Posted by Rich Gillen on March 16, 2011 at 11:43pm
After learning through many mistakes...I decided to go with a basic design. I found the paper box to be easier in terms of figuring out the right neck height. I've worked through a few wood boxes with deeper lids and it's a pain to get the neck right. The tail sits against the block on the left. A decorative hinge will be the tailpiece, braced on the inside with a metal piece of some kind. The machines are half of a classical tuner set.I don't have a router so I used an idea I found here (first through Diane of Chicago) to drill the holes on the headstock like that.The neck will be glued to the poplar braces you see there under the clamps. The belt sander took about 1/2 off the neck side facing the lid to keep the lid resonant.Not sure whether a piezo under the lid or a stick pup on top will work best...any suggestions welcome.Thanks for the encouragement everyone.
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Thanks for the comments. Slotting the headstock was the initial plan, and will be done in the next build. I was just getting too impatient after the fits and starts of the last two weeks and wanted to see an end product. Plus I have yet to buy a good wood chisel.
If you have a drill, chisel and files, you can also slot your headstock as shown in these photos...
I drill out a line of holes using a small bit, then drill them out several more times with increasingly wider and wider drill bits. When I'm up to a 1/4" bit or so, I take a chisel and chisel out the bits of wood between each drill hole. When that's done, I file the sides smooth. Then drill holes for the tuner posts and mounting holes and before long have a completed headstock.
Thanks for the comment. The strings fit but it's tight so I'll open up the holes a little. The tuners are not screwed down yet. As for the piezo, I'll mount that on the neck facing the lid, not on the lid. You're definitely right about the deeper lid...it's just more challenging. A main reason for this build is to define a design that I can use for teaching in business classes that I teach. CBGs are a great "product" for a simulation, but power tools are not possible. The design has to modular using bolts on pre-cut boxes and necks. Thanks again. R
Mistakes happen as part of the learning process, the skill comes in covering them up! (-; I had a lot of problems with this style of thin lid flap on my second build with rigidity and electrics/hardware mounting issues, a deeper lid allows the neck to be mounted in the lid, and the box can be opened with the strings attached. Hope you manage to get the strings into those tuners, the holes look a little tight...?
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If you have a drill, chisel and files, you can also slot your headstock as shown in these photos...
-Rand.