# New interesting body supplier at GFS



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Guitar Fetish just started carrying bodies from a supplier named XGP. I don't know if they are any good or not, and this is no endorsement, but what I found interesting - more as a statement about the state of fabrication technology - is that the bodies seem to be machined *after* they're painted/stained. Never seen that before. 

Traditionally, you'd think that machining was risky enough to the surface of the instrument that you wouldn't want to apply any finish until after you had finished machining, and could sand/buff away any imperfections acquired along the way.

I'm also scratching my head at how they could machine_ without _buggering up a finish, and how they might hold the body securely for the CNC router. Maybe I'm missing something here, and some of you could explain to me that either the finish actually_ was_ applied after machining (though it sure doesn't look like it), or how contemporary CNC techniques allow for the to-be-machined material can be protected from dents, scratches, and flying bits and pieces.

http://www.guitarfetish.com/XGP-Guitar-Parts_c_516.html

EDIT: The marketing blurb says: "We're so fastidious about quality that we rout the bodies, prime them, sand them, paint them, wet sand them, polish them and THEN ROUT THEM AGAIN to create the pristine, perfect cavity you see here." So, mystery solved: it's a bit opf the traditional way, and a bit of what I thought, which explains why the finish seems to end at the routed parts.


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

In the guitar world things are often backwards to what you’d expect, in this case maybe the finish is so thick it closes down tolerances if applied after machining and allowed to coat the cavities.

Damage free hold down is simple though, cnc machining centers are using vacuum to hold down the parts, in this case probably on “pods” which wouldn’t damage the finish.


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