How to make a steampunk sword which is also an electric lap steel guitar

Tools and materials:

Block plane

Soldering iron kit

Cutting mat (board)

Chisel set

Sanding Drum Kit

Plunge router

Lip stick tele pickup

Jointer planer

Table saw

Bandsaw

Cordless drill

Rotary tool

Output jack

Electric guitar strings

Mandolin tuning pegs

Belt sander

Wood burner

Flat rasp

Round rasp

Flat file

Round file

Spoke shave

Solder and flux kit

Propane torch

I made this experimental musical instrument out of wood, brass and copper. So I think it looks pretty steampunky. It has three strings and it can be played with a slide, just like a lap steel.

I begun by squaring a spruce piece on my jointer/planer machine. I also cleaned the edges on the table saw. 

Then I created a template and used it to mark my basic shape on the wood.

I then cut the basic sword shape on the bandsaw. 

I used rasps and files to clean the saw marks. I also used a drum sanding bit on my drill and my belt sander. 

I used a straight bit on my plunge router to route the pocket for the pickup. I completed this job gradually with three passes. 

I then drilled the hole that connects the pocket with the output jack’s chamber. I used a chisel and a mallet to make the mortise for the output jack. 

I marked the holes for the tuning pegs on the headstock. I first drilled small guide holes with my rotary tool. I then drilled from both sides to get a nice clean hole without tear out. 

Using my rotary tool and a cutting disc I cut a piece of copper to act as pickup holder. I used double sided tape to fish the pickup out. This way I could mark the hole for the pickup. 

I created the hole with the rotary tool. I then fine tuned it with files. 

I shaped the bridge out of a scrap brass piece. I then soldered the bridge on the copper with solder and a blow torch. The heat and the flux drives the solder in place.

I then filed the copper flush with the wood.

I screwed the string holder in place. This is the kind of string holder we use on bouzouki. 

I shaped and soldered the nut piece. 

I soldered the pickup with the output jack. I also added a wire that connected the jack with the pickup’s plate. This is my ground.

I added the strings and filed the grooves for the strings on the nut and bridge.

The scale of my instrument is 31cm from nut to bridge. I marked the fret positions with a pencil and then I used my wood burner to draw on them. This way I have a reference of where my intervals are located. 

And my little sword guitar was ready. I hope you’ve enjoyed this one, because that was it. See you soon with a new project video.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Make this simple tool to help you study scales and chord shapes on the guitar

On this project I used Inventables X-carve CNC machine:

Easel

X-Carve

CNC project files

You can also make it using more traditional tools.

Tools and materials:

Block plane

Table saw

Bandsaw

Cordless drill

Belt sander

Wood burner

Random orbit sander

Speed square

Drill press

6mm dowels

Cutting mat (board)

This is a really simple tool to help you improve your knowledge of the fretboard. I made it out of 15mm plywood and 6mm dowels. 

First of all I imported my design into Easel. This is the Inventables online software my CNC machines uses. I completed the carving session in two phases. In the first session I used A “V” carving bit to carve all the details. Then I changed to a straight bit to make the holes and the outer shape of my board. 

I cleaned the tabs created by the machine using the bandsaw and a hand plane. 

I painted into the cavities with latex paint. Then I sanded the paint flush with my random orbit sander. 

I finished the piece with a few coats of clear. 

I then cut some 6mm dowels in half on the table saw. I sanded the dowels on my belt sander. 

I painted the tops of the dowels with paint. The red ones represent the tonic or first note of a scale or chord. The blue ones are regular notes. You can also add different colours to represent the 3rd, the 7th the 6th note etc. 

If you don’t have access to a CNC machine you can create an Easel account for free and download my template. Then you can print it out and glue it on your plywood with spray adhesive.

Then use an owl to mark the positions of the holes. Use an exact knife to mark your lines. I used my drill press to drill the holes. I also used the table saw to cut my plywood to size. I rounded over the edges on the belt sander.

Finally I used my wood burner with a ruler to burn my lines on the wood. I created all the typography free hand.

And that was it basically. I created my tool for standard tunings and from 0 to 10 frets. But you can add tape over the carved typography elements and experiment with different tunings or positions on the fret board.

Guitar is an instrument on which you can actually visualise the intervals between notes into shapes. And this in my opinion makes the guitar an instrument that makes music theory easier to master. 

My tool is basically a pegboard. I find it really useful for studying chord shapes, arpeggios and scales.

