Rex Rambler from Leadwood, Missouri

Posted by Rex on March 19, 2010 at 9:16am
Hi my name is Rex, yes like your dog's name... I am from the boondocks of of the Ozark Foothills here in Missouri. My great-grand dad was a luthier and made everything from hand tools no power tools in his shop. I have always been fascinated by his work, and never took the time to get to learn how. I am a blues fan in the very since of the word fanatic.

I have all this eagerness and desire to build a CBG and very little knowledge and know-how to go on. SO... I am here via Google (what a great invention!) hoping to discover some good ideas and then make my mistakes trying to apply them.

Currently I have 4 fine cigar boxes and I chomping at the bit to get started. Right now, I am stumped as to what I should use for a neck. I have seen other builds that use a tradtional guitar neck but to be honest it looks like something that is bit beyond my skills. Any whoo that is all I can think of to say... 

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Replies

  • Robert Hynden April 21, 2010 at 5:08pm
    Rex,
    Most people use Oak or Maple for the necks on their guitars. If you have a used furnature store in your area, you might be able to pick up an old beat up table made of either wood. You can then take it apart and saw out some boards for the necks . Many people start out with board an inch and a half wide and 3/4 to one inch thick. Sand them smooth and glue a couple of them together and Waalaa! You have just made a neck blank. Good luck with your build. There is lots of info on this site so if you get stumped, just ask. Bob H.
  • Rex March 24, 2010 at 10:13am
    Yeah... welcome to the complicated wold of the 21st century where 5/8ths x 1and3/4ths equals 1x2. You know it's new and improved. LOL

    Richard D. DeRoin said:
    Hey Rex, I am new here to. Live up in Joe town. Check out " bonehead " or "uncle crow" pictures here at the nation that seems to be the simplest design to me. That is depending on how much work you want to put into the head and neck. With all the good people here you won't be short on help if you need it. Your local lumber yard will have dimentional hardwood to choose from. I am not using construction grade lumber. Get the good stuff. A 1" X 2" X 4' piece of maple cost me 3 bucks and change at Lowes. It is actually smaller than 1 X 2 but that must be the new math.:) Good luck with your preject.
  • Richard D. DeRoin March 24, 2010 at 9:39am
    Hey Rex, I am new here to. Live up in Joe town. Check out " bonehead " or "uncle crow" pictures here at the nation that seems to be the simplest design to me. That is depending on how much work you want to put into the head and neck. With all the good people here you won't be short on help if you need it. Your local lumber yard will have dimentional hardwood to choose from. I am not using construction grade lumber. Get the good stuff. A 1" X 2" X 4' piece of maple cost me 3 bucks and change at Lowes. It is actually smaller than 1 X 2 but that must be the new math.:) Good luck with your preject.
  • Nigel Richards aka Rev. Larry March 19, 2010 at 10:42am
    A CBG neck should take at most 4 to 5 hours to make - I do mine over a period of days whenever I find time - 30 mins here and 30 mins there - but I've just made a rough calculation and it takes about 4 to 5 hours overall. I reckon a simple neck should do it. Decide on the number of strings (I like 3 myself tuned to open C). Once that is decided then you can work out the width of the neck. Now then, I tend to work backwards and I'm not a woodworker so please don't hold me responsible (you luthiers out there!) if what I do sounds weird or amateur. It works for me. There are several things that make your CBG look good and several things that make then sound good. To look good is up to you - sink drainers are great for resonator type sound holes. I use a bolt as a bridge and a gate hinge as a tailpiece. Anyway to sound sound good you need to work out your scale (the distance from the bridge to the nut) go for established scales such as Fender of Gibson length (I'll send you the details if you want them) - then include the length of the body, and the extra piece for the tail where the strings will fit (if you are doing it that way) and then add on 10 Cms or so for the headstock. Then get a piece of wood that is wide enough for the headstock, long enough and deep enough for the neck - last one I got was a 2m length of 4 x 1 inch and this was enough for two necks. It cost the equivalent of about 4 US dollars. So, 2 dollars per neck. Then I drew out the shape and sawed it and sanded it to fit. Is that enough to encourage you to get started?
    Cheers,
    Nigel

