Routing Out the Pickup Cavities

Just finished routing out the pickup cavities for the 12 string project. It went very well and I very pleased with the end result. Allow me to elaborate on how I got the results I wanted.

First, setup my drill press with a router bit with a 1/4 inch cutting face. I then setup my pickup template for the neck pickup cavity. See picture for more detail.

With the router bit positioned in the middle of the template, and just about to touch the wood, I turn on the drill press and lower the drill about 1/8 or half of the cutting face. Note that the bit has a roller bearing located at the top. The bearing rides the inside of the template. Since the template is not thick enough for the bearing to hit the inside wall, I stack another template on top of it. I take any number of passes inside the template until the bearing begins to ride the wall of the cavity itself. I remove the templates and continue routing out the cavity 1/8 of an inch at a time until I have cut enough for the pickup bezel ring to lie flat with the top of he pickups flush with the ring.

Notice that I have routed out extra depth on the ends for the height adjustment screw on the pickups. This routing is to accommodate dual coil humbucker pickups. For this demonstration. I am using a set of Carvin M22 SD's.

The second pickup is positioned 1.75 inches from the inside of the first bezel to the inside of the second pickup bezel.

Carvin places a drilled hole to indicate the center of the neck and where the saddles of the bridge should align for intonation. If you measure the distance from the center of the 12 fret to the center of the drill hole, you should come up with exactly the same distance from the center of the nut to the center of the 12 fret. I don't trust anyone to do this math for me so I always check it and check it again for accuracy.

After I've lined up the template for the second pickup cavity, I like to put the bridge in place to check for clearance and placement. The pickup template is secured to the body using double stick tape. Be sure the template will not shift and do not push against it with the router bit. Let the bit do the work. If the drill press vibrates to much or begins to stall, back of the height and cut less wood. Let the bit do the work and do not get in a hurry.

If all goes well, you should have a guitar with the pickup cavities routed out and ready for drilling. Here is how the guitar looks with black Carvin M22 SD, and again with a set of Lace pickups with gold bezel rings. Next up is the last phase for me, which is drilling the passages for the wiring and the

input jack.