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I have a couple of body styles I have made into bending templates. Whats the easiest and most accurate way to make a mold for these? There is not enough material left from the template to make a mold. i'll have to start from sctratch



Thanks
Richard

What tools do you have? Do you have a shaper? Router table?

I make a single 'Master' template very carefully. Then I use that to make copies. You can do that with a router travel and flush cut bit, or a shaper, or even with a laminate trimmer and a flush cut bit.

You need to consider the width of the sides in your project as well. Personally, I make the outside molds first. Then, I take a sharpie and trace the pattern for the benders. The width of the sharpie accounts for the thickness of the sides. I sand the bending templates carefully til the sharpie line is gone.

It depends on which tools you have access to. If you have a decent drill press I cut out the rectangles that will be the form. Then I clamp them all together. For a guitar I use six pieces of 3/4 MDF but I don't make guitars anymore so I use 4 for ukuleles. While clamped together I drill a 3/4" a couple inches from each end. These holes are going to be used to line up the layers of MDF while cutting, shaping and gluing. I cut dowels to the length of six layers of mdf. and insert them into the mdf sandwich. I run this sandwich on the joiner to get one flat edge. Draw out the half guitar from your bending form on the sandwich. Saw out the shape on the bandsaw and smooth out any rough spots. Take the thing apart. Cut the dowels in half. Apply glue and realign each side with the dowels. Clamp, When glue is dry clean up with scraper. There are any number of ways to attach the two sides of the form. I glue a piece of hardwood to the mdf. Then drill for a threaded rod.

PS. I think you could use 1/2" dowels though I never have.

if I didn't want to deal with the dowels I would glue a three sheet thick sandwich of mdf together for each side. joint one edge of each. You would have each half at this point. Then sparingly hot glue the two halves together and cut out the shape on the bandsaw. And go from there.

_________________
Michael F Smith
Goat Rock Ukulele
http://goatrockukulele.com

Easiest way?

CNC.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Like the spalted top Mike

Not spalted. Thems is termites.

_________________
Michael F Smith
Goat Rock Ukulele
http://goatrockukulele.com

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Easiest way I've seen is to use solid insulation sheets from home depot.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/R-Tech-1-in- ... /202532854
Cuts like butter and plenty strong enough for one or two uses. The 2" thick sheet works pretty well

OOps hope that wood was not from your foundation in ca ??? lol