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Steve (Roots)'s Comments

Comment Wall (27 comments)

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At 12:05am on October 12, 2009, Dianne Woods said…: Nice to meet you. That is alright, I make boo boos all the time.

At 1:34pm on October 11, 2009, Dianne Woods said…: Steve, nice CBGs, very creative.

At 2:12pm on September 29, 2009, Norm Nyburg said…: I like the circular sound holes on the coffee infused box. I have a couple and haven't decided what to do with them yet

At 4:34am on September 23, 2009, Frank Posey said…: Just to say I really appreciate your work, shows a lot of art and creativity.

At 10:05am on August 30, 2009, Suzanne said…: About the birdhouse gourds we mentioned earlier this year; it has been a strange cool "summer" up-pa North- we aren't really sure we had a summer!
My gourd plants are just NOW taking off- and flowering- I haven't given up hope yet- but the gourd pickins' are probly gonna be VERRRY slim this year :(

At 5:04pm on July 1, 2009, Dennis R. Dehart said…: nice set of cigar box guitars.

At 10:20am on June 21, 2009, Jim Grisham said…: Thanks for the words of welcome. This is a fine community for sure.

Porter is northeast suburban Houston.

At 7:17am on June 17, 2009, Diane in Chicago said…: Hi, Steve! That stick-on-the-box dulcimer is about as loud as most of my other builds, (except for the two outta-the-park vintage Royal Jamaica box builds I done. Don't know why those boxes are so great.) It goes together nice and easy. If I do it again, I'll elevate the stick off the box just a smidge like that fella did on the Dulcimer group. A great way to build for a beginner or for working with a class of newbies.

It does look like it is warping at the playing zone, so the action has lifted since I built it a few weeks back. Many of my others have warped a bit, too. So can't say if it is less stable than those. However six strings can't be helping! ;->

At 7:39pm on June 16, 2009, Brian "Pork Pie" Anderson said…: Thanks for the add Steve, great pics...you look busy. I am strating on my neck this week....Ill post some pics of my progress

At 5:17pm on June 12, 2009, Gloria said…: Hi, Just stopping by again to browse through your photos. Nice very nice! Just love that picture frame on the sound hole. I have a couple of those antique style around somewhere.
I'm having fun with the boxes, but don't really know what kind/size strings to use, or anything about frets. So I'm hanging around here to learn. Have a musical day, Gloria

At 4:12pm on June 4, 2009, Suzanne said…: not a builder... happened here by way of friends... great sounds, simplicity and heart...

At 3:42pm on June 4, 2009, Suzanne said…: Thanks Steve, this site is really something... I love the creativity..

At 5:54pm on May 21, 2009, Doug Thorsvik said…: Steve

Thanks for the interest in the nut details. The holes for the strings (custom set .013, .018, .030, .044) are drilled using a 1/8" drill bit. I use a drill press with a simple fence I made out of wood. The fence makes it easy to get all the holes in a straight line. As far as the spacing between the holes, I divide the 1.5" neck width into 4 equal 3/8" sections and then use the midpoint of each section for where the string goes. I just sand down the bottom of the oak nut to fine tune the height so the holes just clear the fretboard and there will be enough downward pressure on the zero fret. I have found this approach to be easier and less time consuming than filing slots. Good Luck.

I noticed you are building dulcimers and string spacing for the paired strings would put the holes pretty close together. You should be able to do it. I am currently working on 4-string dulcimer style neck and I made a nut for it using the same technique, but haven't screwed it on yet. I'm using a scale length of 22.5" which is what the strolling dulcimer I got off ebay a few years ago is. Yours looks longer. Doesn't that make it harder to play with those longer reaches on some the frets? Obviously you can't play some of the same chords you can on a regular dulcimer. I'm curious since there is not that much info on the net about playing dulcimers guitar style.

I've you have any additional questions or I'm not clear enough, please ask.

Doug

At 3:13pm on May 21, 2009, Tim Norman said…: Well, I have some mahogany I had cut at 2" widths. I want to build a tenor CBG, so I'm unsure of what to do next. I think first of all I need to shape the back of the neck and make it rounded. I was thinking of buying a half-round spokeshave. Any suggestions?

At 2:57pm on May 21, 2009, Tim Norman said…: I live in Lubbock, TX.
Are there any other members of this group living out here?
I really would love to have some help with someone that has been somewhat successful. I guess I am a bit timid about doing it.