JPF Home Page Forums Creative Arts Forums Visual Arts and Photography Forum Building an electric sitar

When I'm not here online, I participate in another forum. They are currently holding a guitar-building challenge where you have to build a telecaster-style guitar in about 2 months and not to exceed a budget of $210.00 (incuding estimating cost of parts one may already own). This can be challenging and exciting.
However, I already own two teles that I've made and didn't feel the need for another.
BUT - I've always wanted an electric sitar. I've made two in the past and they've both sold. So I'm entering the contest making an electric sitar in the shape/style of a Fender Telecaster.

For those that don't know, this is what a tele looks like:


And this is what a sitar looks like:

First thoughts - It has to look like a Tele (part of the requirements) for an electric sitar to work properly, the bridge tailpiece has to be completely different, so I MUST make the body shape to closely resemble a tele. The body has also got to be hollow for the sympathetic strings to resonate. I'm starting to design this in my head now, but my biggest problem is the SNOW. Two feet minimum (higher in drifts) block access to my unheated barn/workshop. If I can dig my way there, I can get to the scrap pile of old barn boards I'm going to use for the body.

Some windows are completely missing in the unheated workshop. Yeah - it gets quite cold. I hope the bandsaw works.

And so it has begun. Step one - clear access to the workshop:


Next, gather the wood (with required sign):

I made it into the workshop and started gathering wood. I have an old pine barn board (about 1 1/2 inch thick) towards the front, but also found some nice cedar. This used to be from my parent's cedar chest when they got married. The cedar is at least 50 years old. the pine board could be older, as the barn was built in the 1800's. To the bottom left is a piece of black plexiglass. This came from an old refrigerator. At the time you had "color options" and all you would do is replace the front panel piece of plexi. The fridge is long gone, but I can still get a good pickguard or 2 out of this (cost $0.00).
The cedar and pine are sitting in front of plywood and hardboard. I'm not intending to use these, but if I have to, the hardboard is exactly what was used on the danelectro guitars and the Coral sitar. I'd rather use real wood, but it's there as a last resort.

Having a real sitar helps with some of the specs, details and ideas:

A sitar body is made from a gourd, trimmed and decorated with wood and shell. It's a soft body, so soft woods would tonally be better than bright woods. I'm thinking the center core of pine with cedar top and back.

The sitar peghead:

My sitar is a "double tomba" model, which means another resonating gourd at the peghead. Time permitting, I might do this to mine, though as an electric, it has no impact on amplified sound. It just looks cool. Tuning gears are all pressure adjusted. I'd rather use geared tuners for the "guitar neck" part.
By design, I want an instrument that any guitarist could pick up and play, but still sound like an authentic sitar.

Sitar neck:

My sitar has 7 playing strings and 11 sympathetic strings. The sympathetic strings run almost the full length of the neck - a LOT longer than the sympathetic strings on the Coral (and Rogue) Electric Sitar. To be more authentic, I believe the sympathetic strings MUST be long.

Sitar Bridge:

THIS is what gives the sitar it's unique sound. The string to bridge ratio on a guitar is almost a knife point edge. On a sitar, it's a flat almost one inch area. If you pluck harder, the string "moves" across the bridge causing the characteristic buzz. Also notice that the sympathetic strings run UNDERNEATH the playing strings. This would be interesting to do, and I've considered constructing it this way, but it would require a fat and somewhat hollow neck. A regular guitarist could not easily pick it up and play it. The sympathetic strings have to be on a secondary neck, or alongside the body (as is the Coral Sitar).

Sitar Frets:

These I find MOST fascinating. Frets are tied to the neck and can be adjusted based on the pitchtable of your music. The fingerboard curves in, and the frets curve out. The sympathetic strings are under the frets. The "playing" strings can be pressed into the frets and bend down almost 2 inches! Again, real cool, but most guitarists would not be able to pick this up and go with it. If time permits, jumbo frets and scalloped fingerboard would yield similar results. Though I've HATED every scalloped fingerboard I've touched, so I may just go with Jumbo frets.

