Fender Stratocaster made from Cardboard

I’ve been seeing this video float around on Facebook. The video is quite impressive, which is a Fender Stratocaster made from cardboard at the Fender factory. Just that alone is worth some thought. How is this possible? Is it real? How can that neck take the torque?

Electric guitars have been made from so many materials over the years. Aluminum. Masonite. Steel. Broomsticks. Cans. High quality hard woods. Fiberglass. Magnesium. You can basically make a electric guitar from anything as long as it can take the tension from the strings. The meat of the tone is basically the strings over pickups. I know tone woods, etc plays an important part, but without the string/pickup combo, you would have no sound, so that is the main focus. The material gives you that nuance ‘flavor’. But before we get too far, let’s watch the video.

So let’s talk about this. We have honeycomb type cardboard matrix happening here. Looks pretty tight, as you would think it would have to be to deal with those forces. What I wish they talked about was what did they do to *treat* the cardboard. I mean, it clearly has to have some type of bonding agent to lock those fibers correct? Maybe some type of epoxy or crazy spray-on fiber glass, etc. With that said, this isn’t what we really truly think is cardboard.. or is it? I’m having trouble with that. If I have cardboard box, and coat it with fiberglass or carbon fiber, is it still something you would call cardboard? Another example.. a surfboard, is foam core (styrofoam) and has fiberglass around it. Do you think of a surfboard as being styrofoam.. or fiberglass?

Either way, if this cardboard is coated (or some type of insanely tight fiber cardboard), it’s still very impressive that the neck pocket holds up with the torque of the string tension on the neck. While I’m at it.. let’s talk about the neck! The neck is cardboard as well?? How is the back of the neck, playable? Does it not feel like a file with grooves? Watching the players play it, it appears to be quite playable. Are the gaps filled with epoxy creating a smooth surface?? I really wish they went into more detail on the material vs. showing them cutting the material.

Do any of you know any more on this? If so, please comment below!!