Guitar Routing Templates Built for People Who Actually Build Guitars

"If you want to play at building electric guitars, use whatever's cheapest. If you want to actually build electric guitars, Maximum Guitar Works is the only option." — MGW customer

The difference is the alignment. Most template sets hand you a shape and wish you luck. Ours are built around a precision off-body alignment system: ¼" hardened-steel drilling bushings and ¼" alignment pins seated in the strap-button area — a reference point that's the same on every design and never gets routed away. Once the pins are set, they become your alignment. Your neck pocket, bridge, pickup routes, and even the back-side cavities line up perfectly — on the first guitar and the five hundredth.

Here's the part nobody tells you: the newer you are, the more this matters. A 30-year pro can muscle through a sloppy template. A first-time builder can't — and that's exactly who this system carries. It removes the learning curve, the guesswork, and the expensive mistakes, so your first build comes out like you've done it for years.

One alignment, every cut, front and back. The body profile, neck pocket, and electronics/switch cavities all share the same pins — so no single template is weakened by too many holes, and everything indexes to the identical center. Need a tremolo spring cavity, rear control cavity, belly cut, or string-through ferrules? Flip the body, drive the pins through, and the back lines up to the front perfectly — in any order you work.

Safer at the router table, too. Our templates accept removable router paddles that bolt right on, giving you a positive grip for the intimidating full-depth perimeter cut — no white-knuckling the body, no launched blanks. Pop them off and switch to your hand router for the cavities.

Why builders choose Maximum Guitar Works

• Off-body alignment system — repeatable, dead-center registration, build after build.
• ¼" cast acrylic — see-through, won't warp, dent, or wear out like MDF; built for hundreds of builds.
• A complete catalog, not a starter kit — Stratocaster (Strat / S-style), Telecaster (Tele / T-style), offset, set-neck/LP, bass, and more — full neck-and-body systems for each.
• Made in the USA by an actual OEM guitar manufacturer. These are the same templates we build production instruments with.

See the system in action

Steve walks through the off-body alignment system and the router paddles, start to finish:

Frequently asked questions

Are these templates good for beginners?

They're best for beginners. The off-body alignment system removes the learning curve that ruins most first builds — it indexes every cut to the same center so you get pro alignment without years of trial and error.

What makes them different from cheap template sets?

The alignment. Basic templates give you a one-shot shape. Ours use hardened-steel bushings and ¼" alignment pins set off the body, so every template — front and back — registers to the exact same point, every time.

Which guitar models do you cover?

Stratocaster/Strat (S-style), Telecaster/Tele (T-style), Offset, set-neck/LP,  Bass, and more — complete neck-and-body systems for each.

Are they made in the USA?

Yes — designed and made in the USA by Maximum Guitar Works, an OEM guitar manufacturer.