Time to draw it up next.

I feel like I really lucked out on a good deal for the neck - though it still needs some work. A buddy of mine wanted to make an instrument, and on impulse, bought a body and neck from an online store. He got an unfinished paddle-head neck for a Strat, but after getting it, he didn't want it because it was too fat, and there was a knot in the wood on the back of the neck. The headstock was rough cut to a strat shape. I bought it from him for $30.00. I "think" I can make it into a tele shape headstock, and I WANT the thickness of the neck, though I may spokeshave and sand it more to a soft v. I will also probably sand the heel contour flatter so that it looks more like a tele neck. For the price of a neck with a nut, I can't complain at all.

Wow, what a Fascinating, Serious Challenge, Bro!

Never knew so much about a Sitar, either...Awesome Instrument!

Good Luck on this..& that's some Beautiful Cedarwood there/quite an Unusual Source..heh!

Best Wishes/Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

Great pics, Tom. Especially step one, LOL. I enjoyed watching your other photo-documentary. This one should be even more fascinating.

Man you are just so incredibly skilled!

amazing-I bet you get contacted by rock stars who start a bidding war for that thing.........good luck dealing with the cattle drive of people who will wanna buy it......

Tom

Stan - thanks for checking it out. When I made it into the workshop, I had completely forgotten about the cedar too. It used to be my computer desk until I built a new desk out of a pallette. So the cedar sat unused - this will be the perfect project for it too!

Jean - yes, Step one was probably the hardest part of the entire project.

Tom - thanks for checking it out and the kind words. I'm actually considering selling/auctioning off the "other" build - the harp guitar and donate the winnings to JPF. I think JPF needs the money more than I need the harp guitar. I would donate it to Brian's medical fund, but he has requested that we continue to support JPF.

Part of the challenge is to make it "look" like a telecaster. Well to me, the easiest and fastest way to make a body that looks like a telecaster is to trace an existing Tele. So I did just that on a large piece of cardboard:


Now that would be all I need if this was a one-neck instrument. However, the sympathetic strings will have their own neck, so the body has to be increased to allow for the second neck. I made some quick calculations, moved the tele over by the needed amount, and traced it again. Then I connected the two images, and smoothed the lines, drawing the finished outline darker with a Sharpie.


Next step, cut it out & transfer this to the wood.

I was staring at all the colorful bulls on your shirt...."Bullshirt!"

What a weird and wonderful project! Thanks for posting it...I LOVE these sorts of threads.

Very cool Tom - I really enjoyed following your harp guitar project and this one looks to be every bit as cool. Yes, keep posting pics and descriptions!

Scott

I was away for the weekend, but back on this project with a vengence. Plus, having no internet until 11AM this morning kept me from sitting in front of the computer, and allowed me to do more stuff. Here's today's entry:

I cut out the cardboard pattern, and traced it to the cedar:


Then took it to the bandsaw (it's warm enough in the workshop!)


Here's more detail from rough cutting on the bandsaw:

In the above pic, there is a number stamped into the cedar from the original cedar chest. I suppose it was the model number or build number. I have no idea. The number will not be seen on the finished instrument, as it is on the inside surface.

Next, I cut the old barn board in half:


And cleaned up the edges on the two halves:


I brought the boards into the house, and glued and clamped them. I grabbed the closest thing I could reach to add weight to the top, hence the tool box sits on it while the glue dries.


And while that was drying and set aside, I "freehand" drew the tele peghead shape. Then I thought to be accurate, it would be best to use a real template. So I found one online, and wouldn't you know, I was almost perfect in the line locations.


Next was a trip back to the bandsaw to cut the peghead, and use the orbital sander to smooth the edges (photo forthcoming).

Tom, you should have these photo-journals published when you're done with this instrument. The way you explain each and every detail even a dummy like me can understand it. It would make a really cool book. You could call it a cookbook for guitars or something kitchy like that.

Hi Tricia - perhaps I should, but some "true, schooled" luthiers would wince at some of my back woods techniques.

