Planing and thicknessing a body by hand

I'm planing to try and buy a telecaster kit and fit a figured cap on it.
The bit I'm most worried about is thicknessing the body, to remove the bevel and avoid it being too thick with the cap fitted.
Ideally I'd like to do it by hand with a handplane - is it realistic given I don't have much serious woodworking experience ?
I imagine it's quite easy to chip the neck pocket doing that also, any tips to prevent it ? I was thinking of screwing a block of softwood in the neck pocket for the edges to rest again.
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Comments

  • WezVWezV Frets: 16541
    How much experience do you have with a hand plane?  how thick is your top?

    i did my first semi hollow tele with a hand saw, then plane.  that's madness though

    these days I use a router thicknesses jig to do the same thing in minutes
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  • lysanderlysander Frets: 574
    Pretty much none but I intend to practice with scraps. No experience with routers either, guess I would have to build a thickness jig.
    I would try to find a top which is say 5 to 8 mm
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    I've just done it using a home made (not by me) frame/jig and a router. worked really well I highly recommend it.
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  • SporkySporky Frets: 27568
    So you're aiming to take 5mm or so off with a hand plane?

    With a good sharp scrub plane that won't take long, then you'll need to flatten it. You'll need planes with proper flat soles and brutally sharp irons, and they'll need resharpening a few times.

    As has been suggested, a router jig will do it better in a fraction of the time if you're not really good with hand planes.
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
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  • lysanderlysander Frets: 574
    edited April 2017
    Thanks for the advice guys. @axisus can I ask where you got your frame/jig from ?
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    lysander said:
    Thanks for the advice guys. @axisus can I ask where you got your frame/jig from ?
    Actually I got it from Sporky when I bought his old drill press. To be honest it's a bit big for my purposes, I will probably knock up something smaller at some point. I have a photo of it somewhere if I can find it. To be honest I think it can be very simple indeed.
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  • GSPBASSESGSPBASSES Frets: 2335
    tFB Trader

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    https://www.facebook.com/grahame.pollard.39/

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  • SporkySporky Frets: 27568
    Or if there's a local timber merchant they'll probably have a big planer/thicknesser and might do it for a fiver...
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16541
    GSPBASSES said:
    That's fine if you have a big drill press. It won't reach the middle of the body on a smaller one.

    its a good tool, but I always wonder if the name was meant to be ironic
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  • Sham61Sham61 Frets: 26
    I recently built a router sled to remove the top off a Tele body which I am chambering and fitting a nice 6mm top on. Mine is made from mdf and bits of wood, it did a great job. Have a look on YouTube plenty of videos showing how to build one. Be prepared for lots of wood chips though.
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  • lysanderlysander Frets: 574
    WezV said:
    GSPBASSES said:
    That's fine if you have a big drill press. It won't reach the middle of the body on a smaller one.

    its a good tool, but I always wonder if the name was meant to be ironic
    Thanks, yes I will have to check but I think my drill press is probably not big enough. I read that the torque that these things generate is not very good for the drill either.
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  • lysanderlysander Frets: 574
    Would that router be up to the job : http://www.axminster.co.uk/makita-rt0700cx2-router-trimmer-1-4-ax875577 ?
    I'd prefer to get a smaller unit like that rather than a big 1/2 inch beast if I can get away with it, bearing in mind that it will only see very occasional use.
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  • SporkySporky Frets: 27568
    WezV said:

    its a good tool, but I always wonder if the name was meant to be ironic
    I have one that I'm too scared to use. Terrifying thing.

    lysander said:
    Would that router be up to the job : http://www.axminster.co.uk/makita-rt0700cx2-router-trimmer-1-4-ax875577 ?
    I'd prefer to get a smaller unit like that rather than a big 1/2 inch beast if I can get away with it, bearing in mind that it will only see very occasional use.
    I think you could do it with that, but it'll take ages. I do router thicknessing with one of these in a 1400W Bosch router, cutting about 20mm wide passes.

    https://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Surface_Trim_225.html
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
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  • lysanderlysander Frets: 574
    edited May 2017
    Thanks for the link and info. I think in the end I will probably go for this instead ( Makita RP2301FCX )
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EKK6KC8/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
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  • SporkySporky Frets: 27568
    The Makita stuff I've had has been pretty good.

    I built my router thicknessing thing with two bits of aluminium box section, some PFTE slip tape and some scrap ply as the base. I then made a sliding gantry from some more box section so it wouldn't sag under the router's weight.
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    WezV said:
    GSPBASSES said:
    That's fine if you have a big drill press. It won't reach the middle of the body on a smaller one.

    its a good tool, but I always wonder if the name was meant to be ironic
    At university we used to call this the 'finger chopper'.
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  • 4xv4xv Frets: 49
    Take it to your local joiners shop go armed with some biscuits and a few quid in your pocket it will take them literally seconds to do.
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  • KalimnaKalimna Frets: 1534
    I have that Makita router, and it's a lovely machine. The only problem Ive had is the locking mechanism for the on/off trigger stopped working, so I currently have no always-on option. Not a big problem as I dont have a router table...

    Adam
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