routing tunnels for wiring

[vintager]

Hi,

im so sorry to ask this but i haven't found it and im in work with my first jazz.. any tips/tools for making connections under the wood..?

thanks and.. i apologize ;

mike

[mahrous]

two ways i know.

the hard way:
a round chisel that is used for wood carving and dig the tunnel in the wood.

the easy way:
use a drill to drill the tunnels. this is more dangerous especially if you are not experienced enough with a drill. and you are also liable to break the bit if you go at a steep angle and decide to redirect your drill. a broken bit deep in the wood is nasty.

ok may be its not an easy way. have fun

[vintager]

thanks,

i was thinking of drilling, just wondering if there is not a special trick.. it looks i'll use a auger gimlet (what a new words for me..)

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item.../33j2001s1.jpg

ps: maybe in some cases few broken bits in the wood can improve overall acoustic character of the instrument.. ;;

[mahrous]

oh i never saw those things before! they look quite neat actually.

for laminated bodies, do you guys route tunnels beneath the top before you glue everything together? i was thinking of doing that on the next laminate to reduce time and hassle.

[vintager]

these toys seem to be around for nice couple of centuries..

and laminated bodies.. i guess it is done this way you wrote

[Hambone]

Originally Posted by mahrous

oh i never saw those things before! they look quite neat actually.

for laminated bodies, do you guys route tunnels beneath the top before you glue everything together? i was thinking of doing that on the next laminate to reduce time and hassle.

With my chambered stuff, I just make sure to create some openings in the "walls" around the control cavity. Then I rout the pup inlets and, usually, I get an opening at the end of the cavity for running wires. Makes it easier than fishing a wire blind.

[Rodent]

you could also use one of these in your electric hand drill

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

it's a 3/16" diameter extra long drill bit. I use a similar bit to drill connections between pickup cavities and the control cavity. if you ground your bridge, it is also good for that channel too

all the best,

R

[Musiclogic]

Originally Posted by Rodent

you could also use one of these in your electric hand drill

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

it's a 3/16" diameter extra long drill bit. I use a similar bit to drill connections between pickup cavities and the control cavity. if you ground your bridge, it is also good for that channel too

all the best,

R

Exactly....long enough to go through the neck pocket all the way to the rear cavity, or long enough to drill angularly to the control cavity without scuffing the body around the pick-up rout.

Although, I rarely make bolt on's, these are indespensible for doing boltons.

[PaleMelanesian]

Just be careful using a long bit any smaller than 3/16. I used a 1/8 once for a slanted bridge-control cavity channel, and it drilled a nice curved hole. It came out about 15 degrees different than it went in, and it came out the back of the body. 3/16 should be alrignt, though.

[Hambone]

Originally Posted by Musiclogic

Exactly....long enough to go through the neck pocket all the way to the rear cavity, or long enough to drill angularly to the control cavity without scuffing the body around the pick-up rout.

Although, I rarely make bolt on's, these are indespensible for doing boltons.

And don't buy one from StewMac - they're way overpriced. I get mine from Home Depot in the bits section.

[ogrossman]

I'm building a laminated body and I was thinking of pre-routing the tunnels and putting brass tubing in them for shielding... do you think that's overkill?

[Rodent]

Originally Posted by Hambone

And don't buy one from StewMac - they're way overpriced. I get mine from Home Depot in the bits section.

same here, but I couldn't find one on-line in the Home Depot inventory. I also believe Slovokia is one of the few places where you won't find the big orange guys

all the best,

R

[vintager]

yes.. maybe just along the road cleaning it. thanks all for advices, im going to do it next day. and since it wants to be sort of 62 relic, there will be a brass stripe and i dont have to route under the bridge.. what joy ;

[throbgod13]

Originally Posted by ogrossman

I'm building a laminated body and I was thinking of pre-routing the tunnels and putting brass tubing in them for shielding... do you think that's overkill?

use copper tubing, not brass..

i don't think it's overkill at all..

[Phil Mastro]

Originally Posted by mahrous

oh i never saw those things before! they look quite neat actually.

for laminated bodies, do you guys route tunnels beneath the top before you glue everything together? i was thinking of doing that on the next laminate to reduce time and hassle.

I do. It's especially easy if you have an instrument with a top. You can glue the core together, just rout some channels out, and glue the top on afterwards. While being careful to not get to much glue in them.

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by throbgod13

use copper tubing, not brass..

i don't think it's overkill at all..

I don't see any inherent advantage of using copper over brass, other than copper is more flexible.

placing tubing inside the body is an interesting concept...sort of like using a metal conduit...of course, there's no advantage of this if using shielded wires...

as for drilling the holes, I had an idea kicking around of trying a straightened piece of heavy wire coat hanger with a sharp tip....used carefully with a drill at low speed and making sure to clear the hole frequently, I'm sure it would work...albeit not as good as an extended drill bit...

for solid bodies (no laminates) there are two obvious "entry points" for your drilling...1) the neck pocket...2) the jack hole (if it's on the side)...