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Home Made Resonator Boxes 101, v.2.0

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Beginning Box Building. Nothing too fancy, but functional. For people who don't have easy access to cigar boxes. Other home made non-rectangular box resonator discussions are also welcome.

Location: Planet Earth, but anyone from anywhere is welcome.
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Latest Activity: Dec 2, 2022

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Welcome to Home Made Resonator Boxes 101, Version 2.0

Updated: May 15, 2015

If you have ever built your 'guitar' with a home made sound box, let us know about it! Post your photos, especially any interesting construction techniques you used.

Due to my mistake of using the word "Resonator" in the name of this group, there now appears to be two groups of contributors:

1.) People wanting to discuss basic sound box construction (my intended audience):
2.) People wanting to discus building resonator cigar box guitars using metal resonators like what Old Lowe is famous for making and selling:

About This Discussion Forum

For those folks interested in building Resonator CBGs and Resonator Parts, please enter your posts under the Discussion Forum under either the "Resonator parts" discussion, or the "Placing the Resonator" discussion. Also be sure to check out my "Useful Links" which includes links to some interesting Reso-CBG related topics and photos (see below).

Most of the rest of this Discussion Forum is dedicated to people interested in discussing the various methods and styles of box building, including woodworking techniques, joinery, decorating and the like. Maybe we can have a different discussion forum for each style of box (rectangular, circular, octagonal, etc.) We'll see how the group evolves.

Useful Links:

Basic Woodworking
- Sawdust Making 101
- Do It 101 - Woodworking
Basic Box Building
- Project #13 "Boxtrot - Anything I Can Do (you can do)" by Mag Ruffman, the ToolGirl. In this article she shows how to make small wooden boxes complete with box joints using just a small fine toothed saw, a chisel and a few other simple hand tools to cut the box joint "fingers" and "holes". This is a very interesting article.
- Tom Hintz & TheNewWoodworker.com - Building Basic Boxes (using power tools). He has many other articles on woodworking, too.
- Gluing the Box Frame: Here's a diagram showing how to use two lengths of angle iron, several clamps and a web clamp to glue-up a box so that it will be nice and square. Read more about it in the Comment Wall, below.
- Harbour Freight also sells a nice web clamp ideal for box building. They describe it as a 1" x 15 ft. Ratcheting Band Clamp, Item # 66220, and it sells for only $5.99. Here's a photo: What's nice about this web clamp is that it includes 4 corner pieces which means you don't need the two pieces of angle iron used in the box jig above.
- Tony Hyman's Cigar History Museum - Types of Cigar Boxes has a lot of interesting photos of old cigar boxes that makes for some interesting viewing & reading, especially if you decide you want to decorate you home- made wooden box like an old cigar box.
Advanced Box Building
- Testing a box for bridge placement - a link to an interesting Cigar Box Nation discussion in the Super Advanced Cigar Box Building group that was started by a question posed by John Maw. The best solution was the idea of building a diddly bow in which to test your boxes for sound quality and optimal bridge placement. [Fixed link, 9/19/2011]
- Here's a challenging box design ideal for a real cool Cigar Box Guitar:
- Sound boxes don't have to be square or rectangular.They can have any number of sides. But remember that the corner joints must be cut at an angle appropriate to the number of sides the box will have. Here is a summary of that data:
  Num. of Sides = Corner Angles
  3 sided = 60 degrees
  4 sided = 45 degrees
  5 sided = 36 degrees
  6 sided = 30 degrees
  7 sided = 25.71 degrees (26 is okay)
  8 sided = 22.5 degrees
  9 sided = 20 degrees
  10 sided = 18 degrees
  11 sided = 16.36 degrees (16 is okay)
  12 sided = 15 degrees
  15 sided = 12 degrees
  16 sided = 11.25 degrees (11 is okay)
  
