 Now
that the top body panel has been contoured, you have to accommodate
the myriad of knobs and switches you plan on stuffing into the
control cavity. You might be tempted to scoop out the knob areas on
the face of the guitar first, but that’s not wise. It is more
important that the controls have enough depth to fit inside the
cavity. Then you can worry about the fancies in the next step. Our
worst case (tallest) control was the circuit board for the piezo
bridge pickup, which was physically attached to the pot. The control
cavity had to be at least as deep as this control. Keep in mind that
the top is carved; there is less room to remove material near the
edges. Use double-stick tape to temporarily place some carefully cut
stop-blocks. You need to keep the extra depth at the edges so you
won’t route through the front and you will only increase the depth
in the middle of the cavity. Chuck up a bearing guided bit and use
the sides of the back body panel and your stop-blocks as your
guides. Remove material from the back face of the front body panel
in small (3mm or so) increments and recheck the fit of your
controls. Be aware of what you are doing and don’t route through the
face of the guitar! |
Now
that the top body panel has been contoured, you have to accommodate
the myriad of knobs and switches you plan on stuffing into the
control cavity. You might be tempted to scoop out the knob areas on
the face of the guitar first, but that’s not wise. It is more
important that the controls have enough depth to fit inside the
cavity. Then you can worry about the fancies in the next step. Our
worst case (tallest) control was the circuit board for the piezo
bridge pickup, which was physically attached to the pot. The control
cavity had to be at least as deep as this control. Keep in mind that
the top is carved; there is less room to remove material near the
edges. Use double-stick tape to temporarily place some carefully cut
stop-blocks. You need to keep the extra depth at the edges so you
won’t route through the front and you will only increase the depth
in the middle of the cavity. Chuck up a bearing guided bit and use
the sides of the back body panel and your stop-blocks as your
guides. Remove material from the back face of the front body panel
in small (3mm or so) increments and recheck the fit of your
controls. Be aware of what you are doing and don’t route through the
face of the guitar!
