spacecowboy Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Hey! So I bought a cheap acoustic and the body was ****, lots of problems. I smashed the body off and now I have the neck. I'm thinking of maybe sanding the paint off and staining it. For the body I'll be looking for a box. Tea box..or any box really. Cheapish but decent wood. It'll be an acoustic guitar. (Since i suck at wiring) Heres the neck. When i took it off there was these blocks of wood, obviously for structur and strength. Should i just leave them on? They're REALLY glued in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 I presume there is some kind of dovetail tenon underneath that block....if so, you could feasibly chisel the wood back to the tenon and use that to attach the neck into a new neck block in whatever you use. That at least would give you the opportunity to have the face of the heel flush with a bit of work. Good cheap fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 you're gonna need a BIG box! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted April 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Why a BIG box? I mean CGB guitars use cigar boxs, which arent that BIG. I started chiseling it out, but im worried i''m going to peel the fretboard off also. Is there another cheap method of removing the glue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) Heat usually loosens most glues. Water is used as a method of delivering the heat, by steaming. It'll be difficult to apply it precisely, but do-able. The bottom of the heel may be an additional piece of wood or two added to give the depth, so beware in that area as you might cause those pieces to move somewhat. Plus you might cause the fingerboard to lift from the neck. I believe there are articles on frets.com regarding this, plus a few on here if you search. I'm not that knowledgeable about this area of repair (I just nail these things together, not take them apart again) so this is as much as I can usefully offer. Edited April 27, 2009 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 Why a BIG box? I mean CGB guitars use cigar boxs, which arent that BIG. Scale length. cigar box guitars have short scale length. that's all. since your neck is already shaped I assumed that you're not cutting it and not reducing the scale length. if you plan to use the neck as it is now, you're gonna need a big body so that you can place the bridge where it needs to be and the guitar can intonate properly. so, unless you're removing the fretboard, getting another one with a shorter scale length, gluing it. cutting the neck to be shorter and making another kind of neck joint you're gonna need a big box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted April 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 Thanks guys. So First things first. I'm going to remove the paint/varnish. Do I need to tape the fretboard, on the sides? Or is it fine if I sand a bit of it? I dont have any power tools besides a drill so i'll be sanding it by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 If you don't want things to change shape, don't sand them. You don't want the fingerboard to change shape. This is like a car crash project. I feel like I should have some popcorn watching this. Have you thought about this at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted April 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 Sorry supernova? Yeah I have thought about this... I'm also trying to learn therefor the question about sanding. I dont want to change the shape, just remove the paint so i can keep it a natural wood color and not an ugly red with that label. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJE-Guitars Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 If you don't want things to change shape, don't sand them. You don't want the fingerboard to change shape. This is like a car crash project. I feel like I should have some popcorn watching this. Have you thought about this at all? Can I have some of that popcorn! But seriously where that headstock is worn it looks like the grain is just a veneer opposed to being the solid wood so going at it with sandpaper probably isn't such a wise thing to do (I obviously might be wrong on the veneer as I can't see that well on the pictures). Your neck removal 'procedure' needs improving! Just smashing the body off ain't really the best way to start! To clean it up your gonna need lots of steam, a razor blade, scraper and plenty of patience . . . Then you need to find a 'cigar' box that is big enough to accomodate the scale of that neck and that would need one huge cigar box! What you really needed to do before you went smashing the original guitar up was read up and understand what you were trying to make! Quite probably testing out you skills in making the '****' original guitar into something approaching acceptable! Anway pass me the popcorn . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Like I said the last time when he was trying fix up the whole guitar, let the guy have some fun. He's just trying to experiment and learn something from this without spending a lot of money, not really something to call a car crash or train wreck or whatever. Even if things don't turn out so well for him he'll still have learned from it. As far as scale length goes, I don't know how short, but I think I recall that the guitar he took the neck off of was pretty small anyway, so it might work out fine. Definitely check that out though space. SJE, the original guitar was truly ****, there was really no way to make it into anything worth doing at all. That was the general consensus between everyone here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJE-Guitars Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Never saw the original thread . . . didn't know there was one. Fair enough on that score - however I think a bit of patience to remove the neck correctly in the first place would of been a good learning step! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Never saw the original thread . . . didn't know there was one. Fair enough on that score - however I think a bit of patience to remove the neck correctly in the first place would of been a good learning step! Yep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted April 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 (edited) How do u remove a glued on neck properly from the body? I did slowly removed it until I realized the body was not even worth a cent, so i figured i'd have fun. And i dont regret it, i always wanted to smash a guitar like a rockstar! If you guys keep on insinuating that I'll end up doing something horrible (aka the popcorn) I'll just go to another forum were they dont make me feel like an unwelcomed noob. @SJE-Guitars: I already started sanding it and I think the top is a vaneer. I'll post pictures probably tonight. Edited April 29, 2009 by spacecowboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 As long as your carefull I don't see much of an issue with sanding off the finish. Once you get close to the wood, just go real carefully. And if you remove a few thousandths of wood, will you really notice. I find card scrapers to be my choice to for removing finishes like that if I am not using a heat gun. More delicate than sandpaper, easier to control, and I think it works faster. As for a body, check a cigar shop, one of the good ones that only sells high end cigars some of those cigar boxes get pretty big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted April 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Thanks ihocky2. Well i was using 150 and 80 sandpaper, i was trying to be as delicate as possible so when i started to see wood i'd switch lighter. Yeah good idea. I'm going to have to go out and shop around a bit. If i cant find anything I think i'll just try to get some decent wood and make myself a box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Ooooh, if you make your own box you should do a carved top cigar box guitar, that would be cool. I think anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted April 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Cool carved top, like an archtop guitar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Cool carved top, like an archtop guitar? Yeah, that's what I meant to say, carve it like an archtop. Can't say I've ever heard of that being done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Some fine wines come by the half case in nice wood boxes that would be big enough. They also come that way by the case but they would be a bit thick. Could make a nice variation on the cigar box theme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 hey space cowboy, if you really want to use that neck to make a cigar box guitar, you can remove the fretboard, shorten the neck and this way you wont need a big box. otherwise, you better do some planning, figure out where your bridge will go, measure the scale length. I am sure you will be fine, and I encourage you to build the guitar, but do some planning first. think and measure twice before you cut it. there's lots of good info here on PG. read lots of stuff and learn all you can. i don't mean to be rude, im having a hard time writting in english, and I hope you don't misunderstand me. have fun with your build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 hey space cowboy, if you really want to use that neck to make a cigar box guitar, you can remove the fretboard, shorten the neck and this way you wont need a big box. otherwise, you better do some planning, figure out where your bridge will go, measure the scale length. I am sure you will be fine, and I encourage you to build the guitar, but do some planning first. think and measure twice before you cut it. there's lots of good info here on PG. read lots of stuff and learn all you can. i don't mean to be rude, im having a hard time writting in english, and I hope you don't misunderstand me. have fun with your build. Just so you know Hector, your English is fine, better than a lot of people I see typing on the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 Thanks alot guys, yeah and Hector great english thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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