Yes, another build finished. The Anobium Puctatum is ready and looks rather smart. The cut of bridge piezo works and although, next time, we would use 4mm threaded rod instead of the 3mm one, the tuners work fine.

The last thing we had to make was a tailpiece. To keep in line with the fretboard and biscuit-bridge we decided to make our own wooden hinge.

The tuners worked out fine. However there is enough room on the headstock for a 4mm threaded rod system like on the Tribute to Amalia Rodrigues. Yes, we could do better knots to attach the strings to the wingnuts... 

We're happy with the result. The way it looks, the way it handles and the way it sound acoustically as well as amplified by the bridge piezo. A sound-check video will be up as soon as possible.

The neck is ready to join the Box. After a whole afternoon of sanding you just have to stop at some point and feel happy about the result. 

Time to make the tuners out of 3mm threaded rod. This time we came up with the idea of bending the rod at the end so we would have "curly" grips.

A few coats of lacquer and finally it's time to join the neck and the box.

Another day in the workshop. Lot's of sanding, spray-painting and some creative painting. Yes, we thought the name was a little bit long for a 3-string CBG, so now it's just; Anobium Punctatum! 

We managed to spray some kind of a "sunburst" from black to pine. Did some letter stamping and gave it all few coats of semi-gloss lacquer, including the bridge.

Time to make the dots on the fret-board. The front ones are out of 8mm beech dowels and the top ones... just Saté sticks!

Time to put some frets on, glue the fret board to the neck and assembly our latest 3-string Recycled Box Guitar!

No, it isn't number 2, we just finished that before we got to number 1 of the fab four. The biscuit bridge is ready, the slots are in the fret board and the experimental layer of epoxy mixed with sliver dust is on. Waiting for all to dry and than see whether all that the creative brain thought it would work, turns out to be real! 

Time to move on in the workshop. After a few musical weeks of traveling around with Canadian singer/songwriter Robert Burton Hubele, the new owner of the "Coevorden Special", party's and festivals, it's time to get some old stuff and recycle it into some Box Guitars. The beetle perforated box is up next. We found some Brazilian hardwood strips, great for the fret board, a cat bowl, some old sink parts and a Chinese "under the bridge" piezo. Yes, it will work fine. Last week we placed a Chinese set in Toby Selway's custom guitar (which he uses when performing as a living statue) and were surprised about the good sound. 

We gathered all things we think we want to put on the The Anobium Punctatum Survivor...

If somebody knows what kind of wood, of which we are making the fret board and the biscuit bridge, is than leave a comment! We came up with another idea to shape the neck and head stock. This time the strings will "disappear" to the tuners that are on the back. The neck is made out of beech that has been laying around in a local "carpentaria" for many years.

We seem to be on our way. Let's hope that the piezo we cut of to fit a 3 string will work.

We will soon find out. Some glue, some paint... soon we'll start our first epoxy experiment to fill up all the little holes that the beetles left in the pine top and back. We will keep our readers up to date. 

The first RBG from the Fab Four Series is ready. We call it the Coevorden Special, and there's a reason for that!
This "traveling" Recycled Box Guitar is a specially made for Singer/Songwriter Robert Burton Hubele from Vancouver, Canada. As you all know, Vancouver is named after the Dutch town of Coevorden. We are originally from the Netherlands.

To make this RBG an all-round usable 6-string with a vintage feel, we took apart a 1969 Jedson "telecaster" for the hardware. The adjustable bridge is a real calibration friendly invention. Apart from the pickup switches we were able to re-use all the electronic components. The Teisco pickup's could easily be the best ever made, still rocking after 45 years! 

The hand-painted skyline of Vancouver and the carved maple leaf on the headstock give away the theme of this RBG.

The Coevorden Special is calibrated and tuned by our good friend and guitar player Toby Selway. Thru the little Fender Studio 850 amplifier is sounds clean when needed and dirty when wanted. We video taped the first chords and lick's after stringing and tuning, the video will be shared on Vimeo soon. All we can say is that we are very happy how this RBG sounds and looks like. It will be probably one of the few 6-string we'll ever build... or maybe not after this experience.

It's hard to find the right wood here in Portugal.  Thanks to a local furniture maker we got some leftovers...(well at a certain price that is). 2 pieces of Faia (beech) and some pieces of Mogno (Mahogany)  I guess we can get 10 guitar-necks out of it.  

It's been a very hot day, the day of hunting for some "guitar-neck material".
36 degrees Celsius during that sunny day, so we've waited until the middle of the night to unload. The 4 boxes are getting to their completion and soon it will be time to make one 6-string, two 4-string and one 3-string neck. As always they will be completed with our own "Fado-style" tuners, although it will be a first time we'll make a 6-string head.

The design's aren't clear yet, it all depends on what's on the recycling shelves...


And.... we had that feeling somebody was watching us....

RBG? Recycled Box Guitars! This week we started on a new series of reclaimed boxes. They all have the same size. We took of the particleboard top's and bottom's and replaced the with:
nr.1 beetle perforated pine
nr.2 a recycled phonograph panel
nr.3 combined oak drawer pieces
nr.4 a 17th century curved panel

Follow us on Facebook or on this blog on our journey toward the completion of the Fab Four...