# Routing the body for a pickup cavity, what tools?



## turmoil (Sep 11, 2011)

I'm in the process of gathering parts with the goal of retrofitting a Musicman humbucker pickup into my fender p-bass, keeping the p-bass pickup of course. It will ultimately look like this:







I've done some heavy wood routing in the past, but I know i haven't had quite the right tool set to do the job. Currently I have a decent power drill, tons of drill bits in various sizes up to 1", some wood working drill bits for routing holes up to 1-1/4" and a Dremel with the routing drill bits and a router stand.

I'm curious what tool(s) I should actually use to route out the body for a new pickup? I'm guessing an actual 'router' tool would be ideal, but are there any specific routing drill bits I can use with a power drill? I hesitate to buy an actual router and invest the money in something I'll more than likely use rarely at best.

thanks


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## scherzo1928 (Sep 11, 2011)

I think you can manage with a drill and a dremel with it's routing base. 

Obviously mark where the pickup will go, remove some wood (not to the complete depth) by simply drilling holes with the drill trying to stay absolutely perpendicular. Then using some straight guides for the dremel base to follow finish it up.
You can also make a template out of MDF, acrylic or scrap wood to follow with a "pilot bit" or at least that's what I think they call them

Using the drill is just to save the dremel some work, since it's not as powerful as a router, and because in general it's noisy and easy to fuck up with 

Hope that helps


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## turmoil (Sep 11, 2011)

scherzo1928 said:


> I think you can manage with a drill and a dremel with it's routing base.
> 
> Obviously mark where the pickup will go, remove some wood (not to the complete depth) by simply drilling holes with the drill trying to stay absolutely perpendicular. Then using some straight guides for the dremel base to follow finish it up.
> You can also make a template out of MDF, acrylic or scrap wood to follow with a "pilot bit" or at least that's what I think they call them
> ...



I did that on my last project guitar and it turned out ok. I would really like to try and get as nice to a perfectly straight edge all the way around the pickup as possible. I'm sure it can be done with a dremel, but I had some bad luck with it last time...

Also, my only worry about my wood routing bits is that they more or less look like these:
Shop IRWIN SPEEDBOR 4-Piece Woodboring Spade Bit Set at Lowes.com

they have that long spiked tip which would dig into the body further than I really need it to go. 
I was wondering if there might be something different out there.

If it sounds like I really need a router i'm not opposed to it if it's really going to help me achieve what I want with minimal hassle. I'm just being cheap i guess


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## theo (Sep 11, 2011)

Extruded aluminium


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## jwatso89 (Sep 11, 2011)

Those Irwin Bits would be ok for taking out a lot of material before routing as scherzo said, just to make it easier on your dremel, but the final cut would have to be done with an actual router bit, which dremel does make. They look something like this: Dremel | Routing Bit | Home Depot Canada

They are a lot cheaper then buying a router and a real router bit and should do the job for a little project like that. Any big box hardware store should have something along those lines. Just make sure you have either a guide or a very steady hand!


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## scherzo1928 (Sep 11, 2011)

Yep, best drill bits for simply removing material are fostners, which look like this:





they only leave a tiny dot on the bottom unlike those other bits.

As for routing, I think it's the best option, but it sure is doable with just a dremel. You could practice a bit with the dremel on some scrap wood, and if you are still not confident, then a propper router might be the way to go... HOWEVER, set up for using a router will be practically identical to setting up for the dremel, and it has the same (or worse) chance for screwing up


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## turmoil (Sep 11, 2011)

scherzo1928 said:


> Yep, best drill bits for simply removing material are fostners, which look like this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



AH HA!!
That's the bit i was looking for! 

I guess i'll probably be giving this a go in the near future.
thanks for the help guys! i'll keep you posted when this project gets underway


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## demonx (Sep 12, 2011)

I use a forstner bit in a drill press to drill a depth/guide hole, this hole serves two purposes. 

#1 - it lets me know when I have routed the pocked deep enough (I do two passes for pickup routes, first pass at half depth, the second at full)

#2 - it gives me a hole to sit the router bit into before i turn the router on, thus avoiding router kickback

Obviously after I've drilled the guide hole I then use a router fitted with a flush trim bit and a template.


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