The Cigar Box Guitar Builders Decree

(Well, mine anyway)

1. The finish does not have to be mirror quality.

If it is basically the same color all over, thats good enough.

Why do you think they call it “stain”.

2. The neck does not have to be as smooth as glass.

No faster than I play, if it feels smooth to me, that's ok.

3. If there is a little gap where the neck joins the body, no problem.

This serves as an additional, small sound hole.

4. If the intonation is a little off, I can live with that.

I seldom play that high up on the neck anyway.

5. If the wires from the pickup to the knobs and jack are not neatly bundled, thats ok.

You don't have any business looking in there, and no one has ever proven that

affects the playability.

6. If there is some glue residue (hereafter referred to as “Flen”) on the fretboard-neck seam,

Thats OK. It sanded down smooth. See No.2

7. Should a pilot hole for a tuner mounting screw go all the way through the headstock.

Wood putty of a similar color will fix that. An alternative fix is to make all of them go

through so the effect is uniform.

8,. Should you have some extra glue ooze out and create the before mentioned Flen it's

alright. It adds to the structural integrity of the glued parts.

All of the above add to the “Character” of the build and make it unique.

I am sure I missed some build pitfalls, so feel free to add to the list if this resembles

you in any way.