instructables
Make a Scale Electric Guitar
by drum303
I recently came across a Youtube video where
someone made three little guitars out of popsicle stick
s. I sometimes make tiny things and I really liked the
video and how it was made. I feel like she did a really
good job and made it seem super easy (it actually
was) and I felt like I wanted to try it. I used a lot of tips
in the video to make my own tiny guitar and it came
out way better than I had expected.
I had made a few videos and instructables in the past
and kind of wanted to build an overhead camera rig to
document some of the stuff I've been making so I've
done just that. Lets make something cool.
You can make this. Maybe you have a real guitar and
want to make a tiny replica. Maybe there is a certain
guitar you really want, or maybe you are a huge
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 1
Green Day fan and you want to make a replica of one
of their guitars, or even a bass. Follow these steps
and you can totally do it without a whole bunch of
expensive tools or equipment. You can probably even
do a better job than I did. Continue on to the next step
that shows you everything you need to build one.
You'll be surprised that you probably have most of it
already.
Also of note: This isn't particularly a scale model
precisely, as I originally made it whatever size I was
comfortable with. Big enough that it wasn't impossible
to work with and small enough to be really cool.
Technically, its right around 1/6 scale, which is called
"Barbie" scale in some circles. This is because
Barbie is more or less 1/6 scale.
 https://youtu.be/s2vZtcjfEpU

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Step 1: Stuff You'll Need

Materials Super glue

1/4" thick basswood for guitar body (6mm) Silver metallic thread

1/8" thick basswood for guitar neck (3mm) Seed beads - silver if you have them, but they can be
painted.
Polystyrene for pickguard/pickups - I used Evergreen
brand but you can use recycled packaging if you Tools
want.

Metal pins for tuners - I found something called "eye Dremel or other rotary tool with drum sanding bits
pins" for beading. I got mine from Michaels but here is
an AMAZON LINK. Small coping saw or scroll saw

Stick pins for frets 150, 300, and 600 Grit sandpaper

Spray paint - depending on your design Razor/Exacto blade

Silver enamel model paint, for screws/metal parts Small file

Black enamel model paint, for detail work Tweezers

Clear spray enamel - for the clearcoat Masking tape

Wood glue 1/32 drill bit

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 2

Step 2: The Body
I created a template you can use if you want to make
a standard Fender Stratocaster shape. Just print it
out, cut it out and trace the shape onto your 1/4"
basswood. I chose basswood because it is really soft
and easy to work with, and they have various sizes
and thicknesses available at most hobby or craft
stores.
small sanding drum. You certainly wouldn't have to
do this but it sped up the process of cleaning up the
saw marks.
If you are familiar with the Stratocaster shape, you
are aware of the part on the back and the other area
on the front that is sanded down a bit more (see fig).
I've learned that Fender calls this the "Comfort
Contour Body" If you were wondering. If you are
making this or any other model, be aware of these
features.
After I sanded down those areas with the Dremel, I
switched to hand sanding with 180 grit. Look closely
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 3
After it is traced on the wood, cut the shape by
following the line. I used a hand held coping saw but
you can use whatever you have. Basswood is super
soft so it wont take you long at all.
After the body was cut from the basswood, it was
really rough and full of saw marks. First I sanded
around the outside with a Dremel tool fitted with a
at images of the guitar you are recreating. The
Stratocaster has nice rounded edges all the way
around the front and back. Everything is really
smooth. Use the 180 grit to model those features.
Spend some time on this. Even though the basswood
is soft, this part is really important. Make sure
everything is smooth
Continue with the 320 and 600 grit papers, often
looking at the photos of the guitar you are modeling.
Look for more pictures taken at different angles.
Follow these images as best you can and sand
everything until its smooth.
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 4
 1
1. Sand down this area
Step 3: The Neck
Making the neck is going to be pretty much the same
process as making the body. Cut out the paper shape
and trace it onto the 1/8" basswood making sure the
length of the neck goes with the grain. This is how
real guitars made are and it is important. I cut this one
out with an Exacto knife. I had trouble cutting it out
with the saw because the straight parts weren't
straight enough and the wood is really thin and brittle.
The Exacto blade cuts right through the wood going
along the grain. Use caution here though because it
splits REALLY easy. I suggest making all your cross
cuts first. I split the first 3 I made and it might take you
one or two to get it right as well. If it does split at the
head though, you can glue it pretty easily without
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 5
1. Sand down this area
having to start all over.
After it is cut out, sand it just like you did the body
beginning with the 180 grit sandpaper. Take note
though that the back of a guitar neck is usually a half
circle. I did round the back of my neck far more than
the front, but not nearly half round like a full size
guitar. The head is also set back a bit from the neck
as you can see in the photo. I chose not to do this but
these would be a few things you could do that would
be more accurate than mine. After getting it nice and
smooth with the 180 grit, move on to the 320 and then
to the 600. This shouldn't take long at all.
 1

