The Sawdust Generator

Credits

First I need to give credit for this design to Luthier Than Thou...Ant Setchell's guitar building and blog page has a post for what I believe to be the original...as far as I know, it is.
Sawdust Generator

The Sawdust Generator v2.0

Here is my attempt at the Sawdust Generator (SDG). It's purpose, if you didn't check the link above, is to hog out material for carving solid body guitar tops. The bit depth is set with the router's depth adjustment and the tounge guide in the SDG sets the distance into the body that the bit will cut. Successive steps are created from highest point to lowest point of the carve profile and the resulting stair steps are then hand carved to smooth out the profile. See above link for the pre-carve results.

I built mine out of some oak that I took from another jig that I didn't need so the SDG has some extra holes in it but nothing that gets in the way of it's function. Here, it's set for a zero cut...I calibrated the jig to this position.

Here are the 1/2" markings and the jig set for a 1/2" cut. I don't think I'll be doing any critical work like binding channels but it should serve well for it's intended purpose. And it tucks away on a shelf.

Here is the completed jig...ready for carving...I'll practice alot before I start on the TexasTele. NOTE: The pics are for illustration only! I would never make this deep a cut in one pass. The recommended cut is 1/16" per pass.

A quick test on a piece of scrap alder shows the results...went very smoothly. I do want to make a guard or sled to use with this thing though. I felt a bit exposed using it. And though not actually sawdust, it's aptly named...it makes a mess!

Home