#1 resource for Cigar Box Guitars, Free Plans, How-To, Parts & More!

#11: Li'l Gib.........

I've long admired the Gibson hollow-body and semi-hollow-body line of guitars like the ES 330. They just look like a proper blues rig.

Since I was between builds and had tuners, pickups, frets, etc sitting around I figured "Why not build a 3-string Gibson tribute guitar". So I found a nice image of a Gibson and resized it to use as a pattern.

Since I don't want to be accused of being a "Chit head" by Uncle John, I've attached a few build photos for reference.

The sides were jig-sawed from 3/4" Poplar. Two courses glued up to create a body that was 1 1/2" deep.

The top and bottom were cut from 1/4" Poplar boards that were thinned to 3/16". The top is glued in place while the bottom attaches with screws. The F-holes were cut with a little hand held hobby saw. Not my favorite part of the job.

The neck is tapered from 1 1/2" where it enters the body to 1 1/8" at the nut. The fret board is screwed in place so it can be removed if necessary. A length of piano wire is used as a zero fret.

The sunburst finish was done with an airbrush. First, a bright yellow stain was applied to the entire body. This is what causes the finish to have warm depth. Minwax Sedona Red stain was airbrushed to create the orange/red fade. Common black latex from Home Depot was thinned and airbrushed to create the black fade. Finally, Orange shellac was airbrushed over the finish to stabilize the finish before several coats of shellac were hand rubbed to create some depth and protection for the finish.

The guitar has a 24" scale and uses a single wound, four-pole bass pickup that I picked up as a two pickup set wired to act as humbucker. Used as a single wound, I was worried about possible hum, but here is absolutely no hum from the pickup. I have a one-meg tone control with a 0.047mf cap.

Still sorting out preferred string diameters, but so far, it is a good player and my tribute to a Gibson blues classic.

8 members like this

Attachments:

Dsc08227.jpg, 48 KB

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Clark Rowden on August 4, 2015 at 10:05am

Wow! Nice work, she's a beaut and I love that sunburst. Ive always wanted to do an e-guitar along these lines but more like a vintage Danelectro. Maybe one of these days...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Nathan Binns on August 4, 2015 at 10:58am

I agree. Sunburst finishes are my favorite and this is very well done.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tom T on August 4, 2015 at 11:12pm

Thanks Clark. I say "What the heck" why don't you just break out the wood and start on that Jimmy Page/Elvis tribute guitar".

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Clark Rowden on August 5, 2015 at 12:53pm

You're right Tom, I need to buckle down and do one. But, it's going to have to be a 3 or 4 stringer - I'm addicted now ;P

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tom T on August 5, 2015 at 2:04pm

Mine is a three-stringer, but I've built 4-stringers. These days I lean toward three stings just because you can do so much with them. Either way, Crank up the say Clark.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on August 4, 2015 at 3:10pm

that's a sweety Tom

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on August 4, 2015 at 8:36pm

That is stunning work Tom. I can appreciate the amount of work that's gone into this.

I have toyed with the idea of making a semi hollow electric, but I think I would approach it as a 2 piece solid body and rout out the cavities under the sound holes.

Great build, well done!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tom T on August 5, 2015 at 2:08pm

Thanks, Richey. Interestingly, it didn't take much longer that a regular cigar box project. About a hours worth of jigsaw work for the sides, front and back. By the time I get a regular box carefully notched for a pass through neck, I have about half that amount of time invested in it. I do think that the built-up body from better/thicker wood than the average cigar box does sound better and seems to have a good bit more sustain.