he littlebigone - it sounds like we've both been following the same path to simplicity.
my goals have also been to produce an instrument that others can build and play with the least tools and effort possible.
i agree with you on many points about my tuners:
-it is difficult to drill the holes straight, i've had several crooked
-it requires a drill (which is the only power tool i still use)
-it is not very easy for a novice to tune with
however, mine stay tuned just fine, i travel and play them all over, at bars and pubs, and they only ever need a slight adjustment. they are really more of a proof of concept, that it *can* be done.
however, now that you've inspired me in a more proper direction with them, my builds may change.
...When you are finished with the tuning it will keep for a long time even if you travel hard
with the guitar. That's it and it is a LittleBigOne homemade tuners that I invented for
LittleBigOne's guitars of mine :-)
My vocabulary may not be enough but I will do my best to explain as much as I can.
My main idea was to build high quality but low cost three strings guitars so that kids or anyone
with a low budget could build some on their own. After some time I had tested differents methods
and materials, wood or metal, simple piezo or full cell, different kind of strings, neck passing
through the box or not, and which side I could stick the neck to the box. Eventually the main
remaining problem was I still had to buy mechanics and they are really expensive. In my town I
could not find anything under 20 euros and that was not for electric string guitars, after that the
prices jump highs. Even buying mechanics from internet is quite expensive because of the
postal shipping costs.
I tried many tips and tricks to replace standard mechanics with something homemade. I tested
yours too but I was not convinced because of two problems: First you need to drill the neck from
left to right and depending on the width of the neck and of the quality of the wood (some are really
strong), that may be quite a challenge to drill straight. And I am a good woodworker, so think to
what the problem will become for a kid with no particular tools nor experience ... :-S
Second, your tuners don't keep tuned even if you hold it strong, at some point some time later
(hours or days) the strings are not tuned anymore and that may be a problem for a kid too.
Though I found later that this problem could be solved by adding a one-way nut after the
wing nut to lock it...
Another solution I tried was to set the bolts like yours from front to rear, instead of left to
right. Though it was better, it came even better if you attach the string to the wing nut
instead to attach it to the bolt. It's simpler to tune but not really comfortable :-)
anyway it's only a matter of taste because some may argue it was not really simpler
to tune.
One of the most important thing I discovered is to send the strings to the back of
the neck because it will lower the tension on the neck big and will prevent the neck
from bending. This even allow people to use not expensive hard wood for the neck
with no risk. Of course on the other side of the guitar you absolutely need to attach
the strings to the neck-passing-through and don't even think to attach the
strings to the box or anything else :-)
So if you watch at the strings coming from the bottom of the guitar to the top, and
passing through some holes to reach the backof the neck, the simpler was to hold them
from the top of the neck so not to add any more tension on the strings.
If you simply attach the strings to the wing nut it will not work. The secret here lies in
how to attach the strings to the wing nut. You need to have the string going from one wing to
another, so when it will be under tension the tension of the string will keep your bolt
straight by alone, and you don't need to add anything to maintain the bolt straight.
You can use whatever kind of strings you want, classic folk or metal strings... If you have a
low budget you can use nylon strings or 4 mm fishing nylon strings like many other people do
for ukuleles on other countries - believe it or not but it gives an incredible sound with a
full cell piezo in a metal cookie box (vibrating plate not pierced) and a folk guitar bridge !
Once the strings are attached, they are pretty easy to tune by turning the bolt with a key
(mine is 8 because the bolt is 5 mm) Here some people may use some bolt that you turn
with a flat screwdriver, depending on your country but in mine country this model is too
expensive.
For each string you tune, lock it with a nut added after the wing nut so it will not move
even slighlty while you are working on the other strings. This is very efficient and will
prevent the strings to un-tune even if the bolt move.
When you are finished with the tuning it will keep for a long time even if you travel hard
with the guitar. That's it and it is
i use eyebolts sideways, as tension tuners, but i've always wanted to use bolts *properly*, so that i could turn the bolt, and have the thread pull a bolt and string back, using the mechanical advantage of the bolt to tune the string...
SO...
what parts did you use?? i can see the bolts and the wing nuts, but what brackets? how are they set up???
please tell me more!
GREAT WORK! it's innovations like THIS that really make a difference!
