All About the Scarf Joint

The scarf joint while simple in concept takes a good bit of practice to master.  Adding this slight bend to the neck however provides just enough tension to keep your strings nice and snug.  Early on I experimented with different methods but none work like the trusty Scarf Joint.

Don't fret...but do fret.

I am now convinced that fretting is the only way to go when building a CBG.  After 4 months of being listed on Etsy.com, CBG #5 has been "re-purposed" as a parts guitar.  And, all of my subsequent builds are now fretted.  It really is better this way, since a majority of folks these days don't feel comfortable playing slide guitar.  And with my handy dandy fret saw from Stewart MacDonald fretting actually isn't too bad.  Though it does take a bit of "finesse" to get it just right.

Free Tools (The Saw)

I have to admit, I am a fan of free tools. And as it just so happens, I have a few friends that happened to have a few power tools lying around that needed a new home.  The first item added to my collection was the table saw.

You may be wondering, who has a spare table saw lying around?  Suffice it to say, that free tools tend require some work.  The table saw for example required a new power cord and some rewiring for the switch.  I probably could stand to invest in a new blade, but that would require spending money.  So with a little bit of wiring work, my table saw has more than paid for itself.

Quest for a box

All guitars start with 2 parts.  The first and most important is the box.  The second is the neck, which actually depends on the box.  I work mainly with red oak, black walnut and cherry for neck wood.  Choice of neck wood depends in part on what supply I can get, and in part on how the wood matches up with a particular box.

Today while out and about with the family I stumbled across a new shop that had a boat load of excellent solid wood boxes.  Hopefully, this week I'll get started on the next batch.