Here’s something you don’t see everyday: using a hundred iPhone cases, guitar maker ArtMayer has effectively created a guitar body worth thousands of dollars. But does it shred just as well as any guitar? Let’s find out!
1. Strip and Glue the iPhones
Just to be clear, these aren’t brand new iPhones he’s using. Most of them have broken screens or have ceased to function; which suits him just fine. He guts the electronics of 107 iPhones, leaving only the cases to work with.
He then glues the iPhone cases together in twos. These iPhone “blocks” will be used as makeshift LEGOs to form the bulk of the guitar body. Which brings us to…
2. Create The Wooden Body
Making the guitar entirely out of iPhones would have been too ambitious. To support the iPhone mass, he crafts a wooden body upon which he attaches the cases and, most importantly, the guitar neck. The area that will house the pickups and neck is solid wood, but the back, bulk of the body will be stacked with iPhone cases.
3. Stack Those Cases!
Now for the fun part: laying down the iPhone cases. He uses a hefty amount of glue to make sure all the nooks and crannies are filled out before playing his iPhone LEGOS atop his wooden guitar body.
4. Trim Everything to Size
To help shape the guitar, ArtMayer lays down and traces a guitar stencil atop the iPhone case body to cut the guitar more accurately and address any holes in the design.
While he initially uses a band saw to cut the iPhone guitar body, it quickly became dull and worn, forcing him to switch tactics and use a grinder to cut the rest of the body.
5. File Down The Edges
Once the body has been cut, he files everything down smoothish. This is easier said than done however, as cutting out the iPhones has left a ton of exposed internal parts. You would think the exposed sides would be filled with some sort of epoxy or cover but nope; this guitar body is as raw and bare as it gets!
6. Add The Rest of The Guitar Parts
It wouldn’t be guitar if it only looked like one, so ArtMayer adds the neck, stock, and provisions for the strings and pickups to be placed, along with the volume and tone knobs, wires and circuitry and jack to hook up to an amplifier.
7. Time to Shred!
After adding the strings and giving it a decent paint job, the iPhone guitar is ready to go! Other than the fact that its body is made up of iPhone cases, this baby plays pretty much like any other electric guitar. And unlike the iPhones it’s made out of, this guitar is one of a kind and won’t be obsolete once next year’s model comes out.
ArtMayer makes a ton of custom-made guitars on his YouTube channel so if you’re into unique axes (do they still call them those?), be sure to check him out!
