JaguarOW said:
any tips would be appreciated, thanks
Ah! Well... since you asked...
First of all, I'm guessing that template material is MDF, which is fine if you intend to only make one, otherwise, I'd highly suggest 3/8"-1/2" Baltic Birch Plywood. Secondly, when cutting/routing a body, the FIRST thing you do is route the neck pocket. (Think about it, if you cut the body shape first, what's the router gonna sit on?) So, you need to create a separate neck pocket template. It should look like this:
Make sure you lay the body body template down first, use a pencil to draw the outlines and mark *exactly* where the neck pocket should go, so your body template needs pilot holes and exact markings like these:
Your body template should look like this:
Also, using another guitar body, you really need to measure EVERYTHING! Note all the route depths (neck pocket is 5/8", most pup routes are also 5/8", control cavity depths range from 1 1/4" to 1 3/8", etc.) Also, you are gonna want to secure your body template to the body with pickguard screws (or the like) that have flat tops, otherwise the screw height causes you to get mixed results when routing the body/pickguard. Good luck! 😁
