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Newbie here with a couple questions!!

Hi folks!!

Well, my name is Sachi. I've been lurking for a couple of weeks but in the last couple of days i have started posting a little bit.

So, i wrote a book of a post. Please feel free to skip down to the 4 questions if you don wanna read alla bout who i am. lol. I wrote a lot, and i hope i dont overwhelm anyone. I really am excited to ask my questions and get to know you guys.

A small bit about me. I'm a 32 year old young woman who is disabled, so i spend a lot of time with very little to do. I usually spend my time being creative in some way. I'm a writer, thats my heart and my passion. But, also I make recycled sweater coats outa old sweaters that are AMAZING, i make fine beaded jewelry, i paint, crochet, knit, train dogs, nursemade sick puppies in my families kennel (royalfrenchel.com is our dog website if any of you wanna see the cutest puppies in the world. Our bull hybrids are the smallest bulldogs in the world, and are specially bred for health, long life, companionship and service work. My mother designed the breed for me when i became very ill n needed a smaller sized service dog.) I Survive month to month on disability, which means i have pretty much no money for buying things like ukulele's. 700 per month really doesn't last very far, so i have to figure out other ways to get the things that i want. So i make a lot of it, whatever i can, i make. and being creative helps me general well being :-)

Anyhoot, i do a lot of creative stuff to keep my mind busy between doctors visits and hospital stays. Recently, i wanted to learn to play the ukulele I love the sound of a tenor uke, but they are expensive, and being ME, i like making things and i figured i would try and make one! But despite the fact i love working and crafting with wood, i thought that a traditional ukulele might be a little to hard for me on my first go round. So i ended up looking to CB Ukulele's! Once i got bit by the bug, i became facinated with ALL CB Instruments. I have a friend who does comedic characters on youtube, and she has one character named Roy E. Willderness who sings and plays guitar and i just thought a CBG was perfect for him. Then i have a 10 year old little friend who plays violin but has undergone tons of surgery on her face and jaw, and i thought i could manufacture something more comfortable for her chin rest on a cigar box violin. ANd i still wanna make a tenor or baritone ukulele!

So... i ordered 4 boxes on ebay and am awaiting their arival with baited breath! I also found some 7/8 inch thick, 4 inch wide and 36 inch long paduk at woodcraft.com on sale for 10 bucks each, and i thought that would be perfect for the necks. Considering all of the wood i sorced on ebay and other places was like 40 bucks plus at least 25 for shipping and handling. The neck looked like it was gonna cost an arm and a leg, and i dont get out locally that often to go to a wood store. Plus i love the way Paduk looks, deep rich red, really lovely.

So, now that i have introduced myself, here are my questions. I'm a writer, everything i do ends up being book-sized lol

1. Okay, my question is about fretting the neck. When fretting, do i REQUIRE a finger board? Or can i fret the neck directly and not use two seperate peices (IE, neck an fingerboard) I would rather fret the neck directly, paduk is so beautiful and if there isnt a need or benefit to the fingerboard that i need to consider i am thinking maybe just forego the fingerboard all together. I also like the look of it a bit better then a bulky fingerboard. Being that i do NOT play yet, and am ignorant, if there is some reason why a fingerboard is important i'd love to understand what it is

2. The neck, i have a lot of neck questions, lol. I have read some of the threads about neck attachment but i wanted to ask anyway. Doesn't a THRU-body neck impede sound? It seems to me like it would lessen vibration and reverb and the neck through the body CLEARLY takes up the empty space it seems to me that would ultimately create a weaker, duller sounding acoustic tone. Am i wrong? I have thought about GLUING The neck in place using some sorta Joint that slips the side of the box into a groove in the neck for a really tight fit. But i read somewhere that with Gluing you cant take it apart to fix any problems if needed. And third option was SCREWING the neck to the side of the box. But some people have complained that causes a BUZZING sound. I want all my instruments to be proficiant as acoustic and electric - with that in mind what do you guys suggest? I also thought about doing a Screwing/gluing combination. For a really tight, no buzzing fit. Any input for me about this subject, while taking into account I do NOT yet know how to play, and understanding i want a very sturdy functional instrument when through would be greatly appreciated.

3. I am thinking about how i might THIN the side of the box i'm gonna use for a soundboard to make its acoustic sound louder and brighter. I saw some one suggest doing this with a router tool. Are there any other suggestions? I thought maybe i could use a plane and slowly shave it down then sand it smooth. I do realize i'll have to be adding braces if i thin it a lot. Do you guys think that its worth the time energy and work to thin the sound board? I've even seen some people take the bottom of their box off all together and replace it with a thin sound board like spruce or koa - would you guys suggest doing something like that or do you think it defeafts the purpose of using a CB? lol I'm open to trying all kindsa things, i just want my end product to have a rich sound. I wanna make the best possible use of my cigar boxes to produce the best possible sound!! So any info, suggestions, tips, tricks etc that you may have will be GREATLY welcomed and appreciated!

4. I am certain i wanna make my guitar with at least 4 strings - but honestly, i'd like to make it a 6 string. Can you guys tell me if and why this would be more difficult then a 4 string model? I would like to have a full set of strings on the guitar, but found that not many people do 6 strings with cigar boxes and i wondered why that was. Is it size of box and limited space? Does it not sound as good with 6 strings as it does with 4? I am planning on giving my first guitar away as a gift to a friend, and i want her to be able to play it like she does her cheapo acoustic - and i want it to sound BETTER then her cheapo acoustic. I dunno if thats gonna be possible, but i'm sure as hell gonna try the best that i can!! Any info on number of strings would be greatly appreciated.

