My first CBG build

Posted by Slo Boy on October 18, 2010 at 9:54pm

Hey all, this is my first day on the Nation. I've been crawling all over the site this weekend absorbing all I can and I'm committed to making my first CBG. I've never played one and really don't play guitar all that well, not really much of a woodworker etither. Yep totally in over my head! And I've got it in my head to spend the least amount of money possible on the project too! Next week I'll probably decide to tie a hand behind my back and wear an eye patch while I'm at it!!

 

If anyone is curious to see this car wreck in progress I've got a blog set up. Can I post that here? Am I just begging for spam?

 

Slo Boy

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Replies

  • Matt Steber November 1, 2010 at 6:28pm
    Good luck! Post some pix when you get started
  • Slo Boy October 28, 2010 at 8:11am
    Thanks Rand, I'll have to swing over to the Uncle Bob site. That's a sweet setup. I found a picutre by Deke on CBN title penny tuners. I think I might try that solution first.

    152941274?profile=original

    I also found a couple of wing nut and eye bolt versions. I did not find the eyebolt one you pasted. I like the way they're nested into the slots but evene with a wrench that middle one looks difficult to tune! Well looks like my excuse is over and I best get to moving forward on the project. Thanks again! Slo Boy.
  • Rand Moore October 28, 2010 at 1:18am
    I couldn't find the picture I was thinking of, but this one (shown below) is along the same lines, but done on the head, but w/o wing nuts, which would have made them easier to tune (and without having to use pliers).

    cbg1headstock.jpg


    You would have more space to mount this style of tuner on the tail end of your cigar box as compared to the head.

    -Rand.



    Rand Moore said:
    Hi Slo Boy,

    The Uncle Bob Guitar Project website has an interesting headless guitar design featuring home made tuners that look like they might work reasonably well. I'm thinking I might try to do one of these headless guitars using a Cigar Box instead of the cut-down oil can they use. The tuners should be doable, just need to locate all the parts (and I'm not inhibited about buying the parts when I need them). Seems I saw a similar design somewhere of CBN. Will have to look for that one as well.


    Uncle%20Bob%200001%204%20web.jpg



    -Rand.
  • Rand Moore October 27, 2010 at 11:32pm
    Hi Slo Boy,

    The Uncle Bob Guitar Project website has an interesting headless guitar design featuring home made tuners that look like they might work reasonably well. I'm thinking I might try to do one of these headless guitars using a Cigar Box instead of the cut-down oil can they use. The tuners should be doable, just need to locate all the parts (and I'm not inhibited about buying the parts when I need them). Seems I saw a similar design somewhere of CBN. Will have to look for that one as well.


    Uncle%20Bob%200001%204%20web.jpg



    -Rand.
  • Slo Boy October 26, 2010 at 9:57am
    Thanks Rand, you make a good point on taking it through the process to find out what else will be a challenge. I also need to keep from getting too anal on this. The idea is to put together a "free" guitar and that will mean accepting the limitations that go along with that. If it turns out I enjoy the whole process then I can refine it.

    I'm still scanning photos for spare part tuners. Without a plan for those I'm stuck anyway.
    SloBoy
  • Rand Moore October 25, 2010 at 10:09pm
    Hi Slo Boy,


    I'd recommend going ahead and using the current not so good board, because there are a lot of other "operations" you need to do to build a good instrument, and you may as well get some practice now. For instance, if you plan to do a scarf joint, that can sometimes be tricky, especially if you only have hand tools. Unless you are already a skilled wood worker, I suspect it will take a few builds to get a CBG that you really like. The other thing you can use the lumber for is to build various "jigs" and miter boxes so you can get good cuts with minimal planing, filing and sanding to fix poor cuts.

