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First build - simple question (I hope)

Possibly a dumb question but: building my first box guitar and what I want to do is a through neck where the tail ends inside the box. Here's the dumb question - there is a lot of conflicting advice about whether to attach the neck to the lid (and allow the box to swing free), or to the box (that allows the lid to open). What I have seen is a recommendation to ensure the box lid is not touching the neck (for best vibration on the lid), and othes say glue/screw the neck to the lid (channelling the neck a bit to allow the lid to sit flat).

Or am I overthinking this and it really doesn't matter? It seems much easier to attach the neck to the lid.

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Permalink Reply by 3qt17g550yh6r on October 3, 2017 at 7:34am

Oh there sure is a ton of opinions out there on this topic. One of the reasons is there are no rules. It would help to answer your question if we had a little more info on your build. Are you putting a pick up in it? Is this going to strictly be acoustic? How many strings? And so forth.

Permalink Reply by Mark K on October 3, 2017 at 9:36am

Rose: piezo pickup inside with volume, no magnetic pickup (though who know in future). 3-string. Wood box (thin).

I was partial to mounting neck in box so no visible screws on top, though I can glue the neck to the lid. Will use a hinge for a tailpiece, so screws for that will drive horizontally into the end of the neck regardless of the neck on the lid or the box.

Permalink Reply by 3qt17g550yh6r on October 3, 2017 at 10:41am

I think you are on the right track. Please post a pic of your guitar when done. Do which ever seems right for you. You can always make another, ( I bet you do it's addicting) there are no rules!!

Permalink Reply by Mike Whitney on October 3, 2017 at 7:56am

Hey Mark -

For what it's worth, I just completed my first build (now onto my second). I used a paper covered box (Punch), and ran a neck-through-box, terminating inside the box. I mounted me neck to the box itself using screws from the underside into the neck. This way, I can remove the top as needed and access my wiring, pickup, knobs and so forth. Not sure if that's helpful, but as many have iterated, there are really no rules.

Permalink Reply by Mark K on October 3, 2017 at 9:33am

Mike: that's what I was planning to do until I saw plans that say mount the neck to the lid (you can still get inside if you don't glue the lid shut - box can drop away).

Permalink Reply by 3qt17g550yh6r on October 3, 2017 at 8:02am

Mike, Chickenbone John made a really good video on this and it sure makes sense to me check you his page on YouTube.

Permalink Reply by Mike Whitney on October 3, 2017 at 9:44am

I'll check that out, Rose. Cheers.

Mark: Good to know. I'm sure my builds will evolve / take different routes over time. I have to say, the method I used seemed to go pretty smoothly. Also, I also picked up RedDog's build video and I think he glues down his lids / makes an access panel at the back (if I recall).

This may be important for a purely acoustic guitar, but ChickenBone John recommends not glueing the box shut in case you need to access the neck or even swap it out. Again, no right or wrong - I've just been doing what resonates with me and made sense during my build process. I think you'll find once you get into it, you'll discover your own way of doing things.

I took about a month to research, get inspiration from other builders, sketch stuff out etc. and one could easily get hit with perfection paralysis. Dive in! It will come together. Plus, it's the tiny 'mistakes' that you'll learn from. Even after my first build, I picked up some tricks that made this second one go more smoothly.

Permalink Reply by MadGomer on October 3, 2017 at 12:17pm

I attach the neck to the lid at the headstock end, and the string load on the bridge holds the neck against the bridge end of the lid. Between those two points I take a bit of material (sixteenth to an eighth of an inch at most) off the top of the neck to give the lid room to vibrate. Unless you build it with the box upside down, I believe you should always attach the neck to the lid to eliminate potential buzzing.

Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on October 3, 2017 at 1:01pm

this topic comes up alot ,, and you will have some folks say a space between the lid and neck is better .. others say glued right to the top is better and the whole guitar is solid and vibrates . .

and in another thread ,( almost as in a perfect world ) , someone that actually built 2 guitars the same , same box, scale , and all , except one with a space, and one without , said .. he really couldn't tell the difference but leaned on the solid glued right to the lid sounding, and feeling better .

so there's your "hummmm" answer for the day . ;-)

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