Forums

In the last 2 weeks, I've completed building my first 2 Diddley Bows.  I knew I wanted to use these Punch boxes for bows, but the light bulb of inspiration turned on while cruising the aisles at Home Depot with my daughter looking for something else.

I saw the oak balusters and immediately had a vision for painting them black and then removing most all of the paint to give a weathered and vintage look.

I need to add some brass corners to close up the box.  I must have cut the neck pockets just a touch out of square.

I shaped the headstock to have the function of a scarf joint.  I like it.

I replaced the copper trim ring with a brass strainer to unify the look.

This bow is a real player.  Lots of nice volume and great tone.

I had a second box the same size and decided to try multiple colors used on the box for the same effect.

I used a different baluster from Lowes and I didn't realize the square end bits were farther apart so I had to change it up a bit to avoid drastically lengthening the scale.  So this one got a slotted headstock and the nut sits on the smoother part of the neck.  I wanted to try 2 strings this time.

The slotted headstock was surprisingly easy to make with hand tools and a drill and turned out fan-freakin'-tastic.

The neck turned out to be a real work of art and I got some great help from my 5 year old daughter on Saturday.  She loved helping me sand off all the paint.  The pic doesn't show it well, but everything is super-smooth and glossy.  I worked up to 600 grit then finished with super fine steel wool.  Brass screws mark fret positions 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 15 and 20(ish).

This bow is a looker more than a player right now since the sound is pretty thin.  I either need to rework the bridge or use some different strings.  If I can't get it to sound as pretty as it looks, I'll just hang it on the wall and still feel really, really happy about the work.

Thanks for looking.