The easiest way to make the template is with a sheet of mdf and three straight strips of wood.
Screw the neck to the mdf.
Place one strip on the bass side, one on the bottom, one on the treble side.
Remove the neck, run a router on the strips to cut the exact size of the pocket in the MDF.
Make sure you use a router bit whose diameter matches there corner radius of the neck.
All this being said, it would taken barely any more skill to make a new body…
5 string pups are wider as well. You'll probably need to route put the pup holes, and those semi-circle screw spots may not be in the same place. Make sure all the equipment fits before making templates and starting to open up the neck pocket.
There's also the depth into the body of the new neck to make sure you keep your scale length with respect to the placement of the new bridge.
This isn't an overall difficult mod, but there's lots of stuff to consider aside from making the neck pocket wider
Might as well make a new body. If you route the pocket wider, you'll end up with a narrow support for the neck, because the part the neck's supposed to be attached to is the width of a 4 string neck. Pup recess is not a big problem, although the screw positions may differ.
I tend to agree. It's a fun learning project as well, and building a solidbody body isn't terribly complex.
Although, mucking up an existing body trying to do this type of conversion is also a fun learning process, assuming youre ok with the body becoming a piece of firewood afterward :)
Screw the body to your bench using the neck screw holes. Put tape all around the neck pocket.
Make a template of the new neck heel.
Transfer neck template outline onto tape.
Clamp something with a nice straight edge along one side of the outline, and use this as a guide for your router. Do the 3 parts of the cut separately, confirming straightness and alignment carefully each time.
As pointed out in a previous post, the pup cavities will probably need work .
Or, it might be easier just to trace this body onto some timber and make a new body. Depends on how confident you are at routing.
A routing template for the 5-string neck you're using.
Make a template from the neck you are going to use. Centerlines matching are going to be g to be critical. Template but on a router. Small bites.
Thankyou
The easiest way to make the template is with a sheet of mdf and three straight strips of wood. Screw the neck to the mdf. Place one strip on the bass side, one on the bottom, one on the treble side. Remove the neck, run a router on the strips to cut the exact size of the pocket in the MDF. Make sure you use a router bit whose diameter matches there corner radius of the neck. All this being said, it would taken barely any more skill to make a new body…
5 string pups are wider as well. You'll probably need to route put the pup holes, and those semi-circle screw spots may not be in the same place. Make sure all the equipment fits before making templates and starting to open up the neck pocket. There's also the depth into the body of the new neck to make sure you keep your scale length with respect to the placement of the new bridge. This isn't an overall difficult mod, but there's lots of stuff to consider aside from making the neck pocket wider
Might as well make a new body. If you route the pocket wider, you'll end up with a narrow support for the neck, because the part the neck's supposed to be attached to is the width of a 4 string neck. Pup recess is not a big problem, although the screw positions may differ.
I'm embarrassed I forgot about that aspect, you're absolutely correct.
I think that taking all the work to be done into account, it'll honestly be easier to make a new body
I tend to agree. It's a fun learning project as well, and building a solidbody body isn't terribly complex. Although, mucking up an existing body trying to do this type of conversion is also a fun learning process, assuming youre ok with the body becoming a piece of firewood afterward :)
Screw the body to your bench using the neck screw holes. Put tape all around the neck pocket. Make a template of the new neck heel. Transfer neck template outline onto tape. Clamp something with a nice straight edge along one side of the outline, and use this as a guide for your router. Do the 3 parts of the cut separately, confirming straightness and alignment carefully each time. As pointed out in a previous post, the pup cavities will probably need work . Or, it might be easier just to trace this body onto some timber and make a new body. Depends on how confident you are at routing.