So you want to build an instrument, but don’t want to spend a ton of time doing it. A Diddley Bow is the instrument for you. The Diddley Bow, in its most basic form, is a stick with a string on it. The construction is super simple. The one string Diddley Bow is considered by some to be what formed the sound of blues guitar. That’s not what we’re here to debate. You NEED to build one of these! Lets get started.
I started out with a strip of oak that will make up the neck, and a piece of leopardwood for the fretboard. I then added a piece of guitar fret to act as the nut and glued on the fretboard. While the glue was drying, I cut some notches in the metal crayon box using a cutoff disc in my Dremel tool. I sized them so the neck would fit snugly in the box and the lid could close. This thing is nearly done already. Once the glue on the neck was dry, I did some shaping of the neck using my belt sander and a rasp. The shape here isn’t critical, just make sure its comfortable. Then I drilled for the tuner, and string ferrules. I added a coat of Guitar Finishing Oil from Crimson Guitars, installed the ferrules and the tuner. A couple of screws attached the neck to the back of the crayon box. Time to string it up add a bridge and play it. For the bridge, I tried one that I had already made for another project but it was too low, so I made a new one with a piece of matching leopardwood and a piece of fret wire. This one worked much better.
This is probably my favorite project in quite a while. Its so simple to make, yet so much fun to play. I took this to band practice with me and the guys couldn’t stop playing it. Even though it is only one string, there’s something different about it that just leads you to keep playing it. I highly recommend you make one, even if all you do is take a stick and put a string on it.
Check out the build video below. Thanks for visiting.
— Afilliate Links —
Dremel Kit – https://amzn.to/2XIpcxU
Guitar Fretting Hammer – https://amzn.to/2TkapLk
String Ferrules – https://amzn.to/2IUfJAi
Titebond 2 Glue – https://amzn.to/2SGfHvG
Supermax 16-32 Drum Sander – https://amzn.to/2NMB3qw
