Humbucker Pickup Routing Template

Just got my template. It's a little thin, but the holes seem to line up fine with my pickup rings. I might make a copy to some thicker MDF to use and have this as a master.

i order this item and used it to make other template...my advice to other user is make it a bit smaller than the original tempalates..For les paul you had to make custom templates because les paul body not flat..Its bit tricky but hey that's what customizing job is all about and that's the fun of it..Good job stewmac

I've been doing business with Stew-Mac about three years and I have been pleased with the exception of this product. I usually make my own templates but I decided to give this a try to save a little time. I disagree about the material and the construction on the other reviews it is very sturdy. Plain and simple it is not the right dimensions for a body cavity route. Ive tried three different types of pickup mounts and they barely cover it. A good start but needs more work.

This thing is GREAT for guitars with flat tops. I recently used it to add a middle pickup cavity on a guitar for Kenny Chesney. Due to the typical LP "belly", the template rocked. I taped two together and then taped maple shims on each end with binding tape. This kept the template from rocking. Then, using the supplied screw holes, I screwed it all down. Routing was a breeze and it turned out great! I'm planning on modding this template with add-on adjustable feet on the corners for non-flat guitar tops.

Unlike polycarbonate templates, these will easily chip, if not shatter, if they make contact with your router bit. I've gone threw at least 4 of these because of this mistake. These templates are a bit on the thin side as well which doesn't help to improve its fragility. If I would have found another company that makes these, I would have bought from them first.

Basically there would be no need to prop these templates up higher if they were built thicker in the first place. Once you get the initial route started in the wood, your bearing wheel will take over the rest of the way and you can remove the template...so why not just build the template thicker? Otherwise they are good...except I've already chipped mine out, ruining it because I was tired of building splints for it and tried to just use it as is, and set my bearing wheel to a sliver to catch the template...but of course it slipped. Anyway, it's kind of making me angry just thinking about it.

Works a treat. Bargain.

These are good basic templates...a little thin which several folks have already mentioned. I have the entire set and use them regularly. Be carefull not to catch the acrylic template with the router bit or other cutting tools as it will chip unlike polycarbonate. I remove the cavity waste wood with a forestner bit first and then use the template to clean up the job.

I just used the humbucker template to route the cavities for my first guitar build. I screwed it directly to the body, because it lined up perfectly with the pickup rings I used. The only hiccup here is that you need to countersink the holes pretty deep if you don't want your router base to drag on the screws.

Using a 7/16" collar on my router, I used a combination of 1/4" and 3/8" bits (the 3/8" has a very close fit to the collar, so be careful not to ruin your bit or collar). Worked great with no other need to tape or mod the template.

A well made, accurate template. If you're going to use humbuckers you're going to need it. I hog out material to depth with a 1/2" bit and use a 3/8" bit on the corners for a little extra wiggle room.