Sometimes, making the experts wince is a good thing. People who follow the rules rarely make history.

True Kevin. Isn't it true with every profession or skill that there's always some cynic that knows how to do something better? There's the ones I love to irritate.

I keep looking at my avatar and think I have to respond, then I realize - oh it's me...

See my comment to Kevin. One of my favorite shirts.

Weird?? Perhaps. But that's probably what they said about Les Paul's "LOG" idea...

Hey Scott, thanks for the kind words (as always). As I was updating the last batch of photos and text descriptions, I was listening to "Some Assembly Required." My only complaint is that it ended way too fast, and I was left with wanting more! Soooo GOOD JOB!!

Hey Tom,

I am all agog waiting to see it unfold. Great project, but you would never get me near that shed in the snow and cold.

Keep it coming.

When you're done with this, can you build me a Mickey Mouse guitar?

Colin - I understand about not wanting to be in the cold, but it's an addiction. I had to do the bandsaw cutting in shifts. Work till my fingers were numb, then run back to the house to warm up, repeat. It's an addiction I tell ya.

Polly - funny you should request that. I had one once:

There it was hanging on the wall in Philadelphia. It's hollow plastic neck never made it to West Virginia intact though. A pile of plastic splinters.

Crazy weather here, so I'm making the most of it. It's in the 60's, so it's barn time again! While I was working, I heard a terrible crash. About a foot of snow fell off the roof. I'm comfortable in a t-shirt outside and we still have 2 feet of snow here!

The old pine barn wood comes out of the clamps, and next I trace and cut the wood for the main chunk of the body. This will be a lot thicker than a standard tele, but also very hollow. Here's a pic tracing the pattern to the pine board:


Next I take the board to the bandsaw and cut it out carefully watching fingers and protecting ears:


Here the board is rough cut and I'm getting ready to rough sand the surface to clean it up a bit. I'm using 60-cut sandpaper on the orbital sander.


Here's the board sanded. Now I see all the surface cracks and imperfections.


Before I head back to the house, I also cut the peghead. Pretty close to a tele shape indeed:


Back at the house, I use super glue to fill in the surface cracks on the back. This is not a common practice, but I feel that this will help strengthen the wood before I use a wood filler.


Three tubes of super glue were used to fill in the surface cracks prior to using wood filler. The wood is very porous, and it just soaks in. I think that's a good thing. Gotta remember to add the glue into the final cost.

I guess the Super Glue dries clear? Very cool photos. I love seeing and reading about "the process". I found it fascinating about the lower strings and the upper strings even though I'm totally clueless.

I still think you need to try to get this stuff published. It's really very interesting.

That last pic looks like the super glue just like, jizzed all over the guitar back, and just laid there...

Really though, this is a fascinating process to watch. I knew when I joined here that you were a Luthier, but I thought you were like, the alter boy for the Lutheran Church, didn't know what it meant. Watching what you do and how you do it is very fascinating and enjoyable.

Now that we get to see what you actually do, it transcends you into the "God" of instrumentation. Not to mention you're very good at creating and playing music as well.

Yes, the superglue dries clear. I will also be using wood filler, and sanding the surface. Most likely staining it so it wouldn't be that noticeable like it is now.

You have an odd way of seeing things, don't you?
I'm not an altar boy, but I'm glad you figured out what a luthier really is.

I'm not a God either, though I'd be happer with a dyslexic version "Dog of Instrumentation"

So I told a friend about this project, and this part of his response cracked me up:

Mr. Gretsch was quite observant, though you don't even need a router to make a Danelectro-style guitar.

Next step involved hollowing out the body. I chose to use an assortment of tools for this: a drill with a forstner bit took out the most wood quickly, followed by a router, and final cleanup with a chisel. This does not have to be perfectly smooth, since it will never again be seen. I just need a hollow chamber.


Here's another view of the hollowed out cavity in the barnwood body:


Here's I'm tapping the back to see how it sounds. It resonates quite clearly. The tapped pitch is "F"


Next step is to clamp the cedar top to the body. So I preset the clamps, so I can put them on quickly.


