Have you ever gone into your garage, stared at a shovel and said, “I’m going to turn this bad boy into a guitar?”  If you have not, you’re sane.  Regardless, in this piece I will explain how one can build a shovel guitar for around $30, with the knowledge of youtube, scraps, and trial and error.  

First I headed down to Pittsburgh Guitars in the Southside and talked to the wonderful staff about my idea.  They were encouraging, drew me a diagram of how to wire the bad boy, sold me a Danelectro pickup, a volume knob, and an output jack, and wished me luck that I would not suffer from electric shock.

I then headed to Lowes, flagged down an employee and asked, “Where can I find screws to install a guitar pickup and a shovel to make a guitar?”   He gave me a rather curious look and then told me where to find them.  I now had all the necessary parts for my project.

I put my shovel down on my 200-pound, steel-framed workbench and went to work.  I grabbed my palm sander and sanded the shaft of the shovel, creating the fretboard of the guitar.  After this, I took it to my belt sander with coarse 40-grit sandpaper and sanded the steel socket until it was flush with the fretboard.  I then realized, “Oh, guitars aren’t four feet long.”  Accordingly, I sawed off about a foot and a half of the wooden handle.  

I then used the belt sander to shape the head of the guitar where the tuners would go.  I drilled two holes into the wood and installed the tuners, but then I took another look at it and decided that two strings is exceedingly lame.  So I drilled another hole about two inches down the fretboard and installed another tuner.  

After I tightened the tuners in place, I sawed a straight line and used a file to install the nut on the head.  For the nut, I found a tiny piece of scrap wood, sanded it into shape and malleted it into place.  I then moved onto the body of the guitar, or the head of the shovel.

I used titanium drill bits to drill two holes in the center of the steel where the bridge would go.  I found a nice chunk of oak in my yard that I shaped into the bridge on the belt sander.  I then drilled two holes through the oak and used wing nut screws to attach the piece to the steel, making sure to keep the bark on the piece to give the shovel more character.  

Searching through scrap wood again, I found a nice rectangular piece perfect for the pickup holder.  I drilled four holes into it– two to screw it into the bridge and two to bolt the pickup to the wood.  I screwed everything in place and then took a much-needed mental break to eat pasta.

After my food coma, I resumed work by taking a yard stick and marking with a pencil straight lines where the strings would go.  I then took a saw and gently indented lines for the strings to be guided through on the bridge and nut.  

At this point, I returned to the head and drilled numerous holes through the steel: two holes for the volume knob and output jack, a hole for a strap, three tiny holes to hold the strings in place, and one final hole to feed the wiring from the pickup through.  

The next task was to solder the wires onto the volume knob and output jack.  I do not know how to solder wires, so I took it to a friend who did, which I would highly recommend if you want a quality guitar and no electrocution– both rather advantageous perks.

I went back home, attached strings, tuned it to open G (G-D-G) for some blues, prayed I would not suffer electrical shock and plugged her in.  Take a listen above.

I learned a lot along this journey– steel is a pain when you do not possess proper tools, consult YouTube and do lots of research, and if you ever need help with a project, consult a friend you have who crafts and fixes stuff.  Never be afraid to ask for help, and jam on.