Bass guitar build Post #20

So I tried to make my own pickup templates. That did not work out as well as I had hoped so ended up ordering them. The bridge pickup was a perfect fit. Of course the neck pickup (with the more complex geometry) was not quite the right size. I spent a few hours transferring the acrylic templates to MDF and creating a better sized template for the neck pickup.

Bridge pickup routed.


Neck pickup routed. This one became a bit of a pain in the neck even after laboriously creating a new template. The topmost edge was impossible to reach with the router for the last 1/4" of depth due to the base of the router running into the fretboard. I ended up cleaning up the remaining wood with a small chisel.


I created a template for the bridge recess and then routed out the bridge location.


Hardware test fitted.


Now I get to do the carve on the face and then lots more sanding and then it will finally be ready for finishing. I was looking at a product from the UK but was unable to get it shipped here due to it being considered a hazardous chemical. I am going to test some water based poly/acrylic on some scrap wood and see how that turns out before committing to putting it on the guitar.