Here’s the body after I raggedly cut out the neck socket. The template did not guide the router bit perfectly, so there’s some scalloping. Much bad language. However, ‘it’s not perfect, but I can work with this’ is also a common saying in my workshop (not just the salty idiom I am given too when frustrated) and that’s the case here.
I’ll dial it in. Neck set in socket; it is within one or 2 mm of where it needs to be, depth-wise, for the action to be correct. That’s not bad for a meatball luthier. I then ran the body through my drum sander, taking off 1/64 at atime, until the thickness overall was right. Tomorrow (time permitting) we will shape the body so it feels good; drill holes and mount the neck and bridge so I can string it up; and start testing the action.
