Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on March 26, 2011 at 1:55pm

I think the thickness of the wood is probably more important than what it is made of. As long as it can vibrate, you should be good.

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Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on March 27, 2011 at 1:53am

I have made a few with the masonite type tops and they work fine, You can turn it over if you like, the plywood bottom will have a different tone to it. I have found that the masonite tops do better with heavier strings. If its not loud enough when you are done try different strings.

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Permalink Reply by Outhouse Instruments on March 28, 2011 at 12:02am

It really depends on the box. Some with the fiberboard lids sound great, others sound so-so. I've found that most of the larger, deeper Romeo Y Julieta boxes have fiber tops and are killer!

 

The truth is, you really never know until you build it.

 

 

AFKAM

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Permalink Reply by Chuck Dubman on July 28, 2011 at 5:43pm

Unpleasant material to drill or saw, although a *sharp* chisel or knife cuts through clean, like butter.  Thin viscosity superglue (dollar store glue is fine) is a *big* help here.  Soaks into the spaces between fibers and hardens like concrete.  Use it to coat edges of soundholes to keep them from delaminating -- rough cut them undersized, coat with CA, then carve, file, sand, etc. to finished size.  If you're countersinking into fiberboard, say, for fastening down a box lid with flathead screws, run a drop or two down the pilot hole before countersinking to bind the fibers together for a clean, fuzz-free cut, then hit again to seal.  You'll be able to tighten the screws down snugly without them pulling through.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on July 29, 2011 at 1:33am

A couple good tips I hadn't considered.  Thanks for sharing.

Chuck Dubman said:

Unpleasant material to drill or saw, although a *sharp* chisel or knife cuts through clean, like butter.  Thin viscosity superglue (dollar store glue is fine) is a *big* help here.  Soaks into the spaces between fibers and hardens like concrete.  Use it to coat edges of soundholes to keep them from delaminating -- rough cut them undersized, coat with CA, then carve, file, sand, etc. to finished size.  If you're countersinking into fiberboard, say, for fastening down a box lid with flathead screws, run a drop or two down the pilot hole before countersinking to bind the fibers together for a clean, fuzz-free cut, then hit again to seal.  You'll be able to tighten the screws down snugly without them pulling through.

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Permalink Reply by Chuck Dubman on July 31, 2011 at 11:00am

I can see a faint darkening around the holes where I applied the CA.  Looks to have penetrated into the fiberboard a *good* 3/4"!  The whole lid could be hardened by drilling a 1" grid of 1/8" holes into the underside and shooting in a couple of tubes of cheap glue.

E D said:

A couple good tips I hadn't considered.  Thanks for sharing.

Chuck Dubman said:

Unpleasant material to drill or saw, although a *sharp* chisel or knife cuts through clean, like butter.  Thin viscosity superglue (dollar store glue is fine) is a *big* help here.  Soaks into the spaces between fibers and hardens like concrete.  Use it to coat edges of soundholes to keep them from delaminating -- rough cut them undersized, coat with CA, then carve, file, sand, etc. to finished size.  If you're countersinking into fiberboard, say, for fastening down a box lid with flathead screws, run a drop or two down the pilot hole before countersinking to bind the fibers together for a clean, fuzz-free cut, then hit again to seal.  You'll be able to tighten the screws down snugly without them pulling through.

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Permalink Reply by c# merle on August 1, 2011 at 12:39am

Masonite box + mag pickup = ace electric cbg!

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Permalink Reply by Servaas (Der Groovemeister) on August 27, 2012 at 11:11am

Do you have a clip where i can hear this? I just came across some nice boxes with a masonite top and back.

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Permalink Reply by William McCauley on August 27, 2012 at 2:55pm

I have found that Forstner bits do not like to cut fiber board. I use a hole saw in my drill press. 

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Permalink Reply by Order99 on August 27, 2012 at 5:55pm

The first CBG I ever made was Masonite-I took to heart the advice on this forum to 'use the good stuff last so you'll know what you're doing by then', and glued two small Romeo and Juliet boxes into one body, cut off both lids and traced a1/8" Birch ply soundbord for it. Once I had resealed the Masonite inside and out with lacquer, it sounded great, once I found someone competant to actually PLAY it...

I'm beginning to be less surprised that some manufacturers are making entry-level Ukuleles from plastic and still getting a decent sound out of them.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on August 27, 2012 at 5:56pm

As William said, Fostner bits don't like the fiberboard. The seem to generate large quantities of fuzz balls. I got good results from a sharp new hole saw using light pressure and slow speed in the drill press.

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