How to make a guitar with rubber strings

Video: Science At Home Ep. #16 | Tune Up Your Rubber Band Guitar with Michael Bonner

Content

Part 2 of 3: Attach the strings
Part 3 of 3: Attach the bar (optional)
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

1 Cut a large hole in the guitar body. It can itself be made from a small cardboard box, juice carton, or something similar. Use a knife or small saw to cut a wide hole in the cabinet. You may need to make punctures first with a pencil, nail, or other sharp object to make it easier to start cutting the hole.

If you want to use a thick tin can as a base, simply remove the lid, as cutting a hole in the wall will be not only difficult, but also dangerous: jagged edges will remain.

2 Punch small holes in the body of the guitar, one for each string. Poke a row of holes in a straight line under the center hole you made in the first step. They will be needed in order to stretch the strings through them. Do the same on the opposite side of the future resonator hole. Be careful to pierce them at exactly the same distance as the previous ones. When you stretch the strings over the center hole, they should be parallel to each other.

If you are using a thick tin container, use an electric drill to punch holes.

3 Color the body of the guitar if you like. This is easier and better to do before you stretch the strings, as the paint will change the sound and elasticity of the rubber bands.

Part 2 of 3: Attach the strings

1 Cut out the four future tailpiece in the shape of a quadrangle. Make them slightly longer than the distance between the outermost holes in the same row. You will need two bridge holders on either side of the center hole for the outside of the guitar. These can be real bindings, pencils, or pieces of wood or cardboard. Measure from the leftmost string hole to the rightmost string hole and cut the tailpiece to the appropriate size.
- If you've painted the body of your guitar, you may want to do the same with the bridge pieces. To make them look more effective, paint them with a different color.
2 Cut the rubber bands. These are ordinary rubber bands, like those used to intercept packs of bills. You will need rubber strings, not rings, so you need to cut them, one for each string.
3 Tie the end of each elastic by sliding it through the already punctured holes in the tailpiece for the inside of the body. Make sure all nodes are on the same side. Do not tie them too close to the end of the rubber string, otherwise they may come loose and the string will slip out of the holder.
4 Place the knotted tailpiece inside the guitar body and thread the rubber strings through the holes in it. The holders will hold the rubber bands securely in place.
5 Pull each string over the center hole and into the matching hole on the opposite side.
6 Place the second holder inside the guitar and tie the loose ends of the strings to it. Push them first through the holes in the case, and then, one at a time, through the holder. Each string should be taut a little less than ideally needed, as you will pull them up later. If you want, you can make all the strings of different lengths, then you will get different notes when you play.
7 Glue the last two strips to the outside of the guitar on either side of the center hole. To make the strings rise slightly above the surface of the body, tighten and make a more sonorous sound, place the bar under the strings in the center, push it all the way so that it is between the strings and the body at their very junction, and glue it. So you make something like a stand or a nut. Repeat on the other side. (The image shows another, simpler option, where you need to immediately pull the strings as expected).

Part 3 of 3: Attach the bar (optional)

1 Find a piece that is long and easy to attach to the body of your guitar. For example, it can be a long piece of wood, a tube of PVC or cardboard, depending on how strong you want the neck to be.
- To make the cardboard neck harder, use multiple tubes of this material. Cut them all along except for one outside, insert into each other and glue together.
- If you are going to take a PVC pipe, try to find a threaded version. It will be much easier to attach it to the body of your guitar (see Step 4).
2 Color the fretboard if you like. Please note that it is made of a different material and the paint result may not match the body color (even if you used the same paint).
3 Cut a neck hole in the guitar body, if necessary.
4 Attach the neck to the body. The easiest way to do this is with a strong glue. If you have PVC pipe, screw the ring onto the threaded end first, then insert it into the neck hole and screw another ring firmly on the back of the inside of the guitar so that the top body panel is sandwiched between the rings. Note that this will only work with a hard case, and the hole should be very neat.
5 Now that the guitar is ready, play it!
6End.

Tips

If the length allows, you can stretch the strings all the way to the end of the neck.
Make your homemade guitar look like a real one: attach six strings (you can even try to tune them!).
Use six strings and tune each string to the perfect match with real guitar strings. You now have a working guitar model.
Tie knots tightly at the ends of the strings.
Grab some empty cans (for drums), make another much lower pitched boxed guitar (for bass), call your friends, and become a home-format rock band.
Make some guitars. Each of them will sound differently. Pick the one that works best with the melody and play it.
It is recommended to use a ruler to mark puncture points for strings.

Warnings

Always keep the box away from your face, especially when tying the strings. You never know when a rubber string will break and shoot you in the eye! Try to wear some kind of eye protection if possible.