1. Make sure the wood grain follows the neck.

1. Cut these cross grain cuts first, getting them as deep as possible, if not
completely through.

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 6

Step 4: Cutting a Notch Out of the Body for the Neck

Look at a guitar (or pictures of guitars) and notice that
the neck and fretboard are just slightly higher than the
body to allow the strings to move. Hold the neck of
your guitar on top of where it belongs on the body.
Use a pencil to trace the shape of the neck that
overlaps the body. Use your exacto knife to cut into
the body following the lines you traced. Cut down
about 1/4th of the thickness of the body and make
another cut along the top at the same depth. After
you've cut most of the shape, use your exacto or a
small screwdriver to pry out the piece to allow the
neck to be set into the body.

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 7

Step 5: Painting the Body
For this guitar I have chosen to do a "sunburst" type
of paint job, although it may not be an exact replica. If
you choose to do a solid color, the process will be
similar.
The first thing I did was mix up some acrylic paint to
the color I wanted. You may be better off using stain,
but I didn't have anything close to the color I wanted
so I made my own with acrylic. It seemed to work just
fine for me.
I used plenty of water mixed with the paint. Not
enough that the wood got wet when i was painting,
but it was really thin. This allowed me to paint it on
kind of sloppy and wipe off the excess with paper
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 8
towel, similar to staining.
The second part of the "sunburst" pattern is the faded
dark part around the outside of the body. To get this
effect, I used a small sponge. Pour out some paint,
"ochre" in this case, and dab your sponge in it. Then
get most of the paint off the sponge by dabbing it
further on a piece of news paper or paper plate.
After most of the sponge is dry, carefully dab it
around the perimeter of the guitar, using photos for
reference. Make sure you get the sides pretty solid
and the front and back faded evenly.
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 9
Step 6: Clearcoat
The first thing I did in preparation for the clear gloss
finish was to glue a piece of scrap to the body where
the neck will eventually go. This will help you get a
nice even coat of clear that will dry really well.
When the glue on your new "handle" is dry you can
move on to painting the clear coat being careful to get
a light even coat on both the front and back as well as
the sides. Make sure that wherever you choose to
paint has adequate lighting and is well ventilated.
These steps would be the same if you were painting
yours a solid color with spray paint.
After the first coat, allow the paint to dry thoroughly
following the instructions on the paint you chose to
use. Then, lightly sand the entire piece with the 600
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 10
grit sandpaper. This will knock down any bumps or
bubbles and make the first coat a bit rough which will
allow the next coat to adhere. make sure you are
careful to wipe off any dust from sanding with a lightly
damp cloth or tack cloth if you have one.
Paint a second layer of clearcoat. You will notice this
one is much smoother than the first. Be sure to let it
dry thoroughly before continuing.
If you want to take it even further you could continue
with a few more coats and polishing them with finer
sandpaper or even car polish. There are plenty of
youtube videos that will help you learn how to do this.
1. Doesn't look too nice after the first coat

1. Sand with 600 Grit
Step 7: PickGuard
The pick guard for the guitar I am building is black on
the front and back with white sandwiched in between.
To achieve this effect, I am making it out of white
polystyrene and painting it black. If you want a solid
color pick guard, you can make it out of scrap plastic
from packaging or whatever you have around. The
polystyrene I use is Evergreen brand that you can get
at most hobby stores. I keep a fair amount on hand.
Cut out the pickguard from the pattern or use your
own. After cutting it out of the paper, test fit it onto
your guitar body and make any necessary
adjustments to make it fit. Then, trace it onto your
chosen plastic material and cut it out with an Exacto
blade. Test fit it again and make any necessary
adjustments. This is in case you've slightly over-
sanded your guitar body in previous steps. I had to
make a few adjustments on each of mine, so I
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 11
1
1. Much better after the second coat
wouldn't worry about it.
After you have it cut out and it fits correctly, sand the
front face with the 600 grit sandpaper. This will help
your paint adhere better. Sand the edges a bit too, as
you may find the exact blade creates sharp edges
that will need to be knocked down. Thoroughly wipe
the piece to remove any dust. Tape a popsicle stick
or scrap piece of wood to the back of the plastic to
use as a handle for painting.
Paint the pick guard with gloss black spray paint. Use
two coats if necessary and sand with 600 Grit in
between coats. After the piece has dried, sand
around the perimeter edge of the pick guard to reveal
the white plastic, giving it the two tone look as seen
on the real thing. Glue it to the body.
 1

