End Strip And Side Routing Jig

I'm building my version of a Jumbo Acoustic guitar and in the last week, I built this jig to perform the operation of routing out the end strip channel on the guitar. It's made of a plexiglass base, two oak clamping rails, two 1/4" all thread metal struts , and 4 screws to hold the plexiglass base in position. 

As you can see in the 1st pic, the slots in the plexiglass move in two directions. The vertical slots are for various depth sizes of guitars and the horizontal slots allow freedom of straight lines or slanted/tapered channels. 

Pic 2 shows how the router guide is clamped to the oak rails. The guide is a 3/4" strip of hardwood plywood that has been jointed for perfect straightness.

In pic 3, this is the kind of result I expect from this new addition to the jig inventory. The channel insert is an ebony strip with Koa veneers bordering it. I have many jigs that have needed to be built over the years in order to perform specific operations. I almost enjoy creating tools as much as building instruments.

This pic 4 is just to give you perspective of what part of the guitar your looking at.

Pic 5 is a 1946 000-18 Martin that had a large hole in the side that the new jig assisted at cutting a clean and precise cavity that I can now make a patch that will fit perfectly. Just showing that the jig has other capabilities than cutting end strip channels. 'Til next time! - Al