Next comes a thick coat of wood glue, which I work into the wood with a professional glue spreading device.


And clamp it up.


Now I'm off for another trip - another week away from this project.

Cool professional glue spreading device! That guitar body looks like it's in a guitar torture chamber.

POLLY - 1st sentence: I typed that to see who was paying attention. 2nd sentence: You really do have a weird way of seeing things.

Before I left for NJ for the week, I wanted to get a little bit more done - so I tinted the neck with an amber stain. The stain is alcohol based. I mixed the powder with rubbing alcohol, since it's a lot cheaper than the recommended denatured alcohol, and basically works the same way. Once it dried, I gave it the first coat of TRU OIL finish.

Looking good so far, Tom.

Thanks Jean. I'm fighting a nasty cold/sinus infection thingy, and doing the garlic overload treatment. I feel too awful to do anything, but I must press on.

Another coat or 2 of Tru Oil:

Probably a few more coats needed. I use that bent up coat hanger to hang it on a nail in the rafters while I wait for it to dry.

Next I removed all the clamps and took the fat body to the bandsaw to trim the edges.


Lacking a good edge sander, I'll be rasping and filing the sides until they're where I want them.

Another very cool photo essay! My husband carves and I'm always amazed at how he can take a block of wood and figure out how the grain will run in his carving, so that he will get the concentric circles of the wood to wind-up in the bowl of a spoon or on the belly of a deer. Everything has to be planned, step by step, as you are doing with this. You are so patient and skilled. I could never hope to do something like this, but really enjoy watching your process.

Hi Wendy! I'd love to see some of your husband's work. I've never done any carving like that - being a hemophiliac and playing with knives doesn't mix well. I'd rather be safe, so I don't do it. Instrument building is my addiction, so I'm willing to suffer for my art.

Back to the project:

I know the next step in the body is to begin smoothing out the edges, which I have to do with hand tools. But I also knew that I have limited time, and hadn't begun the neck for the sympathetic strings. I sat at the computer and drew up a bunch of lines - 12 to be exact to represent the strings. I could calculate their spacing more accurately on the PC, and determine the shape and size I'd need for this neck. I didn't take a picture of my computer screen though. Just imagine a bright white monitor with 12 evenly spaced lines and that's the image.

After I got the exact measurements, I found a scrap maple board in the wood pile, and cut it to length. I then wanted to see how all the parts looked together, so I laid it out. The "real" neck for this project is hanging to dry after being oiled, so I used a surrogate guitar neck, and also a surrogate pickguard.

One of my original thoughts was to make the sympathetic neck have the same general shaped headstock as the main neck, only stretched. Looking at it in this picture, I decided to keep the edge straight, so that it does not get in the way of my thumb at all when playing.

The sympathetic strings will be attached to the neck with zither pins. I bought a bag of 100 zither pins back in the '80's - I'm guessing (at the most) $10.00. If my math is right, this comes to about 10 cents per pin, or $1.20 for 12. Here I laid them out on the neck to check distances between them.


Seeing that everything was looking good so far, I went back to the table saw and cut the angle in the maple. I also found a scrap piece of mahogany, and cut it for the "fingerboard" area. This will not have frets; I just wanted to add it for strength, and so that it would blend in better with the main guitar's fingerboard. Many years ago, I worked for a lumber supply/hardware store, and this piece of mahogany came from the slats on an oversized skid. I planed it down when I worked there, and got a section to work that didn't have existing nail holes.


And finally, I glued and clamped both pieces together. Since this is not a playing neck (no frets) and about 2/3 the size of a normal guitar neck, I didn't feel the need to add a truss rod. All 12 strings will have low tension and be very light guage, so even if the neck warps a little bit, it won't matter.

Fascinating. As usual.

I don't get it...why isn't the other neck a playing neck? Is it just for show?

