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Intro, some cigar box Uks and two questions
http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10123&t=34921		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Harold_Donn [ Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Intro, some cigar box Uks and two questions
Hey :-)

I've played guitar off and on for the last 15 years or so. Nothing major but it makes me happy to strum a few chords now and then or play some lead when I'm in the mood. Recently my brother showed me some cigar box guitar videos on youtube and it seemed like something I could tackle. Then I saw this pdf:

Advanced Cigar Box Guitar Construction by Josh Gayou
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/smokehouseguitars

and after reading it a few times I decided to give it a try. For a free PDF it seems pretty well written and comprehensive. Although there are some details that are missing. I've been able to puzzle out most of it so far.

Attached are two of the three ukuleles I've built up to now. The other guitar is an electric I'm currently working on.

The box is kind of beat up and I used saple for the neck. I'm still learning though and didn't want to waste a pretty box on my shaky router skills. I'm also not ready to spend $50, or more, on maple for the neck. Soon maybe.

Things are going OK despite a set back or two. I had a little trouble routing the truss rod slot but I figured out a jig that works for that. I've been using the Stew-Mac fret calculator for the fret and bridge placement. I haven't tested any of my instruments against the world but so far they're fairly in tune :-)

Here's question 1.

When I used the Stew-Mac fret Calc to get my fret and bridge positions for the electric it gave me different positions for the bridge depending on which type of bridge I'm using. Since I picked my bridge up off ebay I fall in the other category. Yet none of the bridges Stew Mac carries have the same mounting screw placements as mine.

A pic of my bridge is attached to this post. If you look closely you can see the mounting screw holes between the springs.

I know that the bridge is supposed to be placed a little longer then your actual scale to compensate for the tiny string bend that you get when you fret a note. But there's so much of a difference between the bridge placements that I don't know what length I'm shooting for.

I chose a 629mm scale length with 24 frets.

Also I'm guessing that I want to adjust all the string holders so that they are in the "middle" of the screw adjustments so there's some room to adjust plus and minus when the bridge is set?

Question 2

Also I'm a little unsure how to mount the pick ups. I bought a used humbucker off ebay. It came with what you see in the picture. Are those three screws on the sides, one of the left and two on the right, supposed to go into the body in order to hold them in place? I don't know why but that doesn't seem right to me :-/ Then again how else would they attach? Am I missing hardware?

Thanks for taking the time to answer my newbie questions. If you need more information to answer my question just let me know what you need.

Thanks!
Author:  Chris Pile [ Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Intro, some cigar box Uks and two questions
Handsome bridge. Good luck with the build.
Author:  Mike Baker [ Wed Jan 11, 2012 5:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Intro, some cigar box Uks and two questions
Hi, Harold. First off, welcome to the forum!
To address some of your questions:
The bridge you posted looks a lot like the Schaller Roller bridge Stew Mac sells. It mounts the same way, and they have an option for it on their calculator page.
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar,_non-trem_bridges/Schaller_Non-Tremolo_Roller_Bridge.html?tab=Pictures#details

I'd take a look at the specs for this bridge, and compare them to the one you have. I bet it would work just fine.

As to the pickup, that design is one that came out in the 80's. The two screws on one side are meant to keep the pickup from tilting forward or back. Usually, you would mount the pickup with a pickup ring. However, i have a set of pickups like that, and I can't find a set of rings to fit them. They can be direct mounted to the wood, if you want to. I've never done it, but if I were to try it, I'd mount them like P Bass pickups are mounted, ie; I'd put a piece of dense foam underneath them, screw them directly into the wood, and use the compression and expansion of the foam as I turned the mounting screws in or out to adjust pickup height.
Author:  Harold_Donn [ Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Intro, some cigar box Uks and two questions
>Hi, Harold. First off, welcome to the forum!

Thanks :-)

>The bridge you posted looks a lot like the Schaller Roller bridge Stew Mac sells.

Yeah, I guess it does. I got hung up on the fact that the string holders are a different shape. Other than that they really are pretty much the same...

>As to the pickup, that design is one that came out in the 80's.

Sorry, I probably should have included this in the first post.

You are bidding on a Fender Humbucker Bridge Position Pickup-Made in Mexico. This pickup was professionally removed from my 2009 Fender Standard HSS Made in Mexico Stratocaster at a local guitar shop.

>I'd put a piece of dense foam underneath them, screw them directly into the wood, and use the compression and expansion of the foam as I >turned the mounting screws in or out to adjust pickup height.

That seems like a good plan! Thanks :-)
Author:  Mike Baker [ Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Intro, some cigar box Uks and two questions
Harold_Donn wrote:

Sorry, I probably should have included this in the first post.

You are bidding on a Fender Humbucker Bridge Position Pickup-Made in Mexico. This pickup was professionally removed from my 2009 Fender Standard HSS Made in Mexico Stratocaster at a local guitar shop.

In that case, the pickup mounted under a pickguard.
The design for the 2X1 mounting screws did originate in the 80's, as far as I can remember. However, a few manufacturers adopted the design, and it's definitely still in use today. The problem I've run into is that all of them have different spacing between the two screws on the one side, so finding pickup rings to match them is an exercise in frustration. Been there, done that. Nobody gave me a stinkin' T-shirt, lol.
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