Did my first official cbg wood box standard 1 piece of wood for the neck and fretted. I cut the grooves in the box so that the neck would be slightly higher than the box. I grooved out the area of the neck that so the box lid could close. It worked out ok but the neck is somewhat thin overall. For future cbgs I'll glue an additional fretboard piece of wood so the neck will be thicker. I'm not sure how deep to cut the box grooves in general...Also some boxes have thinner lids as opposed to thicker lids (which some of the groove can be cut out from the lid). I'm a bit unclear on how deep to cut the grooves on a box....I don't want the inside the box piece of wood to be too thin....and if using bracing is suffice then yes I've done that. With only a hacksaw cutting out grooves for the headstock and space for the lid is an intense effort. Chiseling etc... I'm also not sure how much higher a neck should be than the body. I've just been guessing for that...and so far it's working out ok. Also what is the main difference between making a 3 string as opposed to a 4 string guitar. I've never made a 4 string and curious what to be aware of as opposed to a 3 string. Seems like finding tail pieces for 3 stringers is easier. I see many varied approaches to notching the box. In this post I am speaking of a fretted cbg. A raised neck from the box/either all the way through or almost all the way. I see different boxes with thin lids and boxes with thicker lids. I am curious also where the piezo gets placed when various notching techniques are used with different box sized lids. Here's some scenarios I've scene in respect to box groove cuts... 1. A thicker lid with both the box and lid having a cut groove (leaves a space between neck and lid?) 2. A thinner lid with no cut on the lid (where's the piezo go underneath the neck?) 3. Notched on the bottom , upper middle, etc. (how deep is the notch) I know this thread is all over the place and apologize but I'm trying to make some sense before I go buying and cutting some nice boxes. I did experiment on a box that I had messed up and that went ok but it's really quite confusing because a given style of box can determine the manner in which it's cut /neck height etc If you could share your notching techniques for a given box type/neck (fretted cbg) I'd appreciate it...(do you could include a second piece of wood for the neck? On another topic is there a huge difference in making a 4 string as opposed to a 3 string cbg? Thanks for reading and hope this makes sense.

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  • Top and bottom notch only one side done..

    image.jpg

  • Still finding it hard to cut the notch with a deeper/thicker box lid. I think I'll look for boxes with thinner lids in the future ...still getting it but I find myself having to eyeball the two notches on either side of the box.
  • Jon, have a look at this. This is the neck design I use for all my builds now, using a single 1x2" for the neck and 1/4" piece for the fretboard:

    306318582?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024So you start off with something like this:

    306318646?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024And it ends up like this:

    306319735?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024The top 2 are for 4 strings and the bottom is a 3 string. Only difference is the width - you need a slightly wider neck for a 4 string. With this design the majority of the neck running through the box is well below the box lid, so you don't need to sacrifice neck strength by making a recess. You do need to chisel a little material away from the end of the upper part of the neck to allow for the lid to close.

    With regards to cutting the box - I measure the neck at the point it's going to enter the box (the heel) and allow for 1/4" to sit above the box lid. Use tape to cover the area you're going to cut, and measure carefully using a carpenter's square. I use a Ryoba (Japanese backsaw) to cut down, then a coping saw for the horizontal cut. Don't go all the way to the line - keep it there for reference and use a chisel for fine adjustments. Check the neck sits squarely in the hole before doing anything else. Use the same principle if you want the fretboard to overlap the box slightly.

    306320506?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024Make sense?

    Another thing you might want to consider is back angle, especially if you're making a fretted instrument. You can achieve this by making the block for the neck to rest on at the back of the guitar a little taller than the one at the front. This allows for a higher bridge, so more clearance for the strings over the lid, and it keeps the action nice and low, like this:

    306321340?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024Let me know if you want me to explain anything further.

    • can you explain the back angle a bit more please

      how you get that larger headstock on there?

      how to overlap the fretboard on the top of the box.

      I've been intimidated at the above.. the making of a heel, creating a wooden tailpiece , and any scarf joints.
      Your drawing is really great which I'll try to follow. I'm wondering how to make tailpieces out of wood as the strings would slip/cut through the wood on a wooden tailpiece. I'm looking to find some kinda solution like some string holders that could be found or made expensively (any help on that appreciated.
      • In terms of back angle, think of it like this: If you imagine a perfectly straight neck, the strings will slope down from the bridge to the nut. If you want enough clearance from the box lid to use your fingers or a pick, the bridge is going to have to be quite a bit higher than the nut. This will also cause the action to get progressively much higher as you go up the neck.

        When you have a back angle, you can have a taller bridge, and therefore lots of clearance from the box lid, and while the strings still slope down to the nut, they follow the angle of the neck, so the action remains nice and low all the way down the fretboard.

        Go back to my diagram and have a think about this: If the neck runs through the box, and is resting on a wooden block at each end (this is where I affix the neck to the box using screws), if both blocks are exactly the same height, the neck will be straight. If the one at the front matches the notch cut for the neck to enter the box, and the one at the back is a little higher (this depends on the length of the box but you're generally talking 4-5mm), then your neck will angle down slightly - it's that simple!

        The wider headstocks are simply achieved by gluing strips of wood on either side of the existing head end of the neck, then you just sand them down and Bob's your uncle.

        I don't actually overlap the fretboard over the box - this would make it difficult to access the inside of the box for adjustments - when you see this on my builds I have always cut the lid of the box slightly to allow for this. Exactly the same principle as cutting the end of the box for the neck.

        The heel is just part of the design  - the 2 parts of the neck are glued together, I cut a 45 degree angle and then shape with rasps and files - I'll post some pics when I'm at my PC.

        Wooden tailpiece is easy - use a piece of hardwood (I usually use fretboard scraps), then drill 4mm holes for the strings, then get down to your local bike shop and ask for some spoke nipples (depending on the shop they will be free or almost free). Glue these inside the holes and you have some very cheap string ferrules. Take a look through my pics, as the concept is always the same.

        ...and I don't do scarf joints - I don't own any power tools and I don't have the confidence to attempt one without a band/table saw.

        Hope this helps.

    • Richey,
      When you say slightly larger size neck for 4 string. What size and where do you find it?
      • Well, I'm afraid I'm a metric kinda guy really but my wood supplier sells me 22x35mm for 3 stringers, and 24x37mm for 4 stringers. For a 4 stringer I use an 11mm string spacing at the bridge, leaving me about 2mm at either side of the fretboard, although I do taper the strings so they are closer together at the nut (8mm) 

    • You covered alot here. I'm gonna follow your drawing and advice the best I can and I will get back here if I'm able to make anything as beautiful as these. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions in such detail...
      • Not a problem. I just realised I said to you a chisel for fine adjustment to the cut on the box. I meant a file!

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