1.) On this build, I made the scarf cut joint with a "short head" rather than the "long head" as I had done with my last attempt. With the short cut head, after the scarf cut is made, the head is flipped over and the diagonal side (scarf cut side) of the head is glued to the bottom side of the neck. This differs from the long cut head, where the bottom of the head is glued to the diagonal side (scarf cut side) of the neck. Both methods produce a head with a 15 degree slope, but the "short head" method places the scarf joint entirely on the headstock, while the "long head" method places the scarf joint entirely on the neck, below the nut. I decided I liked the "short head" method better because when I glue on the "wings" (side pieces glued onto the head to widen it to at least 2'' wide), these side pieces strengthen the scarf joint. A diagram will probably make my words more understandable.
2.) I've also slotted the lid of the cigar box so that the head/neck assembly would pierce the cigar box as per my original drawing. However, this cigar box's lid was not as deep as the last one, so I decided to slot the neck about 1/4'' in two places so you could close the cigar box around the neck. The two lower box edges fit nicely into these two neck slots. Eventually I'll glue the neck to the top of the box, but after most of the project is done. There is also a shallow 1/8" "hollow" on the fret side of the head/neck assembly that will provide clearance for the sound board (top of the cigar box) to vibrate more freely. I am also thinking about gluing shut the lid, but I haven't decided yet. I do want to make some sound holes in the cigar box. I'll need a special drill bit (or something) to cut that. All my drill bits are 1/4" and smaller. I was thinking of a couple 1/2" holes followed by a couple 3/8" holes. Then put grommets on to make them look a bit spiffier.
3.) This time I also installed frets using real fret wire (medium size) and a hobby "razor" saw. They seem to be working, but I have yet to test to see if they are properly placed for good intonation. I used the WFret.com program to calculate the fret spacing, having had pretty good luck before using that program. Now I am staining and varnishing the head/neck assembly. I'm using polyurethane (not really varnish). The cigar box has some paper edger decorations, so I am thinking of varnishing the box as well. Do any of you know if this is a good practice? Will have to inquire of one of the forums. It'll be a couple more days for the varnishing to be complete (I want to do 2 coats). In the mean time, I have another 3-string canjo in the works using a fair sized spaghetti sauce can and will orient the can at a right angle to the canjo stick. The canjo stick's head will also be slotted in a manner similar to my McNally Strumstick.
Oh, I forgot to mention, the fretting on my new head/neck assembly is diatonically spaced, making the instrument more of a stick dulcimer (strum stick), but with a short neck. I was thinking that I could do two sets of nuts and bridges which would be removable (just held on by string tension). One would have the strings equally spaced across the neck, while the other would support dual melody strings for the first pair of stings (spaced 1/8" apart, and the other 2 strings (string 3 and string 4) spaced 3/8'' away from string two. I'm not sure if I can tune it to GCEA and get a diatonic scale that is useful, but it would be cool if I could produce an instrument that was either a 4-string ukulele, or a 4 string stick dulcimer, depending on which nut and bridge you use, and how you tuned the instrument. I am also planning to use ukulele strings, because nylon is easier on my finger tips and I like the more mellow (less twangy) sound they produce.
Any constructive comments on my build would be appreciated.
Comments
Sorry for the late response. I'm moving this week to a new flat and just don't have time for keeping up with e-mail and Cigar Box Nation. I see you have had some problems building good scarf joints. I have gotten a bit better at building them (head & neck assemblies) by focusing on the basics, like building a very stable work bench which I can clamp my work piece to and taking my time with my cuts using a hack saw. In the future, I am going to try to build a miter box with a 15 degree angle cut to help make my cuts more precise and consistently reproducible. After making the cuts, I spending a lot more time inspecting, filing and sanding to make sure the surfaces mate well. Long term, I hope to buy a table saw, but I have no place for a real wood shop at my new flat. I'll likely be working out on the porch (balcony or whatever they call that place outside the sliding glass doors of high-rise buildings). The only electric tool I use is a hand drill, but I'm thinking about getting a 1/4 Paper electric sander.
As far as making the head to neck scarf joint more sturdy (stronger), the two dowel approach is hard to beat. My first 3-string head-neck assembly used two dowels and was plenty strong for 3 steel strings (I used it on a cookie tin canjo). Since then I have made several 4-string head/neck assemblies (including my first which was a disappointment, to say the least). None of these used dowels, just wood glue and they have also proved sufficiently strong. However, these 4-string heads also are strengthened by the addition of two "wings" (side pieces) used to add to the width of the headstock. They are glued to either side of the scarf joint and this also adds to the strength of the scarf joint. Some builders also add a thin (maybe 1/8 inch thick) wood laminate to the top face (and occasionally to the bottom face) to hide the actual scarf joint and this also strengthens the scarf joint. So, you can try these ideas, but I think a well constructed scarf joint glued with wood glue and properly clamped and left to dry over night (if not 24 hours) will be plenty strong for most 3 or 4 steel string instruments. If you are concerned, you could also use nylon strings (like those for a tenor ukulele) which don't place as much tension on the neck and head as steel strings do. I'd suggest doing one build just to test the breaking point of your scarf joint if you feel nervous about them. You could put on 6 strings, all bass strings and really tighten down to their max and see if you can break the scarf joint. Would be an interesting experiment I should do myself. Well, good luck on your builds...
-William