Luthier's Tips & Tricks # 23, Designing the perfect control cavity for your project guitar

[@andrewvitale7128]

Good tip using the small cutting board under the drill press! Also love how you put the jack going down so it goes over the strap.

[@mattlignelli3016]

Excellent video. Huge help in making a great cavity and cover that fits.

[@dalepal]

Excellent video showing the whole process from design to cutting the control cavity and cavity cover recess into the body. PS I like the blooper at the end.

[@BoudreauGuitars]

Dale Palmer I have a tendency to trip over my tongue once in a while LOL

[@ATthemusician]

I personally really like top mounted cavity covers where the controls mount into the plate and the cavity is on the top of the guitar rather than through the back(see Carl Thompson basses for example) I'm experimenting doing them using magnets to hold it in place

[@RandySchartiger]

Some nice info and nice work mate! Shes's coming along!

[@luisfesiguevivo]

Thanks for the video God bless you ! You are the best ! Greetings from I’m Puerto Rico

[@sam127001]

makes sense putting these together - great video

[@brettpeckinpaugh]

Another option here is to just make the 2 templates, and use a router bushing to route the cavity. You can create the cavity with that. Then come back later and using a shallow flush trim make the lip.

[@simonralston4545]

Thanks for sharing, learned a lot from that. 👍

[@Glidingguitar]

Great idea with using Forstner bits around then cleaning it up with the spindle sander. I'm on this step now and was planning on using a jigsaw, but i like your way better.

[@backplomer]

Appreciate the info mate 😃✌️

[@darinhill3773]

Glad I stumbled onto your channel. I've been threatening to build my own for a while now. I have (had for a long time now) a really sweet piece of mahogany and a Gibson neck from an '82 sonex. It's a bolt on so I figure that'd be a good place to start. I appreciate the attention to detail and as a woodworker and a guitarist of too many years now to count, I'm thinking it's time. I just (semi) retired too, so there's that. Thanks for the kick in the pants.

[@BoudreauGuitars]

Darin Hill awesome, please support the channel and subscribe

[@darinhill3773]

I subbed yesterday and I let the ads roll without skipping. Thanks for the channel!

[@davidhenderson5051]

Thanks for explaining this so clearly.

[@MegaGuitarpicker]

Excellent video! Great skills!

[@34hedgehog]

Thanks for the video. Clearest explanation I've seen of all the things that I'm planning to do. I have two Hohner 'The Jack' basses, with control cavities on the back, and I'm looking to make them into a fretted/fretless doubleneck, with all the controls in one cavity, one jack input, and a three-way rotary control switch between the two necks. So I'm going to have to widen the control cavity on the back of one of the basses to accommodate the switches from the other bass. Can you see any particular problems I might have in doing this? Thanks

[@edwardr.4605]

Thank you! Great tutorial!

[@manjulagamage8284]

perfect job

[@gordonoconnell1391]

Thank you so much for creating this, so helpful. At the risk of sounding like the safety police, it is considered to be extremely dangerous to reach over the blade of your table saw to catch your cut offs. I realize you are in a small shop, and you were extremely experienced, but viewed by a less experienced novice, it might set a bad habit in motion that could result in serious injury down the road. Please take this comment in the positive spirit in which it is offered. I really enjoy your channel, and always appreciate your excellent work.

[@BoudreauGuitars]

Gordon O'Connell I take the utmost care when using my table saw. I have great respect and yes a fear of that tool. It may look careless because I speed up the video but I can assure you that is not the case. Thanks for checking out the video.

[@gordonoconnell1391]

Thank you for responding, you are a true craftsman and I do not doubt your skill and safety consciousness at all. I work with teenagers, and perhaps I was thinking of them. You would not believe some of the things I’ve seen in terms of their tool use! I was thinking more in terms of role modeling when I made my comment, for which you may or may not feel an obligation (i’ve heard compelling arguments on either side of that question). As a teenager, I spent many hours in the shop of James D’Aquisto. I was not trying to be a luthier or even a woodworker at that point (playing guitar was completely my life) but I have vivid memories of watching him, and for better or for worse, that is my go-to standard. I guess what I’m saying is that young people are impressionable!