    Rex said:
    Thanks! Rev Larry.
    I have put myself on a personal deadline. On May 1st I have a benefit show for welcoming home our Veterans. I am hoping I can have a decent CBG done for the show. GULP! I don't want to rush things, but I would love to be able to give the crowd a tune or two on a Cigar Git fiddle I slapped together. I put a call out on a great local forum asking for broken guitars and such. Hoping to acquire some pieces I can use.
    This last weekend, I went to my local flea markets and found three excellent old, wooden cigar boxes! The while I was at my local Family farm supply store I found some great items that just stuck out to me. I found some tension pins and a clevis pin (for the bridge construction) that I am going to use for the strings. I have a pretty good idea what I want to do with it.
    Here is the kicker I found so far... Where to find the wood for my neck, I plan on carving it myself. So I definitely do not want to spend the 100's of dollars I have seen in my luthier mags. I don't mind making mistakes but I would like to keep the price of those mistakes down somewhat, with the economy the way it is these days you know... LOL

    Any advice will be accepted without prejudice or pride... PEace!

    Nigel Richards aka Rev. Larry said:
    I use whatever I can find - and up to now have used an old piece of wood that was lying in the garden, a leftover piece of stair handrail and a cheap piece of 4x1 timber from the local hardware store. I know nothing about carpentry or wood work but find it easier that I thought it would be (and I don't really have any tools to speak of) - even if the results are rough. But I like them rough. You can see results on my page here at cigarboxnation. For the last one I made (my third) I even thought it was time to try putting in frets - that will be a nightmare I thought - but no, easier than I thought and there are loads of helpful guides here on the nation site.

    If I can help please ask - I'm only a beginner myself but I can share what I've found out with you.

    Cheers, Nigel (Nigel Richards aka Rev. Larry)
  • Rex March 19, 2010 at 10:25am
    Thanks! Rev Larry.
    I have put myself on a personal deadline. On May 1st I have a benefit show for welcoming home our Veterans. I am hoping I can have a decent CBG done for the show. GULP! I don't want to rush things, but I would love to be able to give the crowd a tune or two on a Cigar Git fiddle I slapped together. I put a call out on a great local forum asking for broken guitars and such. Hoping to acquire some pieces I can use.
    This last weekend, I went to my local flea markets and found three excellent old, wooden cigar boxes! The while I was at my local Family farm supply store I found some great items that just stuck out to me. I found some tension pins and a clevis pin (for the bridge construction) that I am going to use for the strings. I have a pretty good idea what I want to do with it.
    Here is the kicker I found so far... Where to find the wood for my neck, I plan on carving it myself. So I definitely do not want to spend the 100's of dollars I have seen in my luthier mags. I don't mind making mistakes but I would like to keep the price of those mistakes down somewhat, with the economy the way it is these days you know... LOL

    Any advice will be accepted without prejudice or pride... PEace!

    Nigel Richards aka Rev. Larry said:
    I use whatever I can find - and up to now have used an old piece of wood that was lying in the garden, a leftover piece of stair handrail and a cheap piece of 4x1 timber from the local hardware store. I know nothing about carpentry or wood work but find it easier that I thought it would be (and I don't really have any tools to speak of) - even if the results are rough. But I like them rough. You can see results on my page here at cigarboxnation. For the last one I made (my third) I even thought it was time to try putting in frets - that will be a nightmare I thought - but no, easier than I thought and there are loads of helpful guides here on the nation site.

    If I can help please ask - I'm only a beginner myself but I can share what I've found out with you.

    Cheers, Nigel (Nigel Richards aka Rev. Larry)
  • Nigel Richards aka Rev. Larry March 19, 2010 at 9:44am
    I use whatever I can find - and up to now have used an old piece of wood that was lying in the garden, a leftover piece of stair handrail and a cheap piece of 4x1 timber from the local hardware store. I know nothing about carpentry or wood work but find it easier that I thought it would be (and I don't really have any tools to speak of) - even if the results are rough. But I like them rough. You can see results on my page here at cigarboxnation. For the last one I made (my third) I even thought it was time to try putting in frets - that will be a nightmare I thought - but no, easier than I thought and there are loads of helpful guides here on the nation site.

    If I can help please ask - I'm only a beginner myself but I can share what I've found out with you.

    Cheers, Nigel (Nigel Richards aka Rev. Larry)
This reply was deleted.