Beginners routing

[TheEvilsocky]

Hello I'm going to take up trying to make guitars although most tutorials say I need some sort of "power router"
which looks very expensive, even to rent, so I was wondering is there anyway to do this by hand?
I don't mind hard the physical labor so don't worry about that.

 

[BlackMastodon]

Routers are usually only about 100-150$ which isn't ridiculously expensive imo. But if you don't want to use a router I guess the only alternative is chisels.

 

[Swyse]

Cutting the outline is the easy part, a coping saw and sanding can get you by there. The problem comes with the pickup routes, neck pocket/mortise, and the electronics cavity. All of those would need to be removed somehow. If you have a drill press, you could forstner out most of the material and finish with a sharp chisel and sanding I think. If you have a bandsaw you could do the general body shape instead of using a coping saw. A router certainly makes things alot faster, but it isn't really needed. You could check your local craigslist and/or flea markets for good deals on routers.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

What kind of routers are you looking at? You can get a pretty nice one for around $200 new, or even as little as $50 if you look on Craig's List.

Until you get very familiar with the tool, you should avoid doing freehand work, unless you have access to tons of free scrap wood. You'll need to buy or make some templates to use, that'll take a lot of the skill out of the equation and make things easier. You can find them on eBay for really cheap.

 

[flo]

I got something like this (a normal router) for something like 40€. It's not the highest quality, but if you only use it a couple of times per year for pickup routes it really is all you need.
I've seen people doing pickup cavities by hand, with drills and a chisel, but it takes really about 5-10 times (not joking) as long to get a satisfying result.

 

[The Munk]

Flea markets/ swap meets are another great resource for good used tools.