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Step 7Screwing It All Together (and make it electric!)
After test-fitting everything, glue the neck to the inside of the box. Clamp it in at least two places with cardboard shims to prevent marks on the wood. Drill a hole through the box and into the tail end of the neck. Screw the tailpiece, the box, and the neck together. Let the glue dry overnight.
Before closing up the box, attach a piezo pickup if you are using one. This is really just a piezo buzzer from Radio Shack soldered to an output jack. I'm not sure what the best method of attaching the piezo is, so I just nailed it in there with a couple small tacks. You'll need to drill and countersink a hole in the box somewhere for the jack to pass through. I keep the box closed with a few staples opposite the hinges so that I can open it back up easily, but you can also simply glue or nail it closed.
Screw on the tuning pegs and tie on the strings. After you get some tension in them you can add the nut (at the top) and the bridge (at the bottom) and they will stay put without any glue. Drive three small nails into the head right above the nut and hook the strings under the nail heads to provide downward tension on the nut. I used a small nail for the nut and part of a bamboo chopstick for the bridge.
The tuning I prefer is D-A-D, or the bottom three strings of drop-D tuning. Feel free to experiment with tuning, since there is no "standard" tuning for three-string guitars.
Before closing up the box, attach a piezo pickup if you are using one. This is really just a piezo buzzer from Radio Shack soldered to an output jack. I'm not sure what the best method of attaching the piezo is, so I just nailed it in there with a couple small tacks. You'll need to drill and countersink a hole in the box somewhere for the jack to pass through. I keep the box closed with a few staples opposite the hinges so that I can open it back up easily, but you can also simply glue or nail it closed.
Screw on the tuning pegs and tie on the strings. After you get some tension in them you can add the nut (at the top) and the bridge (at the bottom) and they will stay put without any glue. Drive three small nails into the head right above the nut and hook the strings under the nail heads to provide downward tension on the nut. I used a small nail for the nut and part of a bamboo chopstick for the bridge.
The tuning I prefer is D-A-D, or the bottom three strings of drop-D tuning. Feel free to experiment with tuning, since there is no "standard" tuning for three-string guitars.
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what ends of the output jack did you attach your piezo to, I am having problems with that.
When the piezo vibrates it makes a vibrating electrical signal in the wire, ie positive/negative, on/off. The amp amplifies this signal and outputs it to the speaker, making it vibrate at the same speed as the piezo.
The only time that polarity really matters is when you're making a humbucker magnetic pickup, but that's a whole 'nuther story.