Low tech customs (cookie tins and shoe boxes)

Hi all,

Happened to stumble across these three videos and wondered if anyone here had made anything similar.

All this talk of luthiery, tools, tonewoods and so forth is beyond me, but sticking a cheapo Mahalo neck onto a biscuit tin might not be outside the realm of possibility.

If you have any thoughts, ideas or feedback I'd love read it. I'm looking for a project with absolutely minimal complexity. I don't even own sandpaper. I can barely operate a screwdriver.

Any comments gratefully received.

Check this out http://www.tinguitar.com/

Thanks for the link.

I've been doing some reading around and am warming to the idea of buying a woodfile, a couple of lengths of poplar and some other gubbins and putting together a cigar-box and a cookie tin uke. Might try for a fretless 3 string slide guitar while I'm at it too. As far as I remember I haven't touched a hacksaw since I was eleven years old, so this could be quite tough. The idea of making a fretboard also intimidates me a lot.

As well as appealing for general tips, tricks and so forth, I'd be really grateful if one of the more experienced members could have a look at this "canjolele" and tell me how it looks through their eyes. The fretboard layout is boggling my mind a bit.

Do It! Have Fun!
Heck they make ukes out of plastic so why not a cookie tin!

Even if it doesn't work out you will learn something new along the way. That in itself is worth the effort.

Thanks for the encouragement Ron.

I just took a quick trip to the local hardware shop (B&Q) as I was running an errand nearby. I am so out of my depth. I wanted to buy some of the stuff on this list, including some poplar, a hacksaw, a woodfile, and a couple of nuts (as in nuts and bolts).

There were over a dozen different hacksaws of all shapes and sizes, a mortifying variety of blades, no sign of the woodfile, bolts in every size except the one I wanted (and what is an eye-bolt anyway?), and not a hint of a length of poplar anywhere (and even if there had been, would I want planed or unplaned? would pine do instead?).

Oddly, I saw a "fret-saw". Couldn't be, could it?

Luthiers need a saw that cuts a .023" wide kerf (sorry, I'm not sure about the metric conversion).


Here in the States, a fret saw is another name for a coping saw and looks like this


A Fret saw from Stewart McDanald is a Gentleman's back saw with the teeth set to cut the proper width.

A GBS normally cuts at .030" which is to wide, the frets will fall out.
SM changed the set on thier saw to make a thinner kerf

Can you get by with a hacksaw or a fret-saw?
Hard to say, without knowing how wide a cut it makes.

YYY,

from my experience, getting hold of hardwood in the UK is hard unless you go to a proper timber mill/wood supplier.

The only hardwood you'll get in B&Q is the hickory pickaxe handles!

Where are you in the UK? I know one or two excellent hardwood suppliers?

6sc

RonS said:

Do It! Have Fun!
Heck they make ukes out of plastic ...

Click to expand...

The deuce, you say!!

Brother Sonny cobbled together a biscuit tin banjo in a couple of hours.
Fret saw what do you need one of those for... just use a magic marker for the frets and secure any loose bits with insulation tape.

The result is a wicked strum stick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLWjro1DYU4

That man could make horse shoes play a tune :shaka::cheers:

DIY Plastic Fretboard

I want to find someone who lives near me with a RepRap.

I bet I could make a perfect plastic fretboard on one of those.

ihavenotea said:

I want to find someone who lives near me with a RepRap.

I bet I could make a perfect plastic fretboard on one of those.

Click to expand...

This is awesome I have never seen this before.

ihavenotea said:

I want to find someone who lives near me with a RepRap.

I bet I could make a perfect plastic fretboard on one of those.

Click to expand...

holy crap...that thing is astounding. how much one cost, LOL?


yoooooooo check out the link in my signature...cigarboxnation is where you need to go for ANYTHING cigar box and/or tin related. the link will take you to mypage, but you can go on from there. Its very simple, and pretty easy.

cornfedgroove said:

holy crap...that thing is astounding. how much one cost, LOL?
.

Click to expand...

I think it said that it can be made for around 500 euro.

its like the magic door to an endless supply of action figures!!!

well...not that I have any, but it would be cool

Ron - thank you for the information on the saws. I'll try for a cheapish hacksaw and some decent blades.

Cornfed - thanks for the link. I found what looks to be a fantastic PDF here. It's the last link - "NEW PLANS! Brian Lemin presents his own take on building a cigar box guitar". I reckon a lot of that could be adapted to a uke.

ihavenotea said:

I want to find someone who lives near me with a RepRap.

I bet I could make a perfect plastic fretboard on one of those.

Click to expand...

I'll wait for version 3, The RepRapUke!

yah, I've seen that...its actually a pretty new addition to the site.

imho, I think its overdone but I also have a ADHD issue where if things look too "busy", I cant read it or focus...in fact, it will only raise my blood pressure, give me a headache, and make me angry.

the majority of those guys make builds that are entirely dependent on pickups and piezos. Look at the standard neck-thru design...you notch out the neck to fit the lid, but leaves you with it effectively a snug fit and killing your acoustic value. if you notch it too deep, you'll weaken the neck and the it will bend with the tension. The standard design is also based on a slide guitar and so your action is gonna suck without adaptation. Look at the action at the end of his plans, great for slide, terrible for uke. Most guys out of simplicity do not angle the neck (its slide anyway so who cares), you will have to adjust...that plan layout is not gonna get it done for you. It instead will give you the basic setup for a slide guitar, leaving you with alot of finer details that will become the "night and day" difference in your playability. I know because I've run the gambit.


your BEST resource on that site, is the open chat but even then...again, there is not alot of value placed on an acoustic build design. You need to either angle the neck or change the way you build the neck-thru.

Fretting is easy, in fact for a few dollars you can get a fantastic guide on fretting...from a hack hobbyist all the way to professional, it will break it down simply. there is also a simple video.

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/cbgitty

this guy will also sell you fretwire in small amounts at a price that you have to buy bulk to get from stewmac.

brutha...to make it short, if you got a question: just shoot me a message man. I make cb ukes including my own neck, fingerboard and all that hoohaa

Good Post cornfedgroove

Seems like a lot of fun.
I like this one. Sounds really cool, and the guy can flat-out PLAY, too! I might find me a cheapo and try this.

let me back up a little bit...I dont want to downplay that PDF either brother, because its from something even more simplistic that got me my beginning.

The difference is that I did not start off wanting to build an uke...I started with a 3-string slide with piezo, DOG UGLY

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/first-real-cbg?context=user

2nd one looked good, still slide
3rd one about the same
4 and 5 were solidifying the slide design and beginning of a separate fingerboard
Then I made a fretting box to begin phase 2
fretted an instrument that sounded like a cat in heat
fretted an instrument that sounded better
fretted several instruments that sounded good, consistently
made 2, 3, and 4 stringer dulcimers with diatonic fretting...some with magnetic pickups, others with piezos, some with volume and tone, others with no controls.
made several stomp boxes in the mix........simple and awesome by the way
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/stomp-box-from-scratch-11?context=user
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/stomp-box-from-scratch-10?context=user
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/stomp-box-from-scratch-9?context=user

then I began focusing on acoustics, hence the ukulele and mandolin which is perfect for the small body of a cigar box. Next will be cigar box banjos...

but right now I'm doing ukuleles and at same time taking a guitar building class hoping to network new friends with more tools and make ukulele applications after the fact.

so its not a terrible place to start, but there is a needed progression if that is your starting point.