electric guitar made of air and recycled cardboard still plays

recycled cardboard turns into a functional electric guitar

Burls Art creates an electric guitar from air and recycled cardboard that still plays and works as a musical instrument. The craftsman’s idea comes from a cardboard guitar made in a collaboration between Fender and Signal ten years ago. That guitar used corrugated cardboard as the main material, and the designer thought of upgrading the first version using the same materials but in a different way. He wanted to design a working electric guitar that is very light in weight, around three or four pounds, and since recycled corrugated cardboard is mostly air, it can weigh much less than a normal wooden instrument. While the cardboard is strong for its weight, the challenge is to make the guitar strong enough to hold string tension. For the current model, Burls Art uses laminated sheets of recycled cardboard without casting the body in resin.

Instead, each layer of cardboard is soaked in resin before stacking to make the paper material stable and strong enough while keeping the hollow flutes inside each sheet. After lamination, the cardboard gives him a thick blank that’s easy to cut and shape with woodworking tools. He finishes the process by removing the excess resin and then planing the surface with a router sled. The body of Burls Art’s musical instrument made of recycled cardboard follows the shape of a standard electric guitar. The designer switches from used shipping boxes to new cardboard sheets to avoid dents or folds that could change the final shape, and the laminated body also shows the corrugated openings to create a surface where some parts of the guitar can be seen through from certain angles.

all images courtesy of Burls Art

Resin removes air pockets in the paper-made instrument

The neck of the electric guitar made of recycled cardboard needs more strength than the body because it holds the strings tight. The craftsman then investigates two ways to orient the cardboard sheets: cutting through the long side of the flutes or cutting along the short side. In the video he uploaded on Youtube, Burls Art also tests an alternated pattern because a cardboard chair shown at the London Design Museum uses this method.

A simple force test shows that alternating the pattern increases strength, so for the final neck, the designer fully saturates the cardboard in resin to remove most air pockets and create a solid structure that can resist string pressure. Inside the neck, a truss rod is added, and a thin strip of maple wood covers the truss rod slot to allow adjustment of the neck if the strings pull too hard. The fretboard is cut into shape, and each is measured and sawed with a jig. After that, the neck is carved to remove weight and make the guitar more balanced.

Burls Art uses laminated sheets of recycled cardboard without casting the body in resin

lightweight guitar made of ‘air’

The electric guitar made of recycled cardboard also uses two single-coil pickups and a bridge plate installed on the back of the body. Because screws cannot hold well in cardboard alone, an inset support block made from a resin-soaked offcut is added. The electronics cover uses magnets and metal screw heads hidden inside the flutes.

The final finishing steps include sanding, cleaning the cardboard flutes, and applying a clear coat that protects the material from moisture and makes the surface smoother. After assembly, Burls Art plays his electric guitar made of recycled cardboard, and it seems to work well. He says that it weighs light, and the body structure gives a visual effect where the viewer can see through the guitar from the right angle. The video also documents the making of the musical instrument for viewers who’d like to build their own in their workshops.

each layer of cardboard is soaked in resin before stacking