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From cheap Target electric ... making a CBG?

So a neighbor boy GAVE me his ill-treated, never used "First Stage" brand (like sold at Target) electric guitar, something of a Telecaster knock-off. It's been gathering dust because I have good guitars to play, but I was thinking I could tear it up and turn it into a CBG. Wondering what would be perhaps the easiest thing to do to in order to accomplish this? I am a complete hack at woodworking and have few tools. I do have a couple of old cigar boxes, though. In the original spirit of CBGs, making-do with my "abilities" will have to suffice! I'm wondering if I could just cut most of the body away to kind of a straight "stick" and start there, essentially just building a cigar box body around a "stump" of the electric I already have. I'd want to do whatever I could to create as much acoustic-ness as I can, and have no idea what to do to accomplish that. Any thoughts or suggestions?

P.S. - The instruments I've seen that you all have built are quite inspiring.

Thanks,
Corey

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Permalink Reply by Corey on December 9, 2009 at 3:49am

Thanks, Jerry. Like my Dad says, you can always make a hole bigger, but you can never make it smaller. Love the pic of your guitar that looks like it's made out of an old speaker box! How does that sound?

Jerryrig240 said:

I hope you have not started yet, if so, here is some advice on building.....for me, as a first build. Less is more....keep it simple, if you don't have the right tool for the right job, DON'T do it. Power tools are great in the hands of a true craftsman, but man, as soon as you fire up that dremel tool and take off on cuting something.....you will hate yourself in the end if you take off too much, cut to big of a hole, or crack something on the box. Not knowing the condition that your boxes are in, if they are wood, they are also old and can crack. This is fixable....some brush on super glue and some clamps can get back on the right track. I have been re-inforcing my boxes with left over lamenet floor, it looks nice on the inside and makes them nice and heavy.

As far as neck making, you can go tradational with just a narrow peice of wood....or take it one step up and shape the neck...or take it one other step up and make a head stock. This type of stuff will come in time. As for a simple as it can get, I am leaning more near the broom stick style set up these days, for the simple reason, they are easey as heck to put together and they look cool as all get out, and fun to play. If you have this beat up banger of a guitar and plan on not using the neck, just use three tuning pegs and WHAM you have three more for the parts bin for another build. That's kinda how my building got started, I had a olg guitar that was not working, I took it apart, and the rest for me is history. Hope some of this advice helps. Good luck.