DI Y

MUSIC

STRUNG OUT

Make a one-string electric guitar from plastic tubing. By Tom Zimmerman

This project will show you how to build an amazingly inexpensive and rad-looking one-string electric guitar out of pine wood and PVC pipe. A single string purposely keeps the design simple. (For a 3-string cigar box model, see MAKE, Volume 04.)

But first, we need to establish the names and functions of the various parts of a guitar. Please refer to the diagram and materials list on the following page before starting.

Photograph by Sam Murphy

1. Get your parts together. Do you want a lead or bass guitar? A lead guitar has a thinner string and is used for playing melody. A bass has a thicker string and plays lower notes. Get the cheapest tuning machine and metal low E string you can find. If the tuning machines come in a strip, cut them apart with a hacksaw, preserving a mounting hole for each tuning machine.

2. Make the body.

The sound of the vibrating string is picked up by a piezo element, so you can design the body any way you please. Look at pictures of guitars to get ideas, or trace a real guitar.

Draw the pattern on the wood and cut it out using a jigsaw, scroll saw, or band saw. It helps to first make release cuts (cuts going from the edge of the wood to the pattern) that fall away, providing turning room for the blade.

Next, sand and round the edges to give it a finished look, and then hold it like you are playing it. This is your last chance to modify any curves for comfort. When you’re happy with your design, clean off the dust with a damp rag and paint the body. Several thin layers of paint are better than one thick layer. Refer to the photo at the bottom of the next page to see the process of making the body.

Make: 115