Did you use a band saw for the belly cut? I have seen a couple techniques. I have two bodies I need to cut.
About 120 holes later I have it roughed out. I had to do some contour/step drilling on the upper edge where I have the belly cut, so I didn't end up going through the back side. I will whittle away at it tomorrow with my thumb planes to work it smooth & make it a bit thinner.
Router bit in a drill press? Not the best way to go, but if you lack a mill, it'll get the job done as long as you take small bites, make sure the chuck is solid, and stop frequently to check the chuck. Although, your machine looks pretty stout and could probably do a good job. Edit: But since you already have a milling machine, problem resolved
1" Forstner bit & milling machine as heavy duty drill press. Vacuumed out frequently & set the depth-stop on the mill.
I knew that was a Forstner bit. I was suggesting a router bit to smooth it out before moving on to detail work with finger planes. There's still a *lot* of material to remove. Also... see edit I was looking too hard at the body to notice that it was under a milling machine and not a BF Drillpress.
Great idea. Never thought of that. If I make a mounting board/jig to the base of the milling maching, to mount the body, then with the router bit chucked in the mill, I could run the bed beck & forth to remove the material. Sweet!
Baseplate bolted on mill base today. 2 layers of 1/2" plywood. First layer bolted down, second layer was screwed on top with holes drilled out for bottom bolt heads to protrude up so layers lay flat on each other. Screwed leftover MDF template pieces around edges to hold secure while milling. Cleaning up after Forstner drilling. Slow going, but nice & precise.
Got the top glued together last night. This evening, decided to work on fitting the top into the inlay. Laid some paper on top of the body & traced out the inlay routed area. Cut out template & marked around edges on spruce top. Cut outside the line on the bandsaw. Laid on body exact centre, lifted edge to see how far from inlay area, then marked. Went to the spindle sander started taking off pencil marks, lay back ontop, mark, sand, & so on. Took about an hour of marking & sanding. Upper area that looks bad, will be removed when neck pocket is routed. Come out pretty close.
Really nice work! Are you thinking about some binding around the join? Herringbone would echo the acoustic vibe and tidy up the gap..