    If you feel that the boards you get are too thin for your neck, you can laminate (glue) two of them together, and the result will be even stronger, especially if you make sure to flip one of the boards over before you glue them up. You'll need lots of clamps and/or straight boards to make sure the pieces are well glued together. Let the glue dry over night. Often the 2 pieces will slip as you clamp them together, or after you tighten them down. A work around for this is to sprinkle a little fine sand (or salt) into the glue that you have spread along the length of the 2 boards. This will give it some "teeth" so it won't slip. You may also want to wait a few minutes (maybe 5) until the glue gets tacky. Use a good wood glue, not super glue and not Gorilla glue. The more well aligned the boards are when they are glued up means less work later on.

    Good luck with the build.

    -Rand.


    Slo Boy said:
    Here's the progress (relative term) of the project. I picked up two more pallets. One identical to the first and another that had thicker runners. The wood looks like pine but its very dark and doesn't dent under fingernail. I'm thinking the grain might be clearer when I dress it. I did manage to dress one of the runners. I used a power plane on the narrow side. And promptly burned out the belt before getting a second pass. It had been so long since I used it I well forgot how to use it. So I've got new belts under order. $12 for belts, $8 to ship. Thank you very little Sears! I'm not sure if I should include the replacement belt in the cost of the guitar. I guess technically I should.


    So with one narrow side sort of straight I used a table saw to square up the others. However my technique on that was lacking and I not have a 48"x3/4"x 1 5/8" oak board that is not square and seems to have a twist. I can cut off the worst of the twist when I cut off the board to length.

    For now I have to decide to proceed with a less than ideal board or wait for the belts to come in Friday and try this again. In the mean time I need to come up with a plan for the tuners. I don't want to buy tuners, so I'm looking for ideas.....

  • Slo Boy October 25, 2010 at 9:51am
    Here's the progress (relative term) of the project. I picked up two more pallets. One identical to the first and another that had thicker runners. The wood looks like pine but its very dark and doesn't dent under fingernail. I'm thinking the grain might be clearer when I dress it. I did manage to dress one of the runners. I used a power plane on the narrow side. And promptly burned out the belt before getting a second pass. It had been so long since I used it I well forgot how to use it. So I've got new belts under order. $12 for belts, $8 to ship. Thank you very little Sears! I'm not sure if I should include the replacement belt in the cost of the guitar. I guess technically I should. So with one narrow side sort of straight I used a table saw to square up the others. However my technique on that was lacking and I not have a 48"x3/4"x 1 5/8" oak board that is not square and seems to have a twist. I can cut off the worst of the twist when I cut off the board to length. For now I have to decide to proceed with a less than ideal board or wait for the belts to come in Friday and try this again. In the mean time I need to come up with a plan for the tuners. I don't want to buy tuners, so I'm looking for ideas.....

  • Slo Boy October 22, 2010 at 10:14am

    This is my starting point for now. The direcitons I was reading on the site saide to use a 1"x 2" for the neck. But the usable dimensions of the skids are 1"x 1 3/4". Do you guys think that will be too narrow fora 3 string? I'm not sure how to go about making sure the surfaces are "true" and square. But that's getting ahead of myself, first I need to pull them out of the pallet! I need to catch up on housework first though. (p.s. interview just went "ok" so I should have time on my hands for awhile!!)
  • Slo Boy October 22, 2010 at 10:08am
    Hey guys, I've been out of town interviewing and my phone did NOT like thise web site so I couldn't respond.

    IKevin I sent you the link on a friend invite. Hate to be paranoid but I already got "trolled" from this site:


    ------------Hello Dear,How are you,hope fine,My name is XXXX I was impressed when I saw your profile here atwww.cigarboxnation.com and I believe we can have long term relationship. Please I will like you to email me back here at (XXXX.33ko@hotmail.com) so I can tell you more about myself ok.Awaiting for your lovely responseMiss XXXX.------------

    My profile is blank, she's impressed by blanks? No a simple attemt to get an email. I need to send it to Shane to let him know.

    Jason, I'll cross post some photos and questions! I'm sure to have a lot of those!!



    Jason Hitesman said:
    The more you share the more help you'll get :)
  • Jason Hitesman October 18, 2010 at 11:22pm
    The more you share the more help you'll get :)
This reply was deleted.