It's not a "playing" neck means that you would never have your left hand on it fretting notes, playing chords, and there are no frets - think of it as more like a "harp" section. The right hand could strum the strings if it wants, but the intent is that the notes you play on the OTHER neck will cause the strings on the sympathetic neck to vibrate and resonate. That's the main purpose of them.

Okay, gotcha!

LET'S GET PHYSICAL! Now is the time to sweat. Since I lack a good spindle sander, I have to rasp, file and hand sand/shape most of the sides of the body. I can use the orbital sander on some sections, but I gotta put some sweat equity into this now.

So we begin with rasping the body:


And rasping the bottom edge of the sympathetic neck:


here I'm using a scraper. Sorry it's a blurry picture, but it's a nice curl of wood I'm shaving off with it.


***Did anyone notice that the camera is focusing on everything BUT the project? I took a break and put new batteries in it.***

The forstner drill bit moves a lot of wood from the neck cavities - and oh it makes the workshop smell great. I suppose I could make pot pourri with these shavings. For now, it just makes the room smell better than the doggie poo in the trash can behind me. Cedar is such a good wood for repelling insects. I hope it does the same for internal bugs, I still am fighting this cold/sinusinfection.

Tom, I thought of you as I was installing a pickup in one of my acoustic guitars yesterday. For me, that was a major act of luthiery.

I do hope to build a cigar box guitar sometime this year. My wife and I built a mountain dulcimer from a kit last fall, but that's about as far as my abilities would take me.

And that's how it all starts - first with an acoustic pickup installation, then gradually, it gets more and more complex...
I'm looking forward to pics of the future cigar box guitar. Will that come with a humidor bass?

In our last episode, we had cedar chips all over from drilling. This removes a lot of wood quickly and makes for less work for the router. Here's a pic of the body after I routed out all of the cavities:


After 2 cups of coffee, I was fully alert to do the calculations. I taped up the neck so I had a "drawing surface", measured, and marked where all of the strings lined up, and marked the locations for the individual brass nuts (12) and zither pins.


Once exact locations were known, I could begin drilling. I used the drill press for this, so I could get identical depths to all top holes.


All top holes drilled. That was easy.


Drilling the zither pin holes was a little more challenging. I was working with an angle, and each depth had to be 3/4 inch, so I had to set the drill stop for each hole.


Here's the sympathetic neck with all holes drilled.


Next, each string will have its own nut. I want them to be uniform height, so I begin measurements. I set the drill bit in one of the top holes and mark it with masking tap at the height I would like.


Pull the drill bit out of the hole and measure it again, and I have my full length needed for the string nuts.


I take a brass rod, measure it, hold it in the vise, and notch it with a file to help with the saw cut.


Then cut it with the hacksaw. This is a posed shot. I'm really left handed and cut with my left hand, but I couldn't hold the saw and work the camera properly.


Once I have 12 brass nuts cut, I use a file and clean up one end. This is so I have a good even surface for when I will be gluing them into the fingerboard.
[img]http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/rockndrtom/12brassnuts.jpg[/img]

If the weather holds out, I'm off to the barn to do some orbital sanding on the sympathetic neck and body next.

It warmed up nicely this afternoon, so with my face mask and parts, I headed to the workshop/barn. On the way to the barn, I saw the first snake of the season. So yes, it's warming up indeed. Must be alert at all times.

I used the orbital sander and started sanding the sides.

Some of the tight-curved sections I just can't get with this sander. I have another "time saver idea" for the sides though... But that's for another day.

Sanded the back:


and sanded the top:

I also sanded the sympathetic neck, but forgot to take a picture of that sanding process.

Once finished, I brought the pieces back to the house, and gave the neck a seal coat of shellac:


And also shellaced the body. I really like how it makes the wood stand out already.

BEAUTIFUL work, Tom! You are MEGA skilled (not like Napoleon Dynamite who has no skills! ) This has been a joy to watch. I'll keep staying tuned.

Well, that's an idea! Thanks for the encouragement.

I really do enjoy watching your work in progress. Keep up the good work.