Fear No Beard CBGs

03/03/2026

Personal post here..... in addition to building these awesome instruments and winding some of the best sounding pickups for CBGs, I'm also a Girl Dad!

Our youngest is a senior this year and is starting her 4th year of track as a sprinter.... and it's fundraiser time, so I thought I'd reach out to the CBG community and anyone who loves popcorn! Any support is greatly appreciated, but please don't feel obligated.

This year, they are selling Double Good Popcorn! All orders will ship to you, so unfortunately this applies to the US only. I believe 50% of all proceeds will go to the track program!

Like sweet? Salty? Spicy, cheesy, jalapeño-y? There's something for just about everyone, starting at just $11 to $14 for a single bag, and options to order bundles of multi-bag flavors.

Window to order is now until 4PM Eastern on the 7th. Any and all consideration is greatly appreciated!

Get all the details and support here:

Click here to buy our delicious popcorn and 50% of your purchase benefits this fundraiser.

01/18/2026

Some heel eye candy! I love the contrast that comes with mixing woods.

01/17/2026

Wooden control k***s are a nice touch and a great way to personalize a build.

Make any k***s? Show them off in the comments!

01/17/2026

Another older build, commissioned CBG with a Punisher theme and a hot rail pickup!

01/17/2026

Found some old photos of past builds, these 3 were from 6 years ago.

The far left one was a super old Boite cigar box, the far right was a Romeo and Julieta cigar box.

The middle was a Black Market Vandal from Alec Bradley. It had a flat mount humbucker with the cover made from a vinyl record.

01/17/2026

Throw back to 2019.

This was the last all-acoustic build I did. Customer was a John Wayne fan and wanted a cowboy themed box.

The fretboard and bridge were made from olivewood, and an old skeleton key was also used as part of the bridge!

01/17/2026

12/25/2025

Phat 90 update!

I'm still dealing with a sourcing issue for the magnets I use with all of the tarrif stuff, but I'm hoping that will be resolved soon.

In the meantime, I do have a small batch of pickups that'll be ready after the 1st.... I will be out of town in Florida the rest of the year with my family so they wont be done before then.

If you see one you like, let me know and I'll reserve it for you!

Also, in the new year I'll be looking to expand the process a bit and start using some acrylic faceplates (see pics). I think it'll add to the creativity of builds!

Let me know what your thoughts on acrylic faceplates!

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas from Fear No Beard!

12/25/2025

Then and now!

The first winder I made was slooooow, and the setup was kinda big and cluncky. The motor only got 200 RPMs, which means it would only do 200 winds in a minute. My Phat 90 pickups have 7,500 to 8,000 winds.... that would be about 40 minutes just to wind one pickup. I hacked an old calculator to use as my "counter" - a magnetic switch was wired to the contact points for the "=" button on the calculator. I had a magnet on the mount for the pickup coil. I'd punch in "1+1=" on the calculator and start winding - everytime the magnet passed the switch, it was basically like hitting the = sign over and over, adding 1 everytime it completed a turn.

The second pic is the version I use now..... 1/4th the size and 5 times faster at 1,000
RPMs - about 8 minutes to wind a pickup coil.

2026 goals for my pickup line- redesign of my winder. Add a small 3D printer to the mix to design a bobin for more options with single coils. Wind more traditional guitar pickups for 6 stringers.

12/24/2025

That's a wrap for 2025 in the Fear No Beard workshop!

I work full time, so my shop time is limited (especially with the winters we have here in Central Ohio).

Despite that, 9 FNB CBGs found new homes, as did 2 mini cigar box amps.

44 of my Phat 90 pickups made their way into the hands of other builders, along with several sets of wooden control k***s.

I am super grateful for the support, and friends I've made along the way! I hope you all have a great Holiday with family and friends!

And for the New Year? It'll be 2026, so let's start strong and do a damn thang!