Australian Wood Review – September 2019

http://www.woodreview.com.au 55

PROJECT

time to ensure the lid closes easily. The
lid of the box will be screwed shut in a
later step, but you can locate and drill
the pilot holes for this now (photo 7).

Let there be sound

This model of CBG is acoustic so
there needs to be some ports to let the
sound out. This is an opportunity to
get creative. In this case, I drilled two
35mm holes with a Forstner bit and
hot-glued a couple of sink strainers
into those holes (photo 8). In the
past I’ve also used things like large
grommets, or small clock bezels and
I’ve also just left them as plain holes.
The choice is yours – just be mindful
that the neck goes through the centre
of the box so putting a sound hole in
the middle of the box will not work
well. I also try to keep the box graphics
intact so the artwork will look good.

Final neck fitting

Place the neck into the box so that it’s

positioned using the marks you made

early on in the build. Lightly close the

box lid and trace the location of the

lid onto the neck with a marking knife

(photo 9). Use a marking gauge set

to the thickness of the lid and strike a

line referencing the top surface of the

neck. Remove the waste, essentially

creating a really wide, shallow dado

that will allow the box lid to close

completely with the neck installed.

I typically do this freehand at the

bandsaw being sure to cut to the

line, but I don’t stress if the cut isn’t

perfect. This area will be in the box

and never seen again once the box is

screwed shut (photo 10).

Make heads and tails of it

We have to thin the headstock area

to properly fit the tuning machines

and to create an area for the nut. Set a

marking gauge to 5mm and strike a line

on the edge of the neck running from

the top of the head to the nut line you

marked earlier on. Cross-cut on the nut

line to the depth you just struck then

resaw the waste away (photo 11). You

can now remove the resaw marks with

some sandpaper, although I typically

leave the marks there.

Using the diagram shown in fig.1,

locate the tuning machine holes and

mark the shape of the headstock

(photo 12). Drill the tuning machine

holes with a 5/16" bit and then cut and

shape the headstock. If you are using a

set of tuners other than the ones listed,

be sure to review the installation

instructions for them to ensure the

hole sizes and location are correct.

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