1. Tape the pickguard to a piece of scrap to aid in painting.

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 12

Step 8: Frets and Tuner Pegs
Take the template that you used to cut out your neck.
Place it on top of the neck you cut out and use the
red lines to mark where the frets are placed on the
fret board. Also use your Exacto knife to make tiny
marks where the tuning pegs go. Just poke the blade
through the paper and into the head just a tiny bit.
Then use your Dremel tool and a 1/32 drill bit to make
the holes for the tuning pegs, being careful not to drill
all the way through (but if you do, its not too terrible.
You can fix it.)
Use your diagonal pliers (or side cutter) to cut 6
pieces of wire from your beading needles or whatever
wire you chose to use for the tuning pegs. Cut these
to about 1/2 inch. I put each of mine in the Dremel
and used a small file to remove the sharp points after
cutting them. You want these to be smooth. You
could also just sand them down with sandpaper or
just the file if you'd like. Then cut the rough end down
so that when you put them into the hole you just
drilled, they stick out about 1/8 of an inch. Test fit
these before gluing.
After you have the tuning pegs in, check to make sure
they are even. If any of them stick out too far, you can
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 13
just press them in farther. The wood is soft enough for
this.
To prepare the neck to receive the frets, use a razor
blade to cut a tiny slot where each fret will be placed.
This doesn't have to be too deep. Frets stick above
the neck anyways, so this slot is just a spot for the
frets to sit and somewhere for the glue to adhere. Put
a tiny bit of superglue on a small stick pin and glue
one in each slot. Use something hard to press them
into each of the slots. The glue will quickly soak into
the wood, so after it dries enough to hold in there, put
another bead of glue across each fret. I did the
several times so that the frets were almost coated
with glue. This may take you a few times. Some will
fall out immediately and some will fall out in further
steps. Just be patient with it and if they come out, just
glue them back in.
When the glue has dried thoroughly (preferably over
night) cut the extra wire off both sides with your side
cutter. Then use a small file or your Dremel tool with
a grinding bit to grind them flush to the neck.
 1
1

1. Lightly mark the fret positions along the side of the neck. 1. Punch tiny holes where the tuner pegs will go

1
1

1. Drill 1/32" holes 1. File any sharp points from these pins

1. Carefully glue the pins into the holes

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 14

 1

1. Cut thin grooves for the frets following the lines you made earlier

Step 9: Pickups

Cut a 1/8 inch (3mm) wide strip of polystryrene or scrap plastic for the pickups. From that strip, cut three pieces 3/8
inch (10mm) long. Use your Exacto knife or a nail clipper to clip the corners from each piece. This will help you to
shape it using 300 grit sandpaper. Carefully sand the edge of each of the pickups to a uniform rounded shape.
Glue them to the pickguard on the body.

1. Place the finished pickups.

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 15

Step 10: Neck and Back Plates

Cut a 7/16 inch (11mm) by 9/16 inch (15mm) piece of polystyrene for the back plate. Round the corners with 300
grit sandpaper. Then cut a 3/8 inch (10mm) by 1/4 inch (6mm) piece for the neck plate. Round the corners for this
one as well, then use a toothpick to drop a tiny dot of glue to each corner. These dots will represent the neck plate
screws.

1
1

1. Rough neck plate before sanding and detailing 1. Put a tiny dot of white glue on each corner to represent the screws.
These will show better after paint.

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 16

Step 11: Bridge Assembly and Tuners

For the bridge assembly, cut a 3/8 inch (10mm) by
1/8 inch (4mm) rectangle and a smaller 3/8 inch
(10mm) by 1/16 inch (2mm) one. Glue them together
at a right angle to represent the bridge. Then cut six
tiny squares 1/16 X 1/16 to represent the saddles,
which are the small parts the strings come through.
Glue these onto the bridge.
Then, cut six more 3/8 inch (10mm) squares for the
tuner bodies and paint each of these pieces with
silver model paint.
After all your parts are dry, glue the bridge to the
body. Then glue the six tuner parts to the head. Cut
six 1/4 inch (6mm) lengths of wire from your beading
needles and glue one up against each of the tuner
bodies. When the glue has dried, cut them to even
lengths. Finally glue a silver bead on the end of each
piece of wire to represent the tuners.

