Hi all,

I'm a first timer from the UK and I would love to share my first project with you and ask some advice.

I'm building a fretless three string guitar from bits of hardwood from old furniture for the neck and ply and pine for the resonator. I chose to build the box from scratch as I was having difficulty finding a decent cigar box.

As you will see from the photos I have shaped the neck, yardstick and heal from one piece of white oak to which I have laminated a mahogany fret board.

This leads me onto my first question: my board is currently 8mm, is this to thick? Should it be more like 6mm?

Second question: what is the optimal action for slide? And optimal distance from string to soundboard?

Third and final for now: My machine head shafts are a little short, should I countersink into the back of my headstock, or reshape the top of the yardstick to make it narrower.

Please have a look at the pictures I've posted and feel free to comment / offer advice.

Thanks in advance

Views: 959

Attachments:

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Last pic at this stage
Attachments:

that's far too good for a first build...lol

Ha ha! Thanks Jabes. I have to say, I'm really loving the whole process.
The improvements look great! Are you gonna fret this? Is the neck already attached to the box? If not fretting, then you are OK for string height. If you are, and the neck isn't attached to the box yet, you might want to set the neck so much of the fretboard sits above the top of the box, and the neck angles back away from the box 2-3 degrees. This will allow you to have a relatively low action, and a relatively low bridge / saddle. You do good woodwork.
Thanks Ron,

Nah I'm gonna leave this one fretless as it's my first build. Already planning the next one though which will be fretted. What should the drop from the top of the fretboard to the top of the soundboard be?
No frets, no problem. You should be good with a relatively tall bridge / saddle on that one. For the next, fretboard height above the soundboard where it attaches to the box is good at 1/4". Rake the neck back a little toward the headstock on the next fretted one, will lower your action.
Just wanted to share a few pics of the painted body with sound hole covers. 4 coats acrylic matt black followed top coat of Danish oil. Sorry for photo quality, light in my workshop at this time of day isn't great.
Attachments:

Looking good

The sound hole covers look great against the black finish. Are they sink strainers?

Thanks Andy. Yeah £1.50! For a pack of 4.

Bargain! I've just put some brass eyelet / grommets on my first build's sound holes. They are a bit smaller than I thought they would be but still look ok for the size of box. Will leave them for now but will definitely try the strainers in the future.

Yeah they are a bargain and do look great. It was either that or brass eyelets as you have used. Any pics?

RSS

The Essential Pages

New to Cigar Box Nation? How to Play Cigar Box GuitarsFree Plans & How to Build Cigar Box GuitarsCigar Box Guitar Building Basics

Site Sponsor

Recommended Links & Resources


Forum

crossover guitar.

Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 21. 11 Replies

Tune up songs

Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies

Duel output jacks

Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies

How to Get Your Own Music on Spotify

Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 21. 2 Replies

CB Bass Guitar

Started by Mi Rankin in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Justin Stanchfield Jan 27. 5 Replies

Events

Music

© 2024   Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

\uastyle>\ud/** Scrollup **/\ud.scrollup {\ud background: url("https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/963882636?profile=original") no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent;\ud bottom: 25px;\ud display: inline !important;\ud height: 40px;\ud opacity: 0.3 !important;\ud position: fixed;\ud right: 30px;\ud text-indent: -9999px;\ud width: 40px;\ud z-index: 999;\ud}\ud.scrollup:hover {\ud opacity:0.99!important;\ud}\ud \uascript type="text/javascript">\ud x$(document).ready(function(){\ud x$(window).scroll(function(){\ud if (x$(this).scrollTop() > 100) {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeIn();\ud } else {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeOut();\ud }\ud });\ud x$('.scrollup').click(function(){\ud x$("html, body").animate({ scrollTop: 0 }, 600);\ud return false;\ud });\ud });\ud \ua!-- End Scroll Up -->