Forums

Bendy Wendy!

Posted by Bleedindoolally on September 11, 2014 at 8:11am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Hi,

This is my first post, so erm HELLO!

I've been making some CBGs over here in England.  Made a 3 string fretless, 2 string fretless and a diddley bow from a broom handle and a little cookie tin.

Last night, I finished this:

And to be fair, I'm really proud of myself!  First time installing frets, using a single coil, volume pot, I even soldered the electrics (another first!) and it works!

The only trouble is, despite the neck going all the way through and being screwed along the bottom and in a couple of places on the top, the body GIVES and bends the notes...

Even the slightest pressure on the body when playing is enough to bend the notes which would be cool if it were a little less sensitive lol but I'm stuck now.  The rest of the body is hollow but the neck fills top to bottom apart from the well for the pick up and there are corner covers helping to hold it all - and the strings are light, too...

So, hello and HOW DO I FIX THE BENDINESS?  :-)

Thanks in advance!

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Bluesheart October 10, 2014 at 11:18am

    I'm with Mr. Johnson on this one. something to jack that key bridge up a bit will maybe help, or it may just push the top down till it hits the neck! Maybe a small post right under the bridge and jacking up the bridge a bit will do the trick. As has been said, you may lose some acoustic volume. Then again only one way to find out. Great looking guitar by the way!!

  • john mackay September 13, 2014 at 2:57pm

    hmmm I use to know a girl called Bendy Wendy! she used be very obliging but thats all I'm going to say. lol

  • Michael Fred Johnson September 13, 2014 at 11:45am

    That key looks very low. The strings need to bend as they go over the saddle.Are they almost straight ?

  • Bleedindoolally September 12, 2014 at 6:21am

    Thanks for all the ideas everyone!

    So...  I think it's the key I used for the bridge!  The circular 'handle' part doesn't lay flat and I think it's that which is susceptible to bends from the body because the make itself is really solid!

    I'm at work right now but will try an allen key/wrench instead to test the theory.  If that sorts it, then I need to think of a way to hold the key steady as I really like it as the bridge  :-)

    I'll let you know how it goes...

    'Chelle

  • Ron "Oily" Sprague September 11, 2014 at 2:54pm
    Hmmm. Is the top of your box (nice looking git, by the bye) actually wood, or is it fiberboard or cardboard? The behavior you're describing is common with fiberboard or cardboard box tops, less so with wood. But if it flexes at the bridge, and if the box bottom is actually wood, there's a couple things you could try. One is to add thin wooden bracing beneath the top to stiffen it. Check out some of John Maw's or Richey Kay's build pics for bracing ideas. Another way is to add a sound post directly beneath the bridge, connecting the top to the bottom. This might also improve your acoustic resonance.

    I'm betting the top is fibreboard...

    Or...is them top the only thing that's flexing, or is the entire box warping? That's common in pasteboard boxes, sooo....

    Another solution to stiffen the overall box would be to add, first, corner posts, and if it's not stiff enough, then thin wooden battens along the internal seams. Check my Profile page pics to see how I do this with my homemade boxes.
  • Bleedindoolally September 11, 2014 at 10:58am

    The box seems to 'give' or flex, which I would say perhaps moves the bridge up or down depending on how I lean on the box.

    I don't have to lean hard, so it's not like a cool bending sound I can make by choice, I literally only have to lean on it like you would normally playing and it warps the notes loads...  :-/

    I would've though the box would be quite solid as it has brass corners and the neck is attached all the way along both sides, but it's having none of it!

    So - would only attaching the neck to the lid fix it?  Or.............?  My brain isn't offering much in the way of ideas lol!

    Thanks again!  

    'Chelle

    • Peter Greed > Bleedindoolally September 12, 2014 at 3:12am

      Nice looking git and congrats on the fretting. A quick fix would be some sort of block under the bridge between the lid and were the neck extends through the box. I imaging you will lose a lot of the resonant characteristics of having a floating lid but with the mag pup it may not be an issue. Put something in temporarily and try it out, you may like it if not remove it and then brace the top.

      Cheers

      Pete

    • Dan Sleep > Bleedindoolally September 11, 2014 at 11:22am

      Screwing the lid to the neck might help. I generally do that with all my builds.

      http://humidorguitars.com/previously-sold-guitars/fuente-three-stri...

      • Thumper > Dan Sleep September 11, 2014 at 12:03pm

        Wendy, again, nice guitar! I used Wayfinders approach on my 6 string reso and it works perfectly. I've seen other bracing and strutting work before, but the one pictured is the most straightforward and easiest to do.

  • Bleedindoolally September 11, 2014 at 9:56am

    Thanks guys!

    So...  in making the neck as deep as the box inside and screwing it to top and bottom, have a created the problem?  ie would it be solved by only attaching it to the lid and leaving space underneath?

    It's a hardwood neck, the neck itself isn't bending but the box flexes!

    I don't have a pic, sorry, but it's the same as Wayfinder's diagram, except the well for the pick up is deeper and the blue would fill the box top to bottom but only as wide as the neck, obvs :-)

    Cheers!

    (And I'm 'Chelle by the way, Bendy Wendy is the guitar's current nickname till it's fixed!)

This reply was deleted.