I'm gearing up for the first build -- the one where i'm going to KISS. Nothing fancy schmancy -- no overlaid fret board, no 1950s pickups -- just a cheap cigar box and poplar wood for the neck.
I'm psyched about the build, but I'm having some concerns about the bridge and the nut -- mainly that I'm not quite sure how be certain the notches in the Nut are going to line up with the string holes at the other end of the neck board. How much does it matter if they're 100 percent in sync?
(I'm also kind of hazy the bridge design -- some use just a bolt sitting on top of the cigar box, while others have a saddle sitting on top of a block of wood. There has to be a difference, right? Isn't a bolt not going to lift the strings high enough? Again -- very, very green here...)
Thanks in advance to everyone. I've been to a few forums in my day, and this one (from what I've seen) appears to be one of the more respectful ones i've ever seen.
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if ur fretting ur neck the difference between just right and oops too deep, buzzy and ugly with nut slots is bugger all.. its very frustrating to slot ur nut too deep..
consider a zero fret, it helps plenty..
in terms of lining the slots up, leave it till u string up..
then u can set the string right where u want it, mark the line, back off the string tension and get it out of the way, and slot away..
its worth leaving it to this point bcos there might be a little trial and error with the depth of the slots..
ps.. an old string (wound) makes a good file for slots..
St Ginger said:
here's a good place to get started. at least check all of the videos and see if any of your questions are answered. the whole reason i developed my method of build was for first timers and those without cash...
here:
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/easy-to-build-cigar-box-...
see if my page helps you in any way. if you've got questions after that, fire away!
good luck with your first build, it's the start of an awesome journey!!!!!
On one of my canjos, I made two 15 degree cuts on the canjo stick and turned the cut off pieces around and glued them back on to the stick again (and I reinforced these 2 joints with wood screws.) The first cut piece was for the "head" of my canjo stick, and the second piece was to hold can of my canjo. The resulting canjo stick bends up in the middle so as to lower the action and makes fretting the instrument easier.
Just my 2 cents worth...
-RM
BenBob said:
As for the bridge, since it's you're first I'd go with an eye bolt. I understand your concern about it not being high enough. You may actually get some buzz if it isn't. Just take a scrap piece of wood (I love using the scraps that are usually inside the cigar box) and stick this under the bolt. It'll give you enough lift, and its hard to screw up.
Good luck on your first build. I'd say just get started. There are a lot of guys on here that over analyze their first builds (guilty party here). I think you'll find that getting a decent sound is a lot easier than you're expecting but getting a pretty build is a lot harder than you're expecting. My advice...go for the decent sound so you have something to entertain yourself with while you're pouring your sweat into that pretty one (yeah right, like there will ever be just one more...)
BenBob said:
Since you're using a floating bridge, you can try different things and see what works. You can start building without really even worrying about it!