OKay, i think this is enough questions for my first intro to all of you. lol. Sorry for writing you a BOOK. I look forward to soaking up all of your knowledge and expertise!

Be well and Blessings of music to all,

Sachi

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Permalink Reply by Wayho on April 27, 2014 at 1:49am

Sachi,

I've only built 3 of these myself, so I cant offer all of the expertise these guys can.

But if I were you, I would go with the poplar you mentioned (or red oak) and build a 3 or 4 string standard CBG first.

Trust me. EVERYONE makes mistakes and learns A LOT on the first one.

I know I did! And I had a lot of "I wish I'd done this differently" when I finished the first one.

Save the exotic wood and fancy boxes for a later build. You WILL build another one! It's addictive!

I've been using standard 1" x 2" for necks and 1/4" x 2" for fret boards. Both are readily available at a Lowe's or Home Depot near you in poplar or red oak. And cheap too!

Just make sure you get a straight one. Lots of bowed boards at the big box stores. You may have to dig thru 'em to find a good one.

Lowes - Red Oak Boards

Lowes - Poplar Boards

And check Gitty's site for parts. Reasonable prices and they won't take a month to get to ya like the Chinese stuff.

Good luck on your build(s).Keep us posted on your progress.

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Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on April 27, 2014 at 3:54am

Sachi, no best box. Each may be better for different applications with different characteristics. Uke tuners good for nylon strings, not steel. Poplar will be slightly more mellow in tone than oak and easier to work. Some people report trouble with popular bending under tension...I haven't.

You need to build several simple CBGs to find some of your own truth...and to know what questions you really need answered.

The best gift of CBG building and playing is that it gives you whole blocks of time where problems just drift away. Prayers that your suffering fade away into the sawdust and music never to come again.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on April 27, 2014 at 12:30am

Is your profile picture a Firefly?

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on April 27, 2014 at 5:35am

Indeed, it appears to be Serenity herself. Appropriate.

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Permalink Reply by Sachi Weaver on April 27, 2014 at 2:55pm

Hehee, Yeap. Its a drawing of Serenity. I am a hardcore fan :-) I've heard Joss is trying to get the rights back so he can produce it for himself. And i think almost every single actor said they would go back to the show if Joss was seriously gonna do it again. Nathan Fillion nods to Firefly in his new show Castle EVERY single season. It makes me very very happy lol

I so wish that they hadnt canceled the show. I rewatch the first season about once or twice a year. Deffinately makes me happy. My main passion is that i am a writer, one day i'd really love to be the showrunner (head writer) of a sci-fi fantasy program that i created. hopefully one day when i get a bit more well.

Oh to whomever suggested wearing a facemask to work with Padauk, i will thank you for suggesting that. I dont need any extra trouble from breathing in sawdust lol.

I sure am enjoying learning and visiting ;) I do think i got a couple of neat boxes. I got a BloodLine Box with a Tree logo, its kinda small, but its sooo beautiful i thought maybe the extra depth of the box would make up for its smaller size. Hehe, Its really a neat one.

Sachi

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on April 27, 2014 at 4:33pm

Always thought Joss should include CBGs somewhere in the space-Western vibe. Gonna have to do the Ballad of Jayne, now, methinks.

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on April 27, 2014 at 11:37pm

Sachi,as you,ve already received good advice from some knowledgable people i don,t have much to add,except don,t reach too high 1st up,concentrate on the basics,ie.placement of bridge,scale length and a neck that feels good in your hands.bridge and nut material is interchangeable at a later date,unless you glue/screw them down ,which i recommend against,when all is sounding o.k ,then you experiment with different materials to enhance what you already have,good luck,looking forward to living your progress

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Permalink Reply by Jim Morris on April 28, 2014 at 8:12am

Wow Sachi, you strike me as a multi-talented young lady! All of the responses I've read are helpful and I can't really add too much. I've made instruments using all of the methods you mentioned and they all turned out pretty well. For the bolt on necks I usually re-inforce the end of the box whehe the neck attaches and use what's called a hanger bolt. It has wood screw threads on one end and machine threads for a nut on the other. The mental work, thought and preparation that you seem to have already done is a big step in the right direction. My wife claims I spend as much time scratching my head and staring at the wood as I do actually working on it. I tell her it's mental work! Good luck, and any more questions you have will, I'm sure, be answered by someone here. Oh, one more thing. If you are making a fretted instrument figure out the scale (distance from nut to bridge) and use an on line fret calculator for fret placement. Be as meticulous as humanly possible with the fret marking and cutting so your instrument will play in decent tune. A tenor uke usually has a 15" scale but all sorts of variations are possible.

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Borczon on April 29, 2014 at 2:02am

Sachi, so I spent the week end building a ukulele with the design drawn on the first page of the thread. It worked out really well. I do not usually go this route myself but I have to say it really worked for me. I would recommend you trying it. The 2 piece neck construction allowed me to use the back of the box for the top which is much more attractive if you ask me. I was really pleased with it. I will try to post some sounds from it in the next week or so if I can get my kids to be quiet long enough to record.