SHOCK HAZARD !? Electric Canjos

[mrjonthehat]

Please forgive a very basic question...

I've built a few canjos for myself now, and attached piezo  pick-ups with a standard jack sockets. No problems. Now I'm building one to sell, and I'm getting paranoid about potential electric shock hazards from having electrical components in a metal tin. Can anyone please tell me what are the risks, and how can I prevent them. - Many thanks. (AS ALWAYS!) Cheers folks.

[Scott aka Farmer Ted]

One way to deal with that is to ground the tin can. Solder an extra wire to ground lug on jack and attach it to a machine screw, washer and nut to can...and/or solder that end of wire too. This way if positive wire of piezo or ceramic element ever touches can, all charge goes to ground.

I would suggest asking Ted Crocker about his ideas for this issue to be sure and to ease your mind.

 

Cheers

[Rand Moore]

The only real hazard from electric shock from a canjo with a piezo is shorting the can across exposed electrical wires. The voltages and currents associated with a piezo pickup are insignificant.

[mrjonthehat]

Thanks guys.

I appreciate your replies, and they have helped ease my paranoia! 

Here is a picture of the (99%) completed canjo. - Just a tidy-up needed...

[Rand Moore]

That's a beautiful cookie/cake tin. The neck and fretting look good too. Should make for a great instrument.

[jim]

Shocks with elecrtric are rare, used to happen years ago when amps were first used for guitar. Most of the time it was shorts in the amp causing shocks. Now days theres a 3rd wire that works as a precausionery

 ground so thats not a problem.