Cabronita Thinline Build

nicovlogg · 2014-09-11T19:44:07+00:00

Hopefully, you've all forgotten slightly about the beautiful LP's built by Lapdawg, and hopefully Rikus' beautiful Cabronita is slightly in the back of your minds, because here I present to you my much less impressive project of the last year and a half: The Chime Master. A cabronita style thinline telecaster, made of exotic woods and even more exotic mistakes. Let the build thread begin!

nicovlogg

Unfortunately, my routing jig slipped and there was damage to the guitar, the panel, and me. A quick visit to the clinic was in order, but my spirits were lifted when I realised that I could easily fix the damage to the guitar. My fingertip would take a while to grow back, but we live and learn.

I decided to rather make the new cap out of Bubinga - it would be a nice contrast, and I still have a bit left over from the blank which I paid dearly for.

Gearhead

nicovlogg wrote my routing jig slipped and there was damage to the guitar, the panel, and me

Guitarists need 10 digits to play - so they need even more precautions against this sort of thing than mere mortals.
My precaution list:
- make jigs out of big pieces of plate, not just scrap, this gives enough surface to put g-clamps and still move the router around
- always put double sided tape between jig and work piece
- when happy about the clamping, test by pulling/pushing before getting the router
- put router at flippin low setting and use smallest bit that will do the job, amateurs are not pressed for time
- use leather gloves (and ear protectors and face mask).

Wizard

Agree with Gearheads comments. A rule I recently learned from Lapdawg: set up the router jigs and clamping so well that you could literally do it with your eyes closed

Wormwood

I think Toni Iommi doesn't have a fingertip either - rock n roll dude

Chocklit_Thunda

It's his right hand... Everyone knows you only need 2 digits to hold a pick with......

High fi........ High-four on the build though! ?

Attila

What a story to tell your grandchildren one day .... that's ROCK n' ROLL baby

nicovlogg

Gearhead is right, could've saved myself some hassle if my clamping had been better! Either way, fortunately no serious damage was done.

lapdawg

I put my hand into a table saw a few years ago. I cut about 6mm into the tip of my middle finger & took almost all the nail off my index finger & a bit of flesh behind it. I was convinced there was permanent damage. It all healed up fine. There's no sign of the accident. I think fingertips must have good regenerative ability.
I now follow a different approach. I only turn on a machine when I have checked that everything is properly set and stable. That's the lesson I learnt - rehearse it in your head, test the procedure, make sure your templates and stops are firm & comprehensive.

Gearhead - I was interested to read what you say about running at low speeds with the smallest possible bits.
I have read a number of builders saying that high speed is better. Isn't there a higher risk of "grab" at lower speeds?
I'm keen to hear your input. I've ordered a big overhead router, so I need to work this stuff out before I get going on that one.
(Obviously rpm and bit diameter both affect the speed of the cutting edge, so bigger bits would need lower rpm & do come with lower recommended speed limits.)

Gearhead

Funny you should mention table saws - in the yacht building club I was a fanatic member of, we used to have bets who could saw the smallest piece of wood or who could shoot scrap furthest off the top of the blade. Stupid, but the things that go wrong teach you a lot about the dangers of the machine without ruining your work piece.

The philosophy of high speed is that you cut off less per tooth revolution, which in turn means you can cut faster. Everything you want in a production environment, maybe except for the higher heat input as it may burn your wood (with a blunt cutter, especially).
The nice thing of admitting that you work as amateur is that high cutting speeds are not necessary; firstly you have time and secondly you spend hours setting up for one lousy cut, so the cutting time itself is not even relevant. Working at lower speeds means there is less energy to throw the router off course in case of a 'bite' or other mishap. Using smaller bits has the same effect. The amount of force required to push the router along is smaller, meaning you have more force available to correct whatever does not go according to plan.
I am not saying I cut everything with my 3.2mm bit, but I am saying my 16mm three blade cutter sees a lot less wood than it used to. I now tend to use a size or two smaller for the same job; maybe I should not have put "the smallest possible".

rikus

Ouch!! Glad that there's no major damage to you or the guitar though...

Interesting point regarding router speed and bit size... I've always approached it from the high speed side if things... big bit running flat out but multiple small passes (i.e. never taking off more that a third of the diameter of the bit) means that, in theory at least, the motor isn't taking strain, meaning it doesn't slow down, meaning no grabbing/tear out. I'd lie if I said that I'm not nervous when running the router like that.

I'll keep this in mind ... As you say, there nothing really rushing the amateur, so smaller passes at a lower speed is a trade-off I can live with.

Big-G

Any more to share here?

Cheers
G!

nicovlogg

Big G wrote Any more to share here?

Cheers
G!

Been on tour most of December, and January has been very busy with work - hopefully in the next few weeks!

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