  Much above 16 sides and you may as well go with a circle. What ever number of sides you decide upon, the angle size can always be calculated by dividing 180 by the number of sides you want to have.
- Block Rim Construction is a series of YouTube videos produced by Richard Brown (aka "bordertownbrown") detailing how to build round bodies as for banjos and similar instruments. Many of the techniques he shows are also applicable to the regular polygonal sound boxes described above. There are 7 or 8 videos and all the video files are named "block rim video partX.mp4" where "X" is the part number between 1 and 8. Use the search feature on the YouTube website to search for the additional videos of the series.
- How to bend wood to form rounded sound boxes? Check out these two web pages set up by Jim Varnum: "Travel Guitar"and "Appalachian Mountain Fiddle". Both articles describe in fair detail the process of bending wood by soaking them in near boiling water for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Also, on the Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer (FOTMD) website, there's a discussion entitled "American Cittern (Strummer) Building Discussions " which details how one builder (Bobby Ratliff) builds his round bodied stick dulcimers. It includes photos of the form he uses and mentions that he uses a propane torch to heat and bend his red oak sides; rather than soaking them in steam or water).
- Another good source of information about bending wood is the Veritas® Steam-Bending Instruction Booklet, which is a free download - just click on their link "View as PDF" near the bottom of the page.
- The folks at buildyourguitar.com have a very extensive list of links for folks interested in building guitars. I'm sure there are a lot of techniques explained in these links that are applicable to building box guitars.
- (stub)
Resonator Cigar Box Guitars
- "Resonators 101", a video by 'Bigdaddysmojo' that introduces the basic mechanics of building a resonator cigar box guitar.
- CBN Reso Group #1: How Loud Can We Make It?
- CBN Reso Group #2: How Good Can It Sound Unplugged?
- CBN Reso Group #3: Super Advanced Cigar Box Guitar Building
- Photos of Reso-CBGs (CBN photos tagged 'reso'. Tag your photos with 'reso' to appear here.)
- More Photos on Reso-CBGs (CBN photos tagged 'resonator'. Tag your photos with 'resonator' to appear here.)
- Video on spinning your own resonator cones at home by Roosterman.
Interesting Threads on Reso-CBGs
Resonator Cone Makers/Sellers
- Mike Lowe (Old Lowe) High quality 6" brass, copper or aluminum cones for CBGs ($25/ea). He also is now making matching cover plates ($30/ea). Also check out his tail pieces and sound hole covers. I especially like those with the lone star motif.
- New: C.B. Gitty now sells 5.5 inch spun aluminum cones for like $18/each, a very reasonable price. It's called the "Lightning" cone. Gitty also offers a larger 7 inch "Thunder" cone for like $26/each. Both types of cones are made by Charles Atchison.
- Republic Guitars has a nice 5.75" resonator cone ($25) and cover plate ($25) which they sell in a 4-piece kit that additionally includes a biscuit and a bridge ($55). Republic also handle the large 10.25" cones and cover plates should you be interested in converting a full sized guitar. They also have a few tail piece offering.
- National Reso Phonic Guitars has resonator cones for Ukes and CBGs priced around $60, including the biscuit/bridge. They also have large reonators cones (9.5" and 10.5") for full-size guitar conversion projects.
- Delta Resonator Cones (UK) Cones for Ukes and CBGs (£40.00). They also have a large resonator cone thats 10.5" for full-sized guitars.
- Pete Moles (Molanator Guitars / Tasmania) Aluminum 'Molo Cones' for full sized guitars
- Klangbox (Austrian) 4.7" brass cones... are no longer available.
- Ben Moor's (Roosterman) Homespun Candy Cones for CBGs (£6 or £15 for 3). Measure 5.25" in diameter.
- Ziggie's Music (on E-Bay) sells a complete set of hardware for home-made resonator guitars: 7" spun aluminum cone, stainless steel cover plate, tail piece and soundhole cover all for ($75). Three patterns are available: Slot Pattern, 50's Pattern and Star Pattern.
- Note 1: Plus Shipping Charges
  Note 2: Klangbox also makes an interesting low profile magnetic pickup called the "Flatpup 3 Humbucker", which has been well received by some CBN builders.
Guitar Builder's Glossaries
- Frank Ford's "Fretted Instrument Terminology - An Illustrated Glossary"
- Tiki King's "Luthierie Dictionary"
- Ultimate Guitar Building's "Glossary of Luthier Terms". Also check out their Table of Contents as well - lot's of interesting info there.
- "Guitar Dictionary"
- (stub)

Discussion Forum

Jigs & Tools

Started by mitch jones Dec 12, 2018. 0 Replies 2 Likes

G'day all,When I first began to get into this cbg thing, I quickly realised that there aren't any cigar boxes available in my part of the world, & they're too expensive on-line. That meant I had to make them. After my fist "proper" build, I…Continue

