Kevin Chilcott
Luthier
MAKING AN 'ANGEL'
Making a Router Pattern for a 'Front Mount' Control Cavity
This Section is for a 'Front
Mount' Cavity.
There will be another section for the 'Rear Mount'
type Cavity.
The Initial Pattern is done on 'Tracing' or 'Grease-proof' Paper to the exact size that it needs to be..
The Pattern is then transferred
to 'thin' plywood to make a Template, and a calculation has to be made to
allow for the diameter of the cutter to be used and
the diameter of the 'pilot'
or 'guide' used on the router which will follow the
pattern. Another line has to be drawn 'outside' the
size needed for the actual cavity to allow for the difference.
( I'll get a picture sorted to illustrate the Cutter
and Pilot Guide differences.)
Holes then need to be drilled in a few locations within the area to be cut out to allow for the saw blade to be inserted.
This is a 'Fretsaw' used for fine cutting and is ideal for cutting out 'internal' type of patterns.
Note..... There was No power to the Jig Saw while the picture was taken.
Cutting out the
pattern to the 'outside line' allowing for a little
bit of 'tidying up'.
Accuracy is critical when making any Templates
or Patterns.
Note..... There was No power to the Jig Saw while the picture was taken.
Cutting finished. It doesn't matter how the waste is removed as long as your final 'cutting line' is accurate and as smooth as possible..... which will make the rough edge 'off the saw' easier to clean up.
After cutting out the required shape, the
Template can be 'cleaned up' and 'finished'
with various files and sandpaper.
The Template is then ready to be used to make the
final Router Pattern to be used on the Guitar body.
If you do not have a Mechanical
Fretsaw for cutting patterns, you can use other
tools like the ones above.
Top Left is a Small 'Fret Saw'.
Centre is a 'Jig Saw'.
Right is a Deep Throated 'Fret Saw' and inside
that is a 'Pad Saw'.
Another alternative is a 'Coping Saw' - not shown.