Single most useful powered bench tool?

[GlennGP]

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]

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]

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]

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]

/<\\/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]

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]

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]

Quote from GlennGP on November 11, 2013, 06:19
Suggestions?

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

[Gavin1393]

/<\\/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]

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?