Building a Cigar Box Guitar 101

Comment

Comment by mark "mudcat" quigley on December 17, 2010 at 11:38pm

tae it to home depot and have them computer match a quart of yellow  for you  or see if they can do one of their sample sizes

Comment by PapaSimone on December 17, 2010 at 11:03pm

I'm making a ukulele for my son's 4th birthday.  I am currently building the neck and am planning on using this yellow submarine lunchbox as a body/resonator(he is a Beatles fan).  I would like suggestions on the color of the neck.  Should I leave it  stained natural wood like I have done with all other builds or paint it yellow the same color as the submarine.  I am currently leaning towards painting it yellow.  Any of you cats from the 60's got any good ideas for me?!

 

 

Comment by Fitzhugh on December 17, 2010 at 3:53pm

Mary Beth:

Adding a second piece of 1/4 inch thick wood as a fretboard will really strengthen the neck. I've used 1.5 wide by .25 thick oak, but filled the grain with superglue, smoothed to near glass by card scraper... otherwise oak really does have too open a grain since you press the strings against it. Works really well, gives very hard surface, just do it outside cause of eye-burning fumes.

Also, I've found gluing the box shut makes them a lot richer sounding, brings out a full sound with good bass that is otherwise missing. I haven't tested using screws but it would probably work ok if done right. Anyone else find this?

Comment by C. B. Gitty (Ben) on December 17, 2010 at 8:22am

Mary Beth:

 

I touch on many of the questions you asked in my CBG Quick Tips series over at www.CigarBoxGuitarParts.com... it is quickly becoming a CBG FAQ!

 

When it comes to lumber, they call the advertised size the "nominal" size. Which pretty much means "in name only", or to put it more simply "a lie". About the only time you get a piece that is really the advertised size is if you are buying rough, unplaned lumber... but then you have to plane it down anyway to get a smooth surface.

 

Fortunately when it comes to 3 and 4-string CBG necks, 1.5" x .75" is pretty much ideal. Just be sure to use a hard wood and not a softwood like pine or fir!

 

C. B. Gitty

 

 

Comment by Artist Formerly Known as Matt on December 17, 2010 at 8:17am

Finished lumber, wood etc. is sold by it's unfinished sizes. Stoopid, yeah I know.

At Lowes, HD or what ever, the neck wood I get is the oak 1x2's.

 

Matt

Comment by Alan Roberts on December 17, 2010 at 5:50am

Hey Mary Beth. NOTHING is what it says it is. A 2 x 4 is really 1.5 x 3.5. I'm not sure why that is, but what is sold as "1x2" will do you just fine.

 

Ben (CB Gitty) has all sorts of lovely stuff, but if you want something cheap NOW while you're waiting for his stuff to come in, either screw the lid down or cut a finishing nail down so only 1/4" or so sticks through the lid and close it with that.

 

As to taper, how many strings are you going to use? 2" is PLEANTY wide for 3 strings, and comfy for 4. If you wanted to, you could bandsaw the whole thing down to 2" or even the 1.5 like you see in the stores. Guitar necks traditionally have a taper. It's a little bit tricky freehanding a taper cut with a bandsaw, but if you are comfortable with it, I say "go for it!" Go down to your local music store and take some measurements and see what the big guys use.

 

As to the wood in the box, the difference in resonance between a 2.5, 2 and 1.5" necks would be slim to none. Just leave enough space between the neck and box that everything vibrates. My first lid was RIGHT on top of the neck and still got nice sound.

 

You didn't say what kind of wood you have. 3/4' isn't too thin if you're using most hardwoods. I would stay away from oak or other open-pored hardwood; you can fill the pores before finishing, but that's just one more step. DON'T use fir or pine or other softwood.

 

Does any of that help?

Comment by Oscar Myer on December 17, 2010 at 5:10am

A 1x2 is 3/4"x 1 1/2". If you got the equiptment to cut it down you're ok. Unless you are ok with a wider neck.  I don't think the wider neck would hurt the resonance much at all. As for the clasp, I think C B Gitty might have something for that. 

Comment by Mary Beth on December 16, 2010 at 11:07pm

Hi! I am about to start on my first CBG and I am trying to pick wood for the neck. The wood I have on hand is 3/4" by 2.5." Also, I don't see anything that is 1X2 at the hardware store - it is all 3/4" thick. Do I need to trim my neck down to 2" for its entire length, or is it okay to taper it so that it is 2" by the head and leave it at 2.5" where it runs through the body of the guitar? Will this make it lose too much resonance? Will 3/4" be too thin? Also, I have a cigar box that I really like that doesn't have clasps to close it. Any suggestions for creating a clasp so it's not permanently closed but doesn't fall open when I play it? Thanks for your help!

Comment by C. B. Gitty (Ben) on December 15, 2010 at 4:51pm

Wanted to remind everyone that I am still posting frequent little "CBG Daily Quick-Tips" over at CigarBoxGuitarParts.com, covering all sorts of topics related to building cigar box guitars. Be sure to check back often to see the new content!

C. B. Gitty

Comment by Jeffrey Christensen on December 7, 2010 at 10:27am

Thanks C.B., I'll read over it today. I was trying to decide if I should redo the neck or reinforce it. There was a difference in action/height of about 1/8th inch from bridge and nut height, and greatest height measured along the strings. Maybe a bit more, I just eye-balled it. No frets on this one, So it sounds fine. Thanks again, I'll read over your article.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 76
• 77
• 78
• 79
• 80
• …
• 137
• Next ›
• Page