Create your very own cigar box guitar with just some creativity and time! These simple instruments can be lots of fun to build and sound just like regular guitars.
To create a neck, begin with a one-by-two-inch piece of hardwood that is straight. Use a yardstick to draw lines on it where your nut should sit before tracing over those lines using a pencil and marker.
Choosing the Right Cigar Box
Cigar box guitars have long been used by blues musicians as homemade instruments. Easy and straightforward to assemble, these unique creations make a great accompaniment for both amateur and professional musicians alike - especially since their nontraditional shape makes an impressionable statement about your love of music!
A Cigar box guitar is an incredibly straightforward instrument to learn to play, whether it be using slide or fingerpicking techniques. So why not give it a go yourself? Not only is it a great way to channel your inner blues musician and showcase creativity, but it can also make for a rewarding project to do together with children!
Fox Chapel Publishing recently published DIY Guide to Building a Cigar Box Guitar: From Simplicity to Sound by David Sutton. This new publication documents this beloved American tradition in its modern reincarnation.
Sutton begins this book by giving an overview of the history and growth of CBG building as it spread from a backyard hobby to an international phenomenon. He also interviews numerous builders, providing readers with an inside glimpse of their creative minds and workshop spaces.
Sutton provides comprehensive plans, complete with step-by-step instructions, to build a basic, three-string cigar box guitar - an ideal project for novice woodworkers as it requires minimal experience and only uses one cigar box!
The next two plans are more challenging. One features a pre-fabbed neck, which requires additional woodworking skills and wiring and soldering techniques; and another involves creating an electric six-string cigar box guitar plugged into an amplifier with volume and tone controls; although this project may be slightly more involved, it still provides you with the opportunity to showcase your CBG skills!
Tools and Materials: Essentials for Construction
Use common tools to craft your very own one-of-a-kind cigar box guitar! The process is not complex and you should have a playable instrument within two hours of starting to build it. There are many styles of these instruments, so choose which type best meets your aesthetic preferences.
Before beginning your project, it is necessary to gather all the materials and tools. Basic woodworking tools include hand saws and coping saws; screwdrivers; drills with bits; hammers and rulers or yardsticks with tape measures. Also important are pencils; rulers/yardsticks/tape measures/yardsticks with rulers attached as rulers/yardsticks are rulers/yardsticks or tape measures as tape measures/yardsticks are rulers/yardsticks as rulers/yardstick/yardstick/tape measure/pencils/pencils/utility knives/utility knife/utility knife etc. When building guitar necks/frets you will require pairs of steel-tipped fretting pliers to shape frets properly.
Once you've collected all your tools and materials, the first step of building your guitar should be cutting its neck through. Use your 1x2 lumber piece and mark where to cut with a pencil before using a coping saw to make cuts along this line - this is where the neck will enter and exit your cigar box.
Use a sharp blade to clean up the area before using your hammer and screwdriver to tap away any remaining wood that remains. Be sure to smooth over rough areas of wood by cutting with sharp tools if possible.
The next step in guitar assembly is adding the nut and bridge. Use a hammer to set the nut in place before tightening it with a screwdriver. After adding this step, attach the bridge, tuners, and tuner arm accordingly.
Once your instrument is complete, the final step in building is stringing and tuning it. Standard tuning or drop D tuning may be best for your cigar box guitar, and there are various string options such as nickel steel and phosphor bronze that you may choose from for strings.
Once complete, test and adjust tuning as necessary before playing your handmade instrument! Personalize it further by adding pickups, changing its headstock design, or even more strings if desired.
Step-by-Step Guide: Building Your Cigar Box Guitar
Cigar box guitars are both fun to build and sound amazing. Perfect for any genre of music, these unique instruments will definitely steal the show at your next jam session. While not as easy to play as full-sized models initially, with practice you'll soon be playing some of your favorite tunes in no time.
One of the most essential parts of any cigar box guitar is its neck. A properly made neck will provide a strong foundation for your music while helping resist bowing caused by string tension. Oak or poplar wood species make great choices; an online fret calculator will assist in creating the appropriate scale length and fret markings for your particular neck.
Once your scale and fret markings have been laid out, it's time to get down to business on the neck itself. Use your ruler to mark the center of one side of the neck before marking 3/4" either way from this spot; this will determine where both the nut and bridge will reside.
Mark off 3/8" (10mm). This will mark the location of the tuner holes.
To start shaping the neck, start by using a saw to cut through both shorter lines you have drawn with pencil, then use a file to shave away excess material until your neck is ready to be placed into its cigar box.
Before beginning to glue on the neck, allow enough time for it to fully set before beginning gluing. Otherwise, your wood could warp and even crack as soon as the glue sets.
Once your neck is secured, you can add tuners, nuts, and a bridge to complete its assembly. For best results, use thicker strings than those typically seen on acoustic guitars and tune your instrument accordingly; many builders opt for open G tuning, though any tuning of their choice is fine.
Fine-Tuning for Great Sound: Tips and Techniques
Assembling your first stringed instrument is an exciting and fulfilling undertaking. But before diving in and trying to construct one yourself, consider some essential tips and techniques that will ensure a more successful build process - tips that will enable you to craft an amazing cigar box guitar that you will be proud to show off and play yourself!
The first step in creating a fantastic cigar box guitar: make sure that its neck is dry. Wood can warp if exposed to moisture, so allow it to sit for several days after drying before trying to play with it or stringing it.
Once your neck is complete, add a nut and bridge to complete your guitar. A piezo contact pickup may also add depth to its sound; just be sure to install it without interfering with the strings or neck of your guitar!
Once the neck and bridge have been installed, use a handsaw to make shallow cuts along the lines you drew for the headstock of your neck's headstock. These cuts will enable it to fit into the spaces cut earlier into your cigar box. Once this step has been completed, smooth off the edges using a file.
Once completed, your cigar box guitar should be ready for strings! After stringing it with strings, make sure they're all tuned to one another - there are different tunings you can try out until finding one you enjoy playing the most.
Once you've learned to play your cigar box guitar, begin experimenting. Try different string types or even adding extra ones, replacing the nut, or installing a piezo pickup; use your imagination and turn it into an impressive musical instrument that will stand out at jam sessions!