1 1

1. Glue the two pieces together to create the bridge. 1. Cut out six small squares for the tuner bodies.

1. The dots of glue really show now. 1. Glue the tuner bodies to the head.

1. Cut each of these to the same length.

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 17

1
1. Glue a silver bead onto each one.
1
1. Bridge
2 2. Saddles
Step 12: Body Detail
Glue the neck plate and back plates to the back of the
body. Paint six black marks on the back plate to
represent the holes. You could actually drill them, but
I noticed that they weren't as noticeable that way.
Note that they are offset to the right slightly. Then use
silver paint to create the tiny screws that hold the
back plate on. Note that they are not placed uniformly
either.
On the front, use your Dremel tool to cut the hole for
the output jack. I used a triangle shaped cutting bit
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 18
1. Cut each of these to the same length.
1
1. Closeup of the bridge assembly. Ill need to trim a bit off.
held at an angle and just pressed it into the body to
get the shape I was looking for. Use an Exacto blade
to clean it up a bit then paint the opening silver.
Use the same fine paintbrush to put six dots on each
of the pickups to represent what I believe are called
the "slugs" or the exposed metal parts of the pickups.
Then create two screws outside each pickup. Finally,
create the pickguard screws using an image or real
guitar for reference.
 1
1. Finished back plate with screws and holes
1
1. Painting the input jack
Step 13: Neck Detail
Glue a thin strip of polystyrene or scrap plastic to the
top of the head to represent the nut. I used a piece of
"evergreen" brand half round polystyrene because I
had it from another project. If you use scrap plastic,
paint it white.
Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 19
1. Cutting the hole for the input jack
1
1. The bridge has been placed and all the screw dots are painted
After everything has dried completely, you can glue
the neck to the body. I used a glue called E6000. It is
thick and heavy and allowed my to make sure I glued
the neck on perfectly straight while filling in any gaps
I might have had.
 1
1

1. This is called the "nut" for some reason. Glue this on and trim the 1. Paint the marker dots on the fretboard
excess.

2
1

1. Glue the neck on

2. Glue the neck on

Step 14: Knobs

I made the knobs from white polymer clay. This is the
kind that you put in the over at a low temperature for
a while to harden it.
Roll out two small tubes of clay, one 5/32 inch (5mm)
in diameter and another 3/32 (3mm). Use your Exacto
knife to slice out three small disks from each. Use the
back of the exacto knife or any other flat object to
press the tiny disks to uniform circles. Then place one
of the small ones on top of each of the larger ones,
lightly pressing them together so they will stick. Note
that I had no idea about the size the knobs should be.
I simply made them to whatever size I thought looked
right, and measured them after the fact. 5/16 and 3/6
looks right to me.
Follow the instructions from your polymer clay to
bake/cure it. When the pieces have hardened and
thoroughly cooled, glue them to the pickguard on the
body.

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 20

 1
1

1. Cut three of these 1. Cut three smaller ones too.

1 1

1. Place the small one on top of the larger one and lightly press them 1. Glue your knobs on.
together.

Step 15: Strings

Cut six 8-10" lengths of metallic thread for the strings.
Glue one piece to each of the saddles on the bridge
paying close attention to the spacing. They need to
be evenly spaced so that they will look correct on the
neck and across the nut.
After the glue has dried securing the strings to the
bridge, you can continue with the tuning pins. Put a
dab of glue on the first pin and wrap the first string at
least two times around the pin, making sure to keep
the tension high. Either hold the extra part of the
string until the glue has dried enough to hold it, or you
can tape it down.
Continue the same steps for the rest of the strings.
After the glue has dried, cut the excess string using a
scissors or razor

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 21

 1
1

1. First string connected 1. All the strings connected

1
1

1. First string connected at the top 1. Connect all the strings!!!

1. Trim off the extra material.

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 22

Step 16: Selector Switch

To create the selector switch, I cut a small slit in the
pick guard to represent the switch slot. It actually
wasn't a full slot. I just removed a small slice of paint
there. Then I heated up the tip of a sewing needle
with a torch. Grab a small pliers to hold the needle.
Hold it in the flame and wait until it glows nice and red
and then use the pliers to stick it into the plastic at the
proper angle. No glue is necessary as the melted
plastic bonded the needle sufficiently. Then use a
nipper or side cutter to trim off the excess.
I also painted some black details on the knobs to
represent the text that painted on the full size
versions.

1. Selector switch slot 1. FIRE!!

1. Just paint lines and dots here

Now you need to make a little tiny working Marshall amp and have a mini Jam session :)

Make a Scale Electric Guitar: Page 23