Comments
my goals have also been to produce an instrument that others can build and play with the least tools and effort possible.
i agree with you on many points about my tuners:
-it is difficult to drill the holes straight, i've had several crooked
-it requires a drill (which is the only power tool i still use)
-it is not very easy for a novice to tune with
however, mine stay tuned just fine, i travel and play them all over, at bars and pubs, and they only ever need a slight adjustment. they are really more of a proof of concept, that it *can* be done.
however, now that you've inspired me in a more proper direction with them, my builds may change.
thanks so much for your detailed response!!!
...When you are finished with the tuning it will keep for a long time even if you travel hard
with the guitar. That's it and it is a LittleBigOne homemade tuners that I invented for
LittleBigOne's guitars of mine :-)
Enjoy!
My vocabulary may not be enough but I will do my best to explain as much as I can.
My main idea was to build high quality but low cost three strings guitars so that kids or anyone
with a low budget could build some on their own. After some time I had tested differents methods
and materials, wood or metal, simple piezo or full cell, different kind of strings, neck passing
through the box or not, and which side I could stick the neck to the box. Eventually the main
remaining problem was I still had to buy mechanics and they are really expensive. In my town I
could not find anything under 20 euros and that was not for electric string guitars, after that the
prices jump highs. Even buying mechanics from internet is quite expensive because of the
postal shipping costs.
I tried many tips and tricks to replace standard mechanics with something homemade. I tested
yours too but I was not convinced because of two problems: First you need to drill the neck from
left to right and depending on the width of the neck and of the quality of the wood (some are really
strong), that may be quite a challenge to drill straight. And I am a good woodworker, so think to
what the problem will become for a kid with no particular tools nor experience ... :-S
Second, your tuners don't keep tuned even if you hold it strong, at some point some time later
(hours or days) the strings are not tuned anymore and that may be a problem for a kid too.
Though I found later that this problem could be solved by adding a one-way nut after the
wing nut to lock it...
Another solution I tried was to set the bolts like yours from front to rear, instead of left to
right. Though it was better, it came even better if you attach the string to the wing nut
instead to attach it to the bolt. It's simpler to tune but not really comfortable :-)
anyway it's only a matter of taste because some may argue it was not really simpler
to tune.
One of the most important thing I discovered is to send the strings to the back of
the neck because it will lower the tension on the neck big and will prevent the neck
from bending. This even allow people to use not expensive hard wood for the neck
with no risk. Of course on the other side of the guitar you absolutely need to attach
the strings to the neck-passing-through and don't even think to attach the
strings to the box or anything else :-)
So if you watch at the strings coming from the bottom of the guitar to the top, and
passing through some holes to reach the backof the neck, the simpler was to hold them
from the top of the neck so not to add any more tension on the strings.
If you simply attach the strings to the wing nut it will not work. The secret here lies in
how to attach the strings to the wing nut. You need to have the string going from one wing to
another, so when it will be under tension the tension of the string will keep your bolt
straight by alone, and you don't need to add anything to maintain the bolt straight.
You can use whatever kind of strings you want, classic folk or metal strings... If you have a
low budget you can use nylon strings or 4 mm fishing nylon strings like many other people do
for ukuleles on other countries - believe it or not but it gives an incredible sound with a
full cell piezo in a metal cookie box (vibrating plate not pierced) and a folk guitar bridge !
Once the strings are attached, they are pretty easy to tune by turning the bolt with a key
(mine is 8 because the bolt is 5 mm) Here some people may use some bolt that you turn
with a flat screwdriver, depending on your country but in mine country this model is too
expensive.
For each string you tune, lock it with a nut added after the wing nut so it will not move
even slighlty while you are working on the other strings. This is very efficient and will
prevent the strings to un-tune even if the bolt move.
When you are finished with the tuning it will keep for a long time even if you travel hard
with the guitar. That's it and it is
a million times YEEEESSS!!!!!
tell me about these tuners! they freaking rock!!!
i use eyebolts sideways, as tension tuners, but i've always wanted to use bolts *properly*, so that i could turn the bolt, and have the thread pull a bolt and string back, using the mechanical advantage of the bolt to tune the string...
SO...
what parts did you use?? i can see the bolts and the wing nuts, but what brackets? how are they set up???
please tell me more!
GREAT WORK! it's innovations like THIS that really make a difference!