After doing a couple of truss rod covers on the router table I have become concerned for the safety of my fingers. The larger covers were fine and really stable on the table, but the smaller ones tended to roll into the space between the table and the bit - which makes it difficult to get a good result and puts my fingers too close to the bit.
I have been holding the 3 ply pickguard material to the template using double sided tape.
So I experimented with using a template attached to a handle or base which can be kept flat on the table. The template section is rebated by the thickness of the 3 ply + tape. This worked well but would not let me do all sides of the template which isn't a problem for truss rod covers as they all have a flat base sitting next to the nut.
So after more thinking I created a sled which has the template screwed on. It allows me to do even smaller objects, like the 30 mm diameter circle as shown. It keeps my fingers well away from the bit. I can change the template as needed.
I have stained the sled with alcohol inks covered with tru-oil as a test run for future guitar builds.
This has possibly been covered elsewhere, and possibly is not original, but I thought I would share as it may help others.
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