Custom Guitar template
Hey, I'm a guitar novice looking to embark on my first build this summer. I have already ordered a neck from Warmoth but I am a bit confused on how to go about making an accurate template for the body. The body is a "custom" shape so that kinda rules out buying an off the shelf template.
What I was planning on doing was making the template in illustrator then having a CNC shop cut it out of MDF, but I'm not sure if this is the ideal approach. Would I be better off buying templates of individual components (neck, pickup ect) and cutting the template out of MDF myself? or is there a better way i haven't considered?
I am extremely new to the world of guitars and woodworking in general so I'm kinda flying blind on this project, meaning any advice or general tips would be greatly appreciated!
Posted Jun 23, 2019, 2:54 AM UTC
Biggest tip: centerlines.
You have the neck, so no need to buy a template. you just place it where I needs to go on your body template and scribe a line. Cut inside the line.
Making templates is not terribly hard. Start with paper and then cut them out, glue stick them down. Cut the shape out and sand out any imperfections. If your pickups and cavities are going to be covered by pickguards or whatnot, don’t super stress over perfect cavities.