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GlennGP
11-11-2013, 09:19 PM
Well, guys, I have an enviable dilemma. My father-in-law is keen on helping me get to a scratch build and wants to buy me a ruddy great powered tool of some sort. We're talking a drill press or a band saw or something.

Suggestions?

pablopepper
11-11-2013, 11:09 PM
How about a router? A really great tool once you come to grips with it. Refining body shape, rounding over edges, pickup, neck and control cavities, truss rod channel, all with the one tool. Just make sure you get decent bits, keep them sharp and do them up as tight as possible.

wokkaboy
12-11-2013, 12:33 AM
Hey Glenn,we use a bandsaw to cut the basic body shape but needs heaps of sanding after that with a belt and orbital sander. If you cut out a template you can use a router with a pattern following bit to cut the body shape and you will need to route out the pup, neck pocket and control cavities so a router will do many jobs as Pablo listed. Don't think you need a drill press unless you plan to make a scratch neck then drilling the tuner holes would need a drill press. So I'd say router and orbital sander are a must, and nice to have are bandsaw and belt sander

Gavin1393
12-11-2013, 01:34 AM
Echo the band saw, a 350mm mouth is a must. Drill press with enough play so that you can insert string ferrules with it - probably around the 225mm mark and adjustable bench is a must otherwise they are almost useless! Router, orbital sander and oscillating sander are important. I also use a dremmel for my inlay work on the headstock and fretboards....Unless all your guitars will be fretless (DB stop salivating) you will need a Fret press!
A thicknesser / Drum sander is critical (unless you love sanding)....then if you want to do bindings on archtop guitars you will want to get yourself a binding machine.
DB, did I leave anything out other than the pliers to CUT the fret-wire as opposed to the pliers to REMOVE the frets from the fretboard.

Gavin1393
12-11-2013, 01:37 AM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from pablopepper on November 11, 2013, 08:09
How about a router? A really great tool once you come to grips with it. Refining body shape, rounding over edges, pickup, neck and control cavities, truss rod channel, all with the one tool. Just make sure you get decent bits, keep them sharp and do them up as tight as possible.

Wise advise since even the most experienced of us may have made that mistake of not tightening the router bits securely...

wokkaboy
12-11-2013, 01:39 AM
Glenn you should see the amount of tools Gav has in his man cave, if you purchased half of them you would be in big debt ! Everyone would be jealous of Gav's man cave, do you have a naughty corner there Gav ?

wokkaboy
12-11-2013, 01:41 AM
Wise advise since even the most experienced of us may have made that mistake of not tightening the router bits securely...[/quote]

haha yes Gav, ask DB where one of his router bits is - on the neighbours roof !!

yer routers need a huge amount of respect

WeirdBits
12-11-2013, 02:02 AM
Quote from GlennGP on November 11, 2013, 06:19
Suggestions?

The first and most important question is... how thick is his wallet?

Gavin1393
12-11-2013, 04:35 AM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from wokkaboy on November 11, 2013, 10:39
Glenn you should see the amount of tools Gav has in his man cave, if you purchased half of them you would be in big debt ! Everyone would be jealous of Gav's man cave, do you have a naughty corner there Gav ?

No naughty corner, but DB keeps promising to use the 'T' word if I ever set one up!

GlennGP
12-11-2013, 04:36 AM
Wow, thanks for the suggestions, guys. I think I have to nominate just one tool, but it sounds like the router is the go. Do you need a particular kind of router to be able to cut out a guitar shape, or does that just come down to the length of the bit? Also, I know I've seen what appears to be a router mounted upside down in some kind of apparatus so that it stays still and you move the work around it. Would that be a custom mounting job, or is it some kind of standard equipment?

Gavin1393
12-11-2013, 04:38 AM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from WeirdBits on November 11, 2013, 11:02

/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from GlennGP on November 11, 2013, 06:19
Suggestions?

The first and most important question is... how thick is his wallet?


Sadly it's now VERY thin........but Carbatec, Hare & Forbes probably have far fatter ones!

Gavin1393
12-11-2013, 05:07 AM
Router tables can be a great addition. I built my own. Didn't see the point in paying $700 plus for a table that I could hammer and nail together with some wood from B...B...B...that store...!
You absolutely need a router, probably best to try an get a laminate router as they are easier to handle and easier to see what you are working on. Ryobi have a cheapie for about $120, but best to go for a better name brand like Makita, Hitachi, etc. Don't buy cheap bits. Go to Carbatec and get yourself your bits from there.

pablopepper
12-11-2013, 05:15 AM
In my experience, Makita is the go to brand for routers and yep, Carbatec for bits. I also have built my own router tables, not difficult and for big stuff, way more stable.

dingobass
12-11-2013, 06:02 AM
I personaly like Bosch routers.. You can pick them up for around the $130 mark...
As for bench routers, i have a Scheppach that is small enough to live under the bench when not in use but big enough to handle a guitar body and all those renno jobs our wives seem to be so good at finding :)

wokkaboy
12-11-2013, 06:22 AM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from dingobass on November 11, 2013, 15:02
I personaly like Bosch routers.. You can pick them up for around the $130 mark...
As for bench routers, i have a Scheppach that is small enough to live under the bench when not in use but big enough to handle a guitar body and all those renno jobs our wives seem to be so good at finding :)

DB you might get less renno jobs if you stop handing the missus all those guitar bodies to sand !

Gavin1393
12-11-2013, 10:26 AM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from dingobass on November 11, 2013, 15:02
I personaly like Bosch routers.. You can pick them up for around the $130 mark.

I heard the Bosch router doesn't have such a good grip on its router bits.....i think Woks has also heard about this? 8O

AJ
12-11-2013, 10:54 AM
I have a makita 1/2" for the triton work bench, had that one for several years. I also have one of those cheapish 1/4" ones from bunnin...~$50.(oops, dont want to go back to the naughty corner, not till the wifi is fixed), beauty of them ones is you can abuse the crapper out of them, then take it back within the 2 years for a no-questions-asked replacement...(last one I got 1 year 11 months out of it and that was using if for all sorts of things including milling aluminum...definitely on stuff it was not designed to be used for in the least)

keloooe
12-11-2013, 07:59 PM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from Gavin1393 on November 11, 2013, 19:26

/<\\/p>[/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/]<\\/p>/Quote from dingobass on November 11, 2013, 15:02
I personaly like Bosch routers.. You can pick them up for around the $130 mark.

I heard the Bosch router doesn't have such a good grip on its router bits.....i think Woks has also heard about this? 8O
I think I have heard of something along those lines too Gav...

IMO, routers are brilliant to start with, I'm getting one of my own sooner or later