I'm thinking of getting a warmoth body, but am looking at a different pickup and preamp set up than the ones they offer. I like some of their finishes, but I'm not sure how difficult (or possible) it is to rout pickup cavities and not damage the finish. I have very minimal woodworking skills. Maybe it would be better to get and unfinished body and finish it myself? I have no experience with finishing. Thanks for your help.
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routing a finished body
- Thread starter melkinsbass
- Start date
That's kinda what I thought; tape off the area and score the finish with an exacto knife. But then again, I'm a complete novice. I didn't know if the routing is a job I should be undertaking, with being a finished body compounding the difficulty. I had planned on practicing on some scrap wood first.
Thats it ^^^.
I've only routed into a finished instrument once. I was also nervous about it, and wondered if routing into a ntiro finish would be different than routing into bare wood. It went great! I took the same precautions I take when routing into figured wood. My first router pass is set just deep enough to cut into the surface- this seems to prevent tearout.
Also be very sure that your work area is free and clear of little bits of "everything". If the end up with a chunk of grit between your finished body and template-- the pressure and positioning movement between the two will result in damage.
For those of us with limited workspace... its important to clean the work surfaces often. Nothing like clamping a nearly finished body down to a bench top- ON TOP of a chunk of SOLDER!
Before you do any of this on a bass body- make sure you know what you are doing with the router- and how to properly place and use and or make templates. Practice more than once- and practice routing the same thing you plan on routing into the body. For example- if you will be routing pickup cavities into the body- then practice routing the same pickup cavities into scrap or inexpensive wood. Then check the actual fit of your pickups.
mikeyswood
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- Dec 20, 2004
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so what pickup model(s) and preamp are you planning to use? just because W doesn't sell that specific pickup and preamp model on-line doesn't mean that they aren't able to route the cavity for it.
FWIW if you go with a rear route, I can't think of very many preamps that won't fit into that cavity. as for pickup cavity sizes, IIRC they cover the spectrum of Bart and EMG standard sizes - sizes that most every other pickup manufacturer utilizes as well. unless you're planning to use a Delano Extender (oval) or JSBC (super narrow soapbar) you should be covered. they may also be able to route you a custom sized pickup cavity if you provide the details
have you talked directly with a Warmoth rep about this?
all the best,
R
I was looking into an Audere preamp. Pickup-wise, I was thinking about a set of SD NYC II passives and a P-bass pickup between the two. I was going to go with Warmoth's rear rout, but I was thinking about drilling for the pots and on/off toggles.
I was planning on doing a lot of practice with the router before I got the body. I have a friend who is a woodworker (no luthier experience, though) who is going to help me out.
I had spoke to a rep about some things, but not the routing. Calling them on Monday about it.
Minimal skills add up to a disaster if you don't practice and take your time, but you have to learn from somewhere. I've built five guitars now, and each one gets better. I made a few mistakes on my first body routing freehand for three pickups, and I had used a router before. I slipped, doh. Nothing a little marine tex, bondo, and paint couldn't repair, but I have bodywork and painting skills. My last project was on a factory painted Fender tele body. I used a plunge router with a template, template guides, and new carbide bits to rout a humbucker in the neck position. After a little light touch up to the sharp edges with sand paper, and some sealer, you'd think my rout was done at the factory. Painting is a whole different animal, and there are several ways to finish. You can seal and sand, then do a quick spray bomb for cheap. Fast to get it done and jamming, and easy to re-do later when you want a better finish. It's all very time consuming. The cost will be almost as much as buying new. My suggestion is to start with a bargain priced body. Either from Warmoth, or ebay. Practice your alterations and painting on some scrap. Put out the money for a nice neck.
OP, if Warmoth won't do the routing you want, I'd recommend taking the body to a luthier.
What kind of tape do you guys use? I drilled a hole for a control pot and the bit pulled off some of the top's surrounding zebrawood. I was using blue masking tape that's used in painting, but probably was drilling at too low a speed.
What kind of tape do you guys use? I drilled a hole for a control pot and the bit pulled off some of the top's surrounding zebrawood. I was using blue masking tape that's used in painting, but probably was drilling at too low a speed.
Yes, it could be too low of a speed, but more than likely, a dull drill bit is the culprit.
Koobie,
I've never used tape to attempt to prevent tearout. Perhaps I am mistaken, but I really dont think a piece of tape is going to prevent tearout. Please let me know if you guys think I am missing out on this tape thing- but I just cant think it would work.
The tape use I had in mind (and maybe others) was tape to mask off the body, to prevent scratches and damage.
Cheap standard ( ??? 135 deg. chisel point ???) drill bits are a sure fire way to get tearout on any wood. I have a set of Brad Point and Forstner bits that are used anytime I don't want tearout, such a furniture, basses, or anything where looks really matter. They are only used for those situations- and they are not used to hog out extra wood, make jigs, make shelves, or any general drilling. That way those Brad Point and Forstner bits stay sharp, fresh and reliable.
I've never used tape to attempt to prevent tearout. Perhaps I am mistaken, but I really dont think a piece of tape is going to prevent tearout. Please let me know if you guys think I am missing out on this tape thing- but I just cant think it would work.
The tape use I had in mind (and maybe others) was tape to mask off the body, to prevent scratches and damage.
Cheap standard ( ??? 135 deg. chisel point ???) drill bits are a sure fire way to get tearout on any wood. I have a set of Brad Point and Forstner bits that are used anytime I don't want tearout, such a furniture, basses, or anything where looks really matter. They are only used for those situations- and they are not used to hog out extra wood, make jigs, make shelves, or any general drilling. That way those Brad Point and Forstner bits stay sharp, fresh and reliable.
Audere pots are not the "standard" size. If you order your Audere preamp with single (not stacked concentric) pots then you should make sure you drill the control holes by yourself. You'll probably have enough pots to install that you'll want to define your own custom layout.
The default 3/8" control routes by Warmoth are too large for the Audere single pots. Audere tries to stay one step ahead of this by including some rubber rings to make sure the pot mounts in the center of the existing hole. But these don't work very well, plus the thickness of most Warmoth bodies in the rear-routed control cavity means they're difficult to install.
Earlier responses recommending TAPE are spot-on. This really helps if you want to drill a clean hole which doesn't take out chunks of the finish. Brad point bits work better than standard bits. Drill quickly, press slowly, and make sure the bit is super sharp.
These are 5-string soapbar pickups, correct? The dimensions are the same as the "EMG 40" soapbar cavity size (4.0" x 1.5") which is pretty much a standard. Warmoth sells the Seymour "ASB2-5" pickups so they can route these cavities at no extra charge...
Given that the NYC II pickups have polepieces, and are intended for fixed spacings of 70mm (neck) and 74mm (bridge), you may not have enough room between them for a P-bass pickup cavity. Measure this carefully before you ask Warmoth to route anything for you. The P-bass pickup is fairly big and it may push the NYC II pickups too far apart, which means that your strings won't go over the polepieces.
If you were looking at "blade" humbuckers for the neck and bridge pickup, *and* if the Warmoth body has enough room for 3 pickup routes of this size (which pretty much excludes the Gecko) then this *might* work, but it's going to take some careful planning!
I'd like to know more specifics about what you're planning to buy. What style of body and neck? What woods?
