Here is how I gave life to an axe handle and a cigar box.

So... I began with a pile of parts and a vague idea how to do it.

Most importantly, the axe handle. I took a 80-cm one, which is quite small as strings need 63 cm and then there's the head... Also, how to make enough room for pickups. I was afraid I'd compromise the strength of the neck, so I decided to go to about half and then, if necessary, lift the bridge as much as possible.

Next was the nut. I wanted to use a piece of bakelite off a frying pan handle, but my brother gave me a brilliant idea: why not use deer antlers? Found in the woods, no animal was hurt, the elks "shed" their antlers, it will be a nice tribute to our clean and pure nature that surrounds us.

I realized there is hardly enough space for the tuning pegs. Luckyly, they all fit.

Other side view...

The "elements" start to fit...

Dodgy wiring...

Those of you know who "know", will notice that I wired the volume controls all wrong... I studied English, not Electronics fercryingoutloud all I know about electricity is if it starts smoking, you wired it wrong!

After it was tested and it all worked well I dismantled it and laminated the whole body with matte lamination foil, to keep it safe from "accidents", my neighbour has a laser cutter so ge engraved a 2000 year-old national symbol on the neck and on the head, our historical national coat of arms, to keep it "distinguished".

Notice how I used pieces of white foil to mark the "frets" so I have visual reference when I play - during the gigs it is often hard to hear yourself and you have to play "visually", see where you are playing, not only hear... Later, when I'm 100% sure I got all the positions exactly right, I'll burn the fret marks in the wood.

Here is the finished project, together with momma Maya (the white Flying V is a rare all-mahogany Japanese 1983 Maya, all original except for Alnico 5 pickups) and poppa Gibson (the red one, all original, with Alnico 3 Burstbuckers).

Romeo Y Julieta (that's the name of the newborn guitar, because of the mark of cigar box that the body was mafe from) is a baby of both my rockets: she's got Alnico 5 humbuckers and all measurements taken form Gibson.

I'll post some videos when I make some. Till then... This guitar gave me so many ideas that I'll probably make 3 more just to shut the-voices-in-my-head up.

... and before y'all purists flip your lids - the zebras are not turned upside down, theywere, for some strange reason, born that way. A little ga-ga but who cares.

Anyway. Even though the axe handle is a simple beech tree, it doesn't bend, and as the bridge is bolted directly on it, the guitar is basically a neck-through and it has a beautiful sustain and it is surprisingly loud when oyu play it without an amp. For comparison, both the Flying V's on the photos are NOT a neck-through, but they have their necks inset, glued in. They have a beauitful sustain, but they cannot beat Romeo y Julieta's sustain which is enormous.

There is one test to know when you have a good guitar: when you play it and you get a feeling it is EAGER to play, it WANTS to sing, it LURES you to go on. This is what Romeo y Julieta is like. It's a good instrument and I hope to bring her on many gigs to rock'n'roll.

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Very cool.,,.great job.,,.great use for the ax handle.,.,so build 2 is started.,.,??

Hmmm... I've got a beautiful "Shiraz" wine box in my garage... Still full of wine, but when it's empty, it will be tempting...

And then there's still the original idea of a first-aid-kit-box guitar... And there's a shovel that's just begging for a ressurrection as a shovelcaster...

I'll probably end up with three more guitars like this ...

Seriously. This little project hooked me like a fat carp... I'm seriously thinking of starting a little workshop here. But first I want to test the hell out of this guitar, learn form it and then see how to improve...

I'm hooked. Damn. :)

E.Z....I have a wine box in my fridge. When you get rollin', post back how you attached the neck to the cardboard, o.k.?

The box is actually thin plywood covered with glued-on paper graphics. But thet's beside the point. The box is actually just an extended pickhuard - so all it carries is the weight of volume knobs, the 3-way switch and the output jack.

So the screws go straight through it and the boardcarries no stress. I attached some photos for you:

These are the front two screws that don't carry any load, just keep the neck in place.

This is how it looks on the outside...

... and on the inside. As you see, the neck only carries the board itself, everything else is on the board, and independent of the neck.

Here you can see the screw, just barely manages to grab the neck... It goes through the box but it carries no stress on it. All the stress goes from the bridge through the screws to the neck, so one could use a plastic tupperware box and it wouldn't affect the integrity of the guitar. That's the genius of the box gitar. It doesn't matter what kind of material it is, as long as you have the backbone sorted out.

The guitar is one week old now, I have tuned it in last Saturday and it is still in tune. Way better than I hoped for. Axe handle made out of beech wood is a good material.

Impressive build.  I get the notion that before next Christmas every broom, mop, spade and pitch fork in your house will have a guitar added to the handle :0)

It might just happpen. But as the basic idea of box guitar allows virtually EVERYTHING to become a guitar body, I'll probably go for totally weird and strange materials.

I can take a bicycle wheel for a banjo body if I want to. I can make a car-fender guitar if I want to. I am AMAZED that there aren't many more weird instruments out there.

And next time I'm not wasting 3.50 for an axe-handle. I'll go to the woods, pick up a fallen branch and use it just as it is, because if there are no needs for frets, why does it need to be totally straight and organised? Make it a "tree guitar". If those antlers were bigger, I could use elk  antlers as the guitar neck. Now THAT would be something ELSE! :D

Maybe like the images below, a piece of hickory, scrap hard wood flooring and a license plate.  Love your build and nice write up!

Beautiful. I love how the neck is curved, so natural. Too bad country we don't have suitable licence plates in my country, I'd use one in a heartbeat. Inspirational. :)

If you can silence the voices in your head after two or three more builds, you're doing something wrong, LOL!

For everyone I build there's at least three more i'm designing in my head at the same time. I even built one using the rear guard off of my old lawnmower. I call it "Junk"

This. Is. Amazing. I love it.

Sorry to reply so late... Haven't been in touch for a while...

You made me going to the garaga and find a suitable piece of junk- This worn out rat-look is just ... ah... words fail me. I hope it sounds as cool as it looks. :)

Thanks EZ,

It has a nice sound to it. No hum from the pickups. It's strictly slide but it sounds good and it is fun to play with.

The piece fell off my old lawn mower and sat on a chimney block for three years. I finally decided it should be a guitar body, and the next thing you know.......

If I had a guitar like that I'd wish for a car like that. I can picture myself on my favourite spot at the mountain, overlooking the valley below, the engine ticking and cooling down after a climb, the guitar "bluesing" my thoughts away in Open D...

Thumbs up :)

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