Posted by Craig Mayhem on March 28, 2013 at 9:51am
Hi all. I've got a 6-string bolt-on neck. Got a way cool ancient tobacco box I want to make into a semi-hollow body. Having never done one before I'm not sure how to set it in there. This is my idea. attach the neck to a piece of wood that runs the length of the box, then attach THAT to another piece of wood so the neck sits at the proper height. What say you, nation? Will this idea work?
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I built one like that a couple of years ago---I used cross-braces attached to both ends of the box to mount the thru-neck piece. That way the box bottom resonates as well as the lid, and also helps to counteract the neck-heaviness you get from using a big chunk at the neck end. All of my guitars are built with minimal contact between neck and box for maximum resonance, and I get great sound unplugged!
first way is more structurally sound ,, and i'd say "easier " even tho its a bit overkill .
as per leaving the space to "resonate" most that have built both ways (with stick glued to top and with out ) will tell you they cant notice the difference .. and if the do ,, the glued top actually sounds better . (trust me , there was a discussion on this )
if you are using an old box , i would stick closer to your original idea .
you can even extend the bolt on piece beyond the box instead of cutting into the box .
and start the fretboard at the end of the box . may not be as pretty , .. and will move your bridge .. but gives you more box .
Comments
Having never done a bolt on I will bow out Craig, looks like you have a lot of great idea's from the Nations best :-)
Lots of good idea's that look to me like any one would work well.
Cool. Thanks, Reeds!
Craig....after seeing many designs ...I came up with this ....
It has a 3 inch neck block and 1/2 inch pine sides
13"x7"x2.5" that is
Cool. This is the box: 3" x 7" x 2 1/2"
I built one like that a couple of years ago---I used cross-braces attached to both ends of the box to mount the thru-neck piece. That way the box bottom resonates as well as the lid, and also helps to counteract the neck-heaviness you get from using a big chunk at the neck end. All of my guitars are built with minimal contact between neck and box for maximum resonance, and I get great sound unplugged!
Thanks all! Great points all around. Hope I can work it out 'cause I have more ideas for more builds
first way is more structurally sound ,, and i'd say "easier " even tho its a bit overkill .
as per leaving the space to "resonate" most that have built both ways (with stick glued to top and with out ) will tell you they cant notice the difference .. and if the do ,, the glued top actually sounds better . (trust me , there was a discussion on this )
if you are using an old box , i would stick closer to your original idea .
you can even extend the bolt on piece beyond the box instead of cutting into the box .
and start the fretboard at the end of the box . may not be as pretty , .. and will move your bridge .. but gives you more box .
Make your pocket wood "just enough," e.g., fill only what you need of the front end of the box. BTW, your original idea would work, too.
IF it dont work do it again. :)