[@BoudreauGuitars]

Gordon O'Connell , Having two teenagers myself I know what a challenge it can be. I would love to teach them how to build guitars and such but, they have absolutely no interest in it. Makes me sad, lol

[@gordonoconnell1391]

My daughter is 32, and it was the same story. Little interest in woodworking, building guitars, or playing them. This made me sad as well! However, she has a deep love of music, and a discerning ear for the guitar in particular. So we take our blessings where we can get them. I’m not sure if you caught it, but in my earlier reply I mentioned spending time in Jimmy D’Quisto’s shop. If you ever have any questions about that, what he did and how he did it and so forth, please ask. I don’t think there’s very many people that are in a position to give you a first hand account, even if it was through the eyes of a dumb teenager!

[@TAGSlays]

10:00 And wear a mask when you sand kids.

[@dalybaz]

If there is not enough real estate in your control cavity, you could always use dual concentric pots as used on some later Jazz basses.

[@vasdef1]

You mentioned briefly about covering the templates in CA Glue. Do you cover edges only, or how is this process done? Thanks.

[@jonahguitarguy]

Good stuff Ken.

[@BoudreauGuitars]

Dane Nichols thanks, brother

[@plywoodcarjohnson5412]

Very impressive! I could easily choose from a variety of ideas! (Made a square hole and a square cover bcoz all those shapes dint make sense to me although I know most guitars havem.) "It's hip to be square!" Lewis. H. 1987

[@JoelWetzel]

Hey, you're doing that wrong. Just kidding; I'm glad to have found your stuff. Peace.

[@jeffstanford6900]

Wow, you are very patient. Is this a one-off guitar? (I assume not because you are making templates) I usually just route the cavities, and the neck pocket, freehand. I'm usually pretty good and take my time and the neck pocket is always tight. Now, I going to "rebuild" an old plywood body guitar with hardwood and I'm actually making templates for it for the first time ever. But just using plexiglass instead of mdf.

[@jeffstanford6900]

Also,why do you call it "polycarbonate"? Isn't it just plexiglass? That's what we call it where I am from anyway. It's probably the same material different name. Time to Google I guess..

[@plywoodcarjohnson5412]

You know there are patient polycarbonate people and there are "shooting from the hip" plexiglass people. I'm a plexiglass man myself.

[@ricardoteixeira8553]

Perfect one like of Brazilian! By Rick!

[@rokinrandy]

Do they make a router bit shallow enough to do the cover without using 2 templates ?

[@SkyscraperGuitars]

Yes!

[@janolesen8938]

Looking at your table saw. It seems, it’s missing the pice of metal behind the saw itself. Don’t know the name for it (in English) A safety feature, to insure the wood will not close around the saw. This would send the wood backwards, and you would get hurt. In Europe, you can not buy a machine without it. Just an observation 🤔 nice video though 👍

[@Drokkstar_]

Riving knife.

[@headknocker8999]

What are you doing @ 2-4:30 am saturday morning.. Absorbing it one guitar @ a time..

[@vasdef1]

When you route the guitar body, to make the lip that the cover sits on, did you use a straight bit or the type with the bearing?

[@Ibaneddie76]

AWESOME VIDEO AAS ALWAYS, ONE QUESTION WHAT IS THE BIT YOU ARE USING TO DRILL THE BARREL JACK ACCESS HOLE? I REALLY WANT TO START USING THIS METHOD LIKE ON IBANEZ HIGH END GUITARS BUT I DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE BODY. THAT GUIDED BIT IS PERFECT. WHERE CAN YOU GET THEM? THANKS,

[@BoudreauGuitars]

eddie julian , kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIXScmefjq95rM0

[@UberAsche]

Hello, how deep are the cavities for the pickups? What type of pickups did you use?

[@billdawe6938]

I like the choice of wood at least it's not made from plywood and veneer.

[@dannythurman612]

What kind of bit do you use?

[@samdavies1752]

What's the router bit you're using to make the shoulder for the cover plate

[@BoudreauGuitars]

Sam Davies just a down cut top bearing router bit, very common

[@Straightedge63]

was there an update on this being successful?

[@dado251269]

like...

[@jonmatthews4254]

could be a 10 min video - max! Good result - nice weight relief.

[@rootvalue]

Love the tips Ken. But Christ man, why is that can of lacquer open and gassing up your shop for the whole damn video? ☠️☠️☠️

[@BoudreauGuitars]

Hakeem Hasworth , LoL it’s been empty for years, bro I use it as an ashtray.

[@StreetArtillery]

Oh the smell of wood

[@vasdef1]

I guess you don't answer questions...