Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jerryrig240 on January 19, 2010 at 1:59am

As far as cutting a license plage.....eeeheeehe....I am not sure. I have some really nice all purpose heavy duty scisors, but I am not sure those would even to the trick. You might try just drilling through it with a drill or drill press, then cuting it out in little notches around the hole and fold them back As far as a diddley bow length, I go about lap size, someting longer than your lap about may 5 inches longer on each side...about the length of a guitar string. The best string to use is the low e bass string on the guitar. That will give the d-bow that nice mean, gritty sound. But then again, no rules, so you can use what ever you want. And for the two and three string guitas, no rules again.....it really depends on what you like. I use the main three top strings of the guitar, the strings that are wound the heavyist...that way I get a nice growl when I slide the slide on them Tuning? What ever sounds good to you. Google cigar box guitar and you will come acros Scotty's CBG web site I think it is called, they have a whole list of tunings on there. As for me on my main axe "Ol' truck" I use f# G# B I think, but like I said, which ever works best for you.

Lana Rae said:

Well said, Sam and Jerry!

Speaking of cutting into license plates, what is the best way to do that? I want to install a Skeesix pup in a quitar with a license plate on the top but don't know how to make the hole. I tried the cutting tool with the Dremel, but it didn't work very well. Can I do this on my drill press? I'm a newbie at some of this stuff.... Seems like we outta do a FAQ about some of these issues and place them prominently on the site.... My other questions that would go along with the "what do you cut a hole in a license plate with?" question would be:

If I am making a diddly bow, what scale and what string do I use?
If I am making a two stringed quitar, what strings and what tunings work best?
If I am making a 3-string cbg, what strings and what tunings are best?

I think you get the picture....

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Permalink Reply by Randy Webb on January 19, 2010 at 3:22am

@Lana Rae

The easiest way is with a Dremel and a cutoff wheel. My Dremel tool just bit the dust and I found a variable speed Black & Decker RTX(?) tool that accepted all my Dremel bits. It was only $25.99 at Wal-Mart and they have it at Home Depot too. My single speed Dremel cost more!

I use it for small routing jobs, sanding, cutting metal & wood and I use it so much, I'm tempted to get another so I don't have to change bits so often!

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Permalink Reply by Bob Harrison on January 19, 2010 at 3:59am

I am glad this question was asked. I know I also will be asking simple questions of the experts that will not be simple to me. We all have knowledge that others don’t have.

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Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on January 19, 2010 at 4:00am

Lana, on diddley bows, longish scale lengths 24-30 allow for long expressive slides.... As far as strings, I like wound lights (.22Ws) but others like heavier gauges for harsher/gritty sounds...

The two stringers I've liked the best have be strung with the 6-5 strings of a set and tuned D-A.... you can do some basic blues shuffles, etc... with this... it emmulates an "open D" chords. "Good Bless Ye Merry Gentilemen" on my page's music player is done on a two stringer with this tuning... Some "guys" like tuning D-d and playing mono-power-chords....

When you get to three stringers, then the field becomes wide open.... I'd guess the majority of slide players will use the 6-5-4 strings and tune D-A-d or the 5-4-3 strings and tune G-d-g ... A few fingerstyle players will just use some the top or bottom 1/2 of a strandard tuning and play on a fretted board. Finally, you have "strummers" or "dulci-sticks" that use either the 3-2-1 out of the set and are tuned D-a-d or G-d-g... playing options come out of dulcimer playbooks....

Of course, "no rules", but these ought to be good starting points for you...

the best,

Sam



Lana Rae said:

Well said, Sam and Jerry!

Speaking of cutting into license plates, what is the best way to do that? I want to install a Skeesix pup in a quitar with a license plate on the top but don't know how to make the hole. I tried the cutting tool with the Dremel, but it didn't work very well. Can I do this on my drill press? I'm a newbie at some of this stuff.... Seems like we outta do a FAQ about some of these issues and place them prominently on the site.... My other questions that would go along with the "what do you cut a hole in a license plate with?" question would be:

If I am making a diddly bow, what scale and what string do I use?
If I am making a two stringed quitar, what strings and what tunings work best?
If I am making a 3-string cbg, what strings and what tunings are best?

I think you get the picture....

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bob Harrison on January 19, 2010 at 4:27am

One way to cut a rectangular hole for your pickup would be to use your drill press. First layout the size of hole needed then take an 1/8 inch or smaller drill bit and put holes in a line almost touching each other. Then cut thru the remaining webs with a rat tailed file, jewelers saw or a Dremal cut off wheel. Then use a flat file to clean up or smooth the edges. I can think of several ways to cut the slot, but with limited tools this could be the best way I would think.

If you were going to make several slots I would try a Roto-Zip with their funky looking cuter mounted to their base. But the real secret here would be to use double sticky tape to hold the plate to a much larger board then clamp the board to your bench for safety, and do use a dust mask and safety glasses.

Jerryrig240 said:

As far as cutting a license plage.....eeeheeehe....I am not sure. I have some really nice all purpose heavy duty scisors, but I am not sure those would even to the trick. You might try just drilling through it with a drill or drill press, then cuting it out in little notches around the hole and fold them back As far as a diddley bow length, I go about lap size, someting longer than your lap about may 5 inches longer on each side...about the length of a guitar string. The best string to use is the low e bass string on the guitar. That will give the d-bow that nice mean, gritty sound. But then again, no rules, so you can use what ever you want. And for the two and three string guitas, no rules again.....it really depends on what you like. I use the main three top strings of the guitar, the strings that are wound the heavyist...that way I get a nice growl when I slide the slide on them Tuning? What ever sounds good to you. Google cigar box guitar and you will come acros Scotty's CBG web site I think it is called, they have a whole list of tunings on there. As for me on my main axe "Ol' truck" I use f# G# B I think, but like I said, which ever works best for you.

Lana Rae said:

Well said, Sam and Jerry!

Speaking of cutting into license plates, what is the best way to do that? I want to install a Skeesix pup in a quitar with a license plate on the top but don't know how to make the hole. I tried the cutting tool with the Dremel, but it didn't work very well. Can I do this on my drill press? I'm a newbie at some of this stuff.... Seems like we outta do a FAQ about some of these issues and place them prominently on the site.... My other questions that would go along with the "what do you cut a hole in a license plate with?" question would be:

If I am making a diddly bow, what scale and what string do I use?
If I am making a two stringed quitar, what strings and what tunings work best?
If I am making a 3-string cbg, what strings and what tunings are best?

I think you get the picture....

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mama Mojo on January 19, 2010 at 5:47pm

Thanks, Fellas!!!! I'm going to give the cutting a try tomorrow and see how far I get with the drill press.... and thanks for all of the other great info! I'll let you know how it goes....

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by keith peterson on March 23, 2010 at 2:48am

I agree, could not do anything without my Dremmal

Randy Webb said:

@Lana Rae

The easiest way is with a Dremel and a cutoff wheel. My Dremel tool just bit the dust and I found a variable speed Black & Decker RTX(?) tool that accepted all my Dremel bits. It was only $25.99 at Wal-Mart and they have it at Home Depot too. My single speed Dremel cost more!

I use it for small routing jobs, sanding, cutting metal & wood and I use it so much, I'm tempted to get another so I don't have to change bits so often!

• ▶ Reply

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