil it has
hard lead in it so you don't have to
push too hard to
like to kind of dent the wood but it
stops the um
the pencil line kind of spreading off or
getting fat gives a nice
pin line on the blank
we'll grab a template this is just one
of the models that i make
and then basically we're going to line
it up for the center line
from the guitar and lining it up with a
center line on the body
and kind of moving it up and down
depends on
where you want the grain
pattern on your guitar this makes no
difference to me because i'm putting a
top on this
anyway so i'm just going to bring it
right away down the bottom
and draw around
so now the shape's drawn on we can take
it to the bandsaw to cut
out so before we start um goggles
and ear protection these can squeal
sometimes so
having ear protection for the bandsaw
work is quite important
um self bandsaw make sure
that piece can pass under it
i always have this quite low
you know as close to as possible
so that i can uh so he doesn't bend the
blade helps to support the blade
so
okay so we've now finished just kind of
roughing out the body
uh cutting close to the line where i
could and
this stuff and obviously cutting these
are a bit of a pain
um so so now we're gonna
put the template back on
line it up the center line again
and then you can kind of see what needs
to be
taken off and flush cut with a router
so that's what we're going to do next
obviously we need to attach
this to the body so you can either do
the fun masking tape and super glue
trick
which genuinely i do do but annoyingly i
don't have any super glue
right now so just be just a couple of
lines of double-sided tape on there
just to attach that on and then we'll
clamp it to the bench and route it out
um now we're going to put the bit into
the router obviously i've done
a video before on
uh router bits and which ones we use for
cutting this you know flush trimming
to the template generally i would use
this one
but today
i'm going to use this beast
for cutting it's just
having having a larger bit i always find
it
so much safer than using these smaller
bits
on these there is is a line
on them to kind of show you how how far
the shaft needs to go into the collet
so now the router's set up
to start cutting we're going to um
just take it to the side and take a
plunge down
um the the full plunge doesn't
it's not going to take all of the body
uh it's not you're not going to be able
to rout everything
all together and so we will have to flip
it and change the bit to another bit
um to finish it off so
what we're going to do is we're just
going to line up
and take the minimum cut that we can
with the bearing running along the
template
so locking that off in some areas of the
body there is
still quite a bit of meat on there
so just when you're when you're kind of
attacking that
taking it in a few passes instead of
slamming it in
and trying to take it all all at the
same time
and that will you know stop you from
getting kick-outs and
any issues with damaging the body during
the route
so so just take it
and obviously be be mindful of uh grain
direction
end grain and kind of which way you're
you're moving the router if you if you
if you're moving the router and you kind
of
feel it um moving fast enough
um then change the direction that you're
routing
so just just be mindful and just just
take it slowly
and that's you know you'll get the best
results just taking taking your time
with it
[Music]
right so now i'm going to change over
the bits and flip the body
so i've grabbed got one of these bits
again it's a it's a bearing bit straight
cut
the bearings on the bottom so what we're
going to do is we're going to
flip the body and then we'll
plunge down and then just finish off
so this bearing is going to is going to
run across what we've
already cut and basically cutting this
flush and then that will finish
the guitar body shape again route is set
up with a new beam
um we're going to take that plunge down
get it set up
so it's running so the bearing is
running across the body
let's just finish the shape
so there you go finish the
routing obviously there's you know a few
imperfections
um little bandsaw mark
um which i'll sand out
um but overall
um not bad
there you go so what i would do now is
just go over with um
some 80 grit just to kind of take out
all the imperfections you can do that on
your belt sander disc sander bobbing
sand or whichever type of sander you
have
or by hand if you don't have any of
those
and just basically go around now and
kind of smooth out
or any any kind of imperfections which
you shouldn't have too many
um but there will be a few lumps and
bumps that you need to take out
so um thanks for watching and check out
the other videos and please don't forget
to like and subscribe
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