 Anyway, I hope you liked this one, because that was it. See you soon with a new project video. 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How to make a chess box electric guitar

Tools and materials:

Chess box

Metallic guitar pickup

Fret wire

Block plane

No4 hand plane

Soldering iron kit

Heat shrinking tube

Chisel set

Guitar tuning pegs

Jointer planer

Table saw

Bandsaw

Cordless drill

Rotary tool

Volume pot

Output jack

Electric guitar strings

Control knob

Mandolin tuning pegs

Belt sander

Flush trim saw

Wood burner

Flat rasp

Round rasp

Flat file

Round file

Spoke shave

Fret saw

I made this experimental DIY guitar out of beech wood and a cheap chess box. I really enjoy making these cigar box inspired blues guitars. They are really cool for playing slide and kind of inspire me to play guitar out of my comfort zone. 

I begun by squaring a piece of beech on the jointer planer. 

I then took the box apart. With a series of cuts on the table saw I removed wood to make the joints that would receive the neck. 

I then cut the necks’s shape on the bandsaw. 

I cut the neck at an angle to make the joint for the headstock. I finished the cut with a handsaw. I temporarily clamped the headstock on the neck and drilled two holes that would receive bamboo sticks. These sticks prevent the pieces from moving around while glue up. 

I glued the headstock on the neck and cut off the excess wood with handsaws. I also used a hand plane to remove excess material. 

I then used an offcut piece to make the fretboard on the table saw.

I shaped the headstock on the bandsaw. I used a hand plane and my belt sander to finish shaping.

To shape the neck, I removed as much material as I could using my spokeshave. I then finished the areas I couldn’t reach with rasps and files. 

Using a fret saw I opened up  a hole for the pickup. I cleaned it up with my rotary tool. 

I then made the pickup’s case out of a scrap beech piece. I created the holes needed on the drill press and I counter sinked them. 

I then soldered all the electric parts. I used heat shrinking tube in the areas where naked cables could touch each other. As a ground I used an old metal spring which I hot glued in place. 

I then made pilot holes for the tuning pegs. Then I drilled the holes. 

Using a sanding block I flattened the neck before glueing the fretboard. 

I then glued the neck on my guitar’s top. 

I cut the fret slots. With a lubricated saw I cut the slots. 

I then glued the fretboard in place. Again I used bamboo sticks to prevent the fretboard from moving around while glue up.

I glued the fret indicators in place and cut them flush. 

I hammered the fret wire in the slots. I then used super glue to the frets. Then I cut the excess wire and filed the frets sides flush. 

I used sanding blocks to sand the sharp edges of the frets. 

I installed the hinges and the string guides in place. 

I then drilled some holes to place the string holders on the back end of the neck. 

Finally I made a bridge and shaped the nut and bridge bones. 

My guitar was ready. I still need to set up the action a little bit but overall I am really happy with the way it came out. 

But anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed this project, because that was it, see you soon with a new project video. 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Basic tools you need to start DIY woodworking

Tools and materials I propose:

IKEA Tool Kit

Cordless drill

Drill bit set

Circular saw

Speed square

Miter box

Screw clamps

Random orbit sander

Gloves

Ear Muffs

Mask Respirator

Face shield

In this video I show the essential tool set you need to start making simple DIY projects. These are the tools that helped me begin woodworking. 

The first thing one should get is a set of really basic tools, such as screw drivers, pliers, wrench and a hammer. I think a really value for money choice is the IKEA tool set. I also think this is really useful to have in home for general purposes.

The second most useful tool is a cordless drill / screwdriver. I recommend you get a full set of drill bits so you can be able to drill through walls, wood and metal. You can use the screw driving bits from the IKEA set. 

Next you will need something to cut. I recommend getting a circular saw and a speed square. Since in the beginning most people just do cross cuts to make boxes. You can also get a miter box and hand saw. A really useful and easy to use tool.

I suggest to get two classic screw clamps. Clamps are really useful and can be used in many ways. You will need to be able to hold things together for glue ups or for cutting.

A random orbit sander is the next thing in the list. Jus try to sand evenly in order to avoid creating peaks and valleys on your surfaces. 

The most important tool you got is yourself. So protect your hands with gloves, your ears, your head and eyes and of course your lungs by using a respirator.

A basic set of tools is not that expensive but it can really help you begin making suff. As you continue on woodworking you will slowly acquire more tools depending on the projects you are working on.

Anyway, I hope you liked this one, because that was it. See you soon with a new project video!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.