Piezo Placement

Started by Doug Patterson. Last reply by Paul Curry Apr 13, 2017. 9 Replies 0 Likes

If this is not the appropriate place to ask this question, I apologize. I'm preparing my first box for a resonator cone but am unsure as to where the piezo should be placed. Is it placed on the cone itself or somewhere on the box? Any advice will…Continue

my first two guitars made this year

Started by Ron Lutz. Last reply by Ken Vickerson Apr 10, 2017. 4 Replies 2 Likes

My very first cbg build is the neck on top instrument made with walnut top, quarter-sawn sycamore sides, cherry back and red oak neck. I did have a couple of small revisions after this photo was made, I added a walnut fretboard and put a veneer on…Continue

Tags: guitar, walnut, banjo

The Boat Paddle Box -- The Traditional Stick Dulcimer Soundbox

Started by Rand Moore. Last reply by Murdoc_420 Apr 3, 2016. 13 Replies 0 Likes

[Originally Posted: Mar 25, 2011] I have decided to call this the "boat paddle box", or simply the "paddle box" design, because of the shape of the final product. This body style is the traditional body style for stick dulcimers and was…Continue

Tags: sound box, stick dulcimer body, paddle box, canoe paddle, boat paddle

Notes on Making Sound Boxes for Metal Resonator CBGs

Started by Rand Moore. Last reply by Philip Hale Mar 28, 2016. 8 Replies 1 Like

Hi All...For a long time I have wanted to build a resonator based string instrument, but I've put it off for a long time because of a poor success rate on prototype builds. I had lots of excuses. Chief among them was the difficulty of cutting an…Continue

Tags: resonator, reso, sound box

Homemade Box Clamp

Started by Monterey. Last reply by Monterey Jun 28, 2015. 13 Replies 2 Likes

I made a box clamp out of 1" x 1.5" Spruce I ripped from a 2" x 4" on the tablesaw.The back piece is the length of the box. The 2 sides are 0.5" shorter than the sides of the box, plus 1" for the width of the back piece. The front piece is 4" longer…Continue

Where do people find solid wood stock for soundboards?

Started by Barsymes Cratchnee. Last reply by Monterey Mar 9, 2015. 6 Replies 0 Likes

So I've seen a number of builds on the site with solid wood tops such as spruce and was wondering where people get that kind of lumber. Buying thick stock, joining and planing? Online site with soundboard material? Just curious of people's sound…Continue

How I made the box for Reuben's birthday guitar

Started by sasquatch. Last reply by sasquatch Jul 27, 2014. 8 Replies 0 Likes

Let me start by saying that I don't consider myself an expert in this subject, but I have made two very successful resonator boxes with simplest of tools and cheapest of materials.This particular box is made from 6mm ply for the sides, 3mm ply for…Continue

Tags: boxes, resonator, made, home

Building your own box that opens? Anyone done this?

Started by Barsymes Cratchnee. Last reply by gary sheldon Jun 17, 2014. 12 Replies 0 Likes

Was thinking about building my own box and one of the things I like about some of the cigar box builds I've seen is the ability to open the box when the strings are off. Seems silly, but a nice option if you want to swap necks (screwed, not glued),…Continue

Measuring wood ( and/or box) resonances - cheaply

Started by Darren Addy. Last reply by gary sheldon May 19, 2014. 9 Replies 0 Likes

I'll start off by saying that this may not be everyone's "cup of tea" and that some people might consider this "overthinking". To that I will simply say that one person's overthinking is another person's "understanding". Let's start with something…Continue

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Comment Wall

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Comment by gary sheldon on June 13, 2014 at 11:25am: Wow. Thanks, Duck

I like your method. Simple, and it shouldn't disrupt the sound much.

I didn't realize that that stuff was collectible. No wonder I can't get any of it. I did manage to scrape off a Lost City name from a box and glue it to a uke. And I do rummage through the ash trays at the cigar store for bands, Ugh. I don't smoke.

I would something simple like the Cohiba lettering or Romeo and Juliette.

