Day 3: We Have a Visitor

Yes, a visitor has arrived for a brief stay at Tortuga Early Instruments Worldwide Headquarters - a cello! This one is on loan from fellow luthier Darrel Wallen. Having it in-house will allow me to take some much-needed measurements that will help me complete the electric instrument.

As you can see, it is seated in a place of honor in the shop. Tonight, I will spend some time getting acquainted with it while I take the measurements necessary to complete Reed's electrified instrument.

Until next time...

Day 2: New Parts Have Arrived

Because I'm busy on another major project (the Molnar Opus 1 Harpsichord Project), I've decided to purchase most of the major parts for this instrument. I also have a time constraint - Reed's birthday is less than two months away. Some of the part purchases are obvious like the pre-amp and the bow, but the others that I could make given sufficient time and focus, such as the fingerboard, tailpiece and pegs, I simply don't have the time or focus to complete. So, I've ordered them. Sadly, though, most are coming from China and that takes a long time. Even with the long shipping times, I now have in my possession the bow, bridge, body blank, faux body wood, and pre-amp.

The fingerboard is in transit and I will be ordering the tuning pegs, tail piece, and other parts and pieces this Friday. Once all of them have arrived at the Tortuga Early Instruments Worldwide Headquarters, my progress will be swift. In the meantime, I'm going to be working on getting the body designed and cut so I can start smoothing its edges and sanding it up. I can work on bending the faux body pieces, as well. It's coming together...slowly but surely.

Until next time...

Day 1: Plans and Wood

My youngest son, Reed, has wanted to learn to play cello for a couple of years now. I don't have the discretionary income to purchase him a cello, but I do have a wood shop and plenty of motivation to knock out an electric one for him. His birthday is April 9, so I'd better get a move on it.

Before deciding to build Reed an electric, I checked out what's available on eBay and instrument sales sites, as well as Craigslist. It turns out there is a wide range of instruments to choose from that run the gamut from around $300 to $2500 or more. I decided pretty quickly that I could put one together using the tools I currently have while purchasing some electronics and pre-made parts off of eBay.

After noodling around the Interwebs, I decided I could pretty easily produce something between this

and this

I'm going with the traditional neck/head stock and will be bending some figured maple to mimic the design in the second photo. I currently have the pre-amp, fingerboard, bridge and bow on the way from China, the rest I will have to get toward the end of the month.  I was, though, able to pick up some nice wood for the body and the stuff I will be bending for the sides.

I picked the body blank up from Gilmer Wood Co. here in NW Portland and the nicely figured piece I will be bending to simulate a body I grabbed at Home Depot for $8, which was purely a matter of chance and good timing.  I also have on hand Henry Strobel's Useful Measurements for Violin Makers. Mr. Strobel's book is an invaluable resource. If you ever want to do something this crazy, you should spend the $12. The graphics below are helping me with angles and measurements, as well.

My next step is to cut the body blank to spec - once I have a solid design for it. I need to take into consideration the tack points of the bent wood, the location of the fingerboard and bridge, etc. I'll keep at it and keep posting my progress here, as well.

Until next time...