You can turn a shovel into a playable electric slide instrument by using its handle as a fretless neck and its metal pan as the body. The best-documented example is a one-string build; a separate two-string version uses different hardware and a different layout. Neither is a universal blueprint: plan the string path and reinforce the shovel to suit the particular tool and parts.
Choose a layout before you cut
Start by deciding how you want to play the instrument and how many strings it will have. Bob Clagett’s documented build is a one-string, fretless electric shovel guitar, also described by Make: author Gareth Branwyn as a diddly bow. A separate 2025 tutorial shows a two-string slide instrument tuned E and B. These are distinct designs, not parts of one standard plan.
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| Choice | One-string build | Two-string tutorial |
|---|---|---|
| Strings and tuning | One string; tuning is not stated in the cited account. | Two strings, tuned E and B by the creator. |
| Nut and bridge | Custom grooved aluminum nut and shaped aluminum bridge. | Door hinge used as a nut or zero fret; IKEA wall anchor used as a bridge. |
| Playing position | Fretless slide-style instrument; a specific holding position is not stated. | Can be held with a strap like a regular guitar or played on the lap like a lap steel. |
| Pickup and controls | Active EMG pickup kit, volume and tone controls mounted on the shovel pan; the build account says the kit required no soldering. | Single pickup; wiring details are not stated. |
Sources: Bob Clagett’s 2016 build, Gareth Branwyn’s Make: account, and Mykola MrHardGuitar’s 2025 tutorial.
Inspect the shovel and plan the tension path
Choose a shovel with a handle and pan that can accommodate your intended neck, tuner, string supports and pickup. Inspect how the handle joins the metal before cutting or drilling. The string pulls on the handle and its connection to the shovel, so a joint that flexes is a structural issue, not just a cosmetic one.
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Lay out the tuner, nut, bridge and string path before making holes. In Clagett’s one-string build, the tuner sat beyond the nut, and the string feed approached the nut from below so the string bore down on it. The exact positions and dimensions are not published as a universal template; fit the layout to your shovel and chosen parts.
Flatten and reinforce the handle
- Clamp the shovel securely before cutting, sanding or drilling.
- Flatten the upper side of the wooden handle to make a smooth, fretless playing surface. Clagett checked the surface for flatness while shaping it.
- Check the handle-to-pan connection under light pressure. Clagett found flex in the original connection and added screws to stiffen the wood-to-metal joint.
- Sand and finish the handle once its shape and stability are satisfactory. Clagett’s project record includes belt and orbital sanders and finishing oil; these are tools and materials from that build, not requirements for every version.
Use tools appropriate to the shovel’s material and your experience. A bandsaw, drill-driver, files, angle grinder and cutoff wheels appear in Clagett’s tool list, but that list is not a complete or mandatory kit for every design.
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Fit the tuner, nut and bridge
Drill the tuner and string-feed holes only after confirming their alignment with the playing surface and supports. Clagett’s string feed was angled so the string approached the nut from below. He warns that a sharp edge at the feed hole can cut a tensioned string, so file and smooth any cut or drilled edge the string contacts.
Use a nut and bridge arrangement suited to your chosen string count and path. Clagett made a grooved aluminum nut and a shaped aluminum bridge with a center groove. In the separate two-string tutorial, the creator used a door hinge as the nut or zero fret and an IKEA wall anchor as the bridge. Those examples illustrate alternatives; they are not interchangeable prescriptions for every shovel.
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Pay particular attention to the height and groove at the nut. Clagett notes that a groove cut too deep can cause buzzing. The sources do not provide a universal scale length, string gauge, nut height or bridge dimensions, so set these to the actual instrument rather than copying unverified measurements.
Mount the pickup and controls
Choose a pickup system that fits the available space on the shovel pan and follow that system’s own installation instructions. In the one-string build, Clagett mounted an active EMG pickup kit, audio jack, volume control and tone control on the pan. Branwyn reports that the active kit in that build connected without soldering; that does not establish that every pickup kit is solder-free.
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The two-string tutorial uses a single pickup, but does not specify its wiring. Confirm the pickup’s compatibility and wiring requirements from its own documentation before cutting openings or making electrical connections.
String and test the instrument gradually
- Install the string through the feed path and over the nut and bridge, checking that it sits in the intended grooves and clears sharp edges.
- Bring it up to tension gradually rather than tightening it all at once. Watch the tuner, nut, bridge, handle and handle-to-pan joint as tension increases.
- Stop if the connection flexes, a support shifts, the string snags or a metal edge threatens to damage it. Correct the issue before continuing.
- Once the structure stays stable, check for unwanted buzzing and confirm the pickup and controls work through an amplifier.
This is a practical check sequence based on the parts and issues reported in the documented builds, not a tested universal construction procedure. The available accounts do not provide a full engineering drawing, complete wiring diagram or exact string specifications.
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What to expect from the finished shovel guitar
The result is a fretless slide instrument whose playability depends on a straight string path, stable supports and a handle that does not flex under tension. Choose the one- or two-string approach based on how you want to play and the hardware you can fit, rather than assuming one arrangement is inherently better. The documented builds show that shovel guitars can be laid out in more than one way, but neither source establishes a standard design.
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