Comment by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 13, 2014 at 10:46am: Gary, what I have done for labels is downloaded pictures from the web.

https://archive.org/details/cigarboxlabels00olsc

http://cigarlabelblog.wordpress.com/

Or do a google images search for cigar box labels. Lots of stuff out there.

I printed the label I wanted out and as the box was finished with lacquer, sprayed the box and the back of the label with a wet coat of lacquer and stuck it to the box. Worked well and if you want to be creative and make your own personal label, it's easy.

Comment by gary sheldon on June 13, 2014 at 10:27am: Duck,

Well, the meter is only $20 and I don't trust my ears that much. For detecting small differences in volume. Of course, with the meter there is no way to control exactly how hard one strums.

I have used a decibel meter before measuring the difference between a glued in neck and a clamped in neck. The glued in neck won by 72 db vs 70 db for clamped in. I still use clamped in on ukuleles. My guitar necks are screwed in from the rear at the tailpiece.

Comment by gary sheldon on June 13, 2014 at 10:18am: Mark,

And thank you for your comments. The soundboard is probably about 3/16. Plenty stout. And no bracing inside.

The bridge has to be pretty tall due to the rake of the neck. And I like to use hardwood or metal.

Where the fingerboard overlaps the neck is interesting. I have a theory that this is a good thing. To have neck to soundboard contact...But I have been wrong before. Of course, the neck is relieved under the soundboard. Anyway, there is a small space between the fingerboard and the soundboard. I have filled it with a temporary shim. When I get the decibelmeter, I will see if there is a dofference with shim in or shim out.

I'll let you know when the results are in.

On a slightly different subject, My home made "cigar boxes are awfully plain. I would sure like some graphics on them. Like a real cigar box. Any suggestions? If I could photograph a cigar box top and then have the image made into a decal of some sort and then put that on the box.......I have actually made a tee shirt decal using an iron and that method. The image has to be reversed.

Gary.

Comment by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 13, 2014 at 10:12am: Decibel meter? Too high tech for me. My way of determining how loud they are is "strum and listen". It will be interesting to see what your testing shows.

Comment by gary sheldon on June 13, 2014 at 10:01am: Duck,

Thanks for the comments. I actually do have a guitar with interchangeable tops. That screw on. In the long run, I don't like the look of screws showing on the soundboard though.

I have a decibel meter on order that should arrive today or tomorrow. It should help with my experiments. I am working in somewhat of a vacuum, except for Cigarboxnation, I don't know anyone who builds guitars. The new soundhole I want is only 3/8 larger in diameter than the one I have currently.

Comment by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 13, 2014 at 7:42am: Gary, from my experience it seems that sometimes smaller sound holes have better sound and volume than large ones. Rather than having the back of the box removable, it might be a fun engineering project to make a box with several different interchangeable tops so you could compare different size, shapes and locations of sound holes on the same box. It would save building time and give a good comparison having the volume of the box and all other variables of the build remaining the same.

Comment by Mark Bliss on June 13, 2014 at 6:20am: Nice and simple looking, I like it!

If the top isn't too thick, or over braced your layout should work pretty well.

One thing I noticed is that the way your fingerboard appears to attach to the top may possibly impede vibration somewhat, hard to tell from the photos. I also tend to avoid heavy or massive bridges when I build for good acoustic properties.

I slightly larger soundhole might be OK, but I doubt it makes a big difference.

But anyway, I like the look of what you have done, would love to hear it!

And I'm glad to see you lashed it off in case of heavy seas....... : )

Comment by gary sheldon on June 13, 2014 at 4:08am: Thanks, Duck,

I am interested in getting the absolute best sound and most volume possible in a CBG. Any hints would be helpful. I will make the sound hole bigger. Also I have heard of putting finish on the inside of the box as well as the outside. I'll try that too.

I do put piezos in, but mostly play acoustically.

The bridge is Gitty zebrawood, the nut, bone. Oak neck and fretboard. I will screw the back on for access. The neck is raked a couple of degrees. I used my standard slotted quick change tailpiece. I built a saw guide into my "workbench" ( a piece of 1/2" plywood), and make my cuts with a Skilsaw Mag 77 wormdrive with sharp, fine blade.

Comment by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 13, 2014 at 2:46am: Looks great. Nice job Gary, you do well in such a small space for a workshop. It shows that you don't need a big shop to build these things.