Guitar Guide - how trace accurate outlines (also downloadable template)

[Amon 7.L]

Hi guys,
as I'm about to make a new discovery entry in the JAG-STANG Prototype thread in which I'm going to ask for your help, I though I might as well provide a quick and easy DIY instruction guide to ease up the process.

I know there's plenty of information online about how to accurately trace a body, but I'm seeing a lot people here looking for templates and/or retro-engineering old instruments, so why not put a standard A4 template in order for anyone to have a common sheet that it's ease to be scanned, shared and then digitalised with better approximation even for those who don't have pin routers or anything hi-tech to do the job?

Here's a simple guide:


For the inner routes, this is the quickest way I can think of:


I made this A4 template to printed as many times as needed to make a bigger sheet.
As long as you use a low tack tape, you'd be able to separate the single sheets to be scanned individually and ease to be shared and re-drawn via AutoCAD as a full assembly and combined with the rest of the guitar's parts.
Just make sure to overlap the black crosses and print it on 1:1 scale to match the 10mm/1inch references.
I've also put extra crossing in order to ease up the job of tracing the central line.


You can download the A4 pdf template here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bo9odfpt8xhry ... 0.pdf?dl=0

[Shadoweclipse13]

Fantastic post!! It's the little stuff like this that I love seeing!!!

[Amon 7.L]

Fantastic post!! It's the little stuff like this that I love seeing!!!

Thank you Jason!
I hope it's gonna be helpful

[gjn]

Very clever little jig for the pencil. Wish you'd posted this last week! Good job.

[Rgand]

What a good thread. This is something I can use in the future. Thanks for these ideas.

[mbene085]

Great ideas there, but one modification I'd make to the sliced-open pencil would be to put a piece of painter's tape along the flat cut side (and trim the excess), so that you're not dragging exposed graphite all across your guitar body.

[Shadoweclipse13]

Great ideas there, but one modification I'd make to the sliced-open pencil would be to put a piece of painter's tape along the flat cut side (and trim the excess), so that you're not dragging exposed graphite all across your guitar body.

I was thinking exactly that myself. Otherwise the pencil trick is killer hack!!!!

[Amon 7.L]

Great ideas there, but one modification I'd make to the sliced-open pencil would be to put a piece of painter's tape along the flat cut side (and trim the excess), so that you're not dragging exposed graphite all across your guitar body.

I was thinking exactly that myself. Otherwise the pencil trick is killer hack!!!!

Thanks guys.

I never encounter such a problem with the exposed graphite, I guess it wouldn't be living any marks on a poly finish.
At least nothing you can simply wipe off with wet rag.
Using painter's tape would transfer an outline that is offset from the body of the thickness of said tape. This too won't be a problem whatsoever as long as you take that thickness into account when cutting the shape to the final profile.

I never tested it but I think a simple solution could be to protect the exposed graphite with a few coats of shellac or clear varnish, right?

[supersonicjazzmaster]

I think about doing a copy of a body in a copy shop in DIN A3 maybe?
What do you think about?
Someone tried this yet?

[Amon 7.L]

I think about doing a copy of a body in a copy shop in DIN A3 maybe?
What do you think about?
Someone tried this yet?

Short answer is: it won't work.

Long answer and related known problem:
- Putting a body in -let say- an A3 scanner won't usually still fit an entire body;
- The body gets scanned tilted back due to the neck plate's thickness (a problem that can be easily addressed with a few business cards on the back of said body);
- Scans have proven to be subjected to some degree of lens distortion which has proven to be serious hassles when putting together the different body scans and ultimately getting a result that is not accurate.

These are some of the problems experienced during the reconstruction of the 1st gen Jag-stang body.
In the end, the issue has been solved with the simple pencil-trick (a variation along the same lines, to be specific).

Of course, if you want to try and the scanner/printed get the scan matching the body, nothing hurts