Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Al Allen (Hangten) on December 14, 2009 at 5:39pm

Jerryrig, I feel your pain man and have lived through the "no tools" era. Please page through the pictures section here and enjoy all the lovely inspirational ideas that reside there, I don't think anyone is worried about copying ideas..

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Permalink Reply by Roger Martin on December 14, 2009 at 6:56pm

Headstock to some can be a headache,,,,,,,, ouch,,,,,,,
But there are plenty of pics showing just about every conceivable headstock treatment I think , somewhere in this site.
No need to worry about this part of the build so much.
I havent tried to build without much tools tho, but you have the right idea, keep it simple for the 1st couple of builds , then when you gain confidence in your building skills you'll look back and say " dang, what was I so worried about?"
Lots of builders here use very basic tools and come out with kick butt builds.You can too.
We're all sure you'll do fine, just remember , this build is ONLY the 1st,,,,,,,,,,,

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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on December 15, 2009 at 2:52am

That's a 11/16" forstner bit for the big holes (but you could use a paddle bit with those corner teeth) and a 5/16 bit for the tuning peg holes going crosswise. Added a bit of 1/4" stock to the back, and that one also has 1/4" applied fingerboard.

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Permalink Reply by Jerryrig240 on December 15, 2009 at 2:57am

Oh no, I have built severial, only few made it to become a playable object....and those few got parted out a lot times for another build. This will be, maybe my (lets say to be fair) 7th "build" but you have to realize there were about 3 to 4 scrapped in this long haul. I just keep trying new things, different aproaches and different styles. This has to be a art, because no 2 boxes are alike. Even if you find a matched pair....there is something different about each of them. The lid is warped, there is a crack, paper is peeling....the list goes on and on. I do most of my builds on a tight budget...somtimes not tight enough.....but you can tell a lot of times by my finished product I did not have much to work with. I like to find things to use, or try to use what I have....but the parts bins get kinda empty sometimes, and there's that extra tuner you might have to swipe from another build to make the next one at least see the light of day....pluss electronics and strings....I have bought more strings I think in the last 6 months than I ever have just playing a normal guitar. This is a addictive art that no one can hide from. Once you build one, it's thinking about the next. It's that buzz you get in the back of your head when you can see it all coming together and all it was before was a simple box and a peice of wood. Yesterday I was bending a spatula for my tail peice on my new axe and I thoght "Wow, when who ever made this in the factory they never thought in a million years this would be used on a guitar." I see really nice cbg's on here, but I don't sweat em', because mine does not look as good, yes, I would love to be a master builder, but for me, it's the sound I am looking for. I want my cbg to get second looks and get people to think "What is that?" or "Where did you get that." and then sit there and just smile right back at them and say. "I made it."

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Permalink Reply by colin mcgrath on December 15, 2009 at 5:21am

i can dig all you just wrote jerryrig. I am going to try flat headstocks for awhile longer. My attempt at a scarf joint was deplorable. I will not try again until I have made the jig to cut the joint on a table saw.

Jerryrig240 said:

Oh no, I have built severial, only few made it to become a playable object....and those few got parted out a lot times for another build. This will be, maybe my (lets say to be fair) 7th "build" but you have to realize there were about 3 to 4 scrapped in this long haul. I just keep trying new things, different aproaches and different styles. This has to be a art, because no 2 boxes are alike. Even if you find a matched pair....there is something different about each of them. The lid is warped, there is a crack, paper is peeling....the list goes on and on. I do most of my builds on a tight budget...somtimes not tight enough.....but you can tell a lot of times by my finished product I did not have much to work with. I like to find things to use, or try to use what I have....but the parts bins get kinda empty sometimes, and there's that extra tuner you might have to swipe from another build to make the next one at least see the light of day....pluss electronics and strings....I have bought more strings I think in the last 6 months than I ever have just playing a normal guitar. This is a addictive art that no one can hide from. Once you build one, it's thinking about the next. It's that buzz you get in the back of your head when you can see it all coming together and all it was before was a simple box and a peice of wood. Yesterday I was bending a spatula for my tail peice on my new axe and I thoght "Wow, when who ever made this in the factory they never thought in a million years this would be used on a guitar." I see really nice cbg's on here, but I don't sweat em', because mine does not look as good, yes, I would love to be a master builder, but for me, it's the sound I am looking for. I want my cbg to get second looks and get people to think "What is that?" or "Where did you get that." and then sit there and just smile right back at them and say. "I made it."

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Permalink Reply by Tres Seaver on December 16, 2009 at 3:22pm

Anybody got a jig design for cutting a reasonable scarf with a hand saw? I'm not gonna move up to a table saw / band saw any time soon, but would like to give a scarf'ed neck a try.

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