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Permalink Reply by Ronny on November 13, 2014 at 11:08pm

I'm kind of "out of action" for the moment. Bad case of the flu...
Meanwhile, I did check out lots and lots of comments on cigarboxnation and lots of clips on youtube.
I see that I am certainly not alone in being a first timer and also not alone in my age group!

Since my woodworking skills are only a little better than my music comprehension, I decided to start with:
Unlce Crow 1-hour build videos as example for my practice guitar. No need to go fancy (yet).
I do have 3 real guitar tuners so I will use those and mount them in reverse. By that I mean, 3 small holes in the neck to put the strings through, 3 bigger holes for the tuners and screw those on the top of the neck instead of the normal method (underneath).
Also thinking of using a smaller box to start with so as not to make to much noise. Otherwise, one day, I could find my new precious guitar broken in the dumpster if the wife can't watch her series on TV!
To have less audio volume, do I need to put holes in the cigar box or better leave it whole? Neck on top of the lid or on top of the base?
As always, thanks for the encouragement and advice!

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on November 14, 2014 at 12:00am

ok  ..  now  you   got    a  "learn  in an  hour  "  and a build  in  and   hour  "  tip.

 we are awaiting your   video   in  2  hours  . 

;-)

 get  er  dun ..  ;-)

ok....  after the  flu  ;-)

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on November 14, 2014 at 2:20am

guy's sick pick 2 hrs at least

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Permalink Reply by Ronny on November 14, 2014 at 2:31am

Haha, first of all I'll need some time to find a hardwood stick of the right dimensions (+- 2 x 4 centimeters that is), it seems not to be as easy here as wherever you're living. Soft wood is plentiful in my local "home depots".

But what I'll do tomorrow is upload a picture of the box and tuners I will be using.

The box is kind of interesting, you'll see. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Ronny on November 14, 2014 at 3:05am

My "flu" willing, I'll take my car tomorrow  and get in touch with a carpenter or wood store.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on November 14, 2014 at 9:05am

actually  . with  a small .  light,  box  like  that  , i'd   go   with  poplar  and  make    it less  neck  heavy    and more   balanced  .    if  you  can  find a nice  piece  . 

. ps  ..  you  still  have   room   for a neck  through ,  it  may  be a consideration  with such a  nice  picture . maybe  add  a thin pup  instead of   accu    or piezo . worth  thinking about  .  or  save  this  box   till after  some  experience  .  ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Ronny on November 14, 2014 at 6:26am

As promised here a picture of my little box, 1.1" x 5" x 10.5".

A little small for a thru-neck, isn't it?

What about the nice picture? Original picture but glued on off course.

Once I have the neck and the "1 hour video" it will probably take me about 3 days to finish that project :-)

Attachments:

• P1010415.JPG, 59 KB
• P1010416.JPG, 53 KB

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Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on November 14, 2014 at 6:54am

Box looks cool with that picture. It may be small in depth and width, but the length is similar to the typical boxes you see here. And if you're doing a three string, it will be fine. For scale length, I don't see any reason to make it short (21-22")...a length of 24 to 25" will work out fine, and you can use standard strings to get the tuning you want. The ADG strings from a standard set with the A tuned to a G will give you the GDg tuning you mentioned.

You may also consider bridge placement behind the left horse, so the full picture is visible when completed. But, that's just my two cents.

Have fun.

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on November 14, 2014 at 8:22pm

Like Wayfinder said check your internal clearance top to bottom. If there is not enough clearance inside there are alternatives.

Here is a to scale mockup of the difference between a 25" scale and 22" scale neck with a 4" headstock on a box with the dimensions you posted.

The red blocks are bridge and nut. For the purpose of illustration the scale length is the inside distance between the two.

Placing the bridge approx. 1/3 of the way in from the end of the box will place it between the two riders in the foreground of your image. This is done for physics related reasons. !/3 to 1/2 in from the end is the sweet zone for top resonance.

Placing the bridge closer to the edge so as not to interfere with the image will result in compromised sound quality.

Placement is entirely up to you. But are you making an instrument or a pretty box for the wife to store her bits and bobs?

Scale length and strings...tell you what, you decide your scale and tuning and I'll tell you exactly which strings to buy.

Tuning, there is some lack of clarity between tuning and key because the term tuning is used loosely.

GDG is the key of G in 151 tuning.

151 tuning refers to the root note, the 5th note, and the root one octave higher.

DAD, EBE, AEA, CFC, etc are all 151 tuning in different keys. Regardless of which key you decide to adopt the playing positions will be the same for a 151 tuned instrument.

What this means is that if you are tuned DAD and the video you are watching is in GDG following the positions will be correct you'll just be in the key of D and vice versa.

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Permalink Reply by Ronny on November 15, 2014 at 3:34am

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the advice and help.
Yes, that little box is way to pretty to make an on the lid neck.
So I will go for a through-neck. Inside measurement of the box: a bit under an inch (0.86), so no problem there.

But nothing is quite that easy... I did buy a stick (8ft) of hardwood, called "meranti" here (brown/reddish color), but the measurements are: 0.75" x 1.2". So the 0.75 is perfect for the thickness of the neck but the 1.2 is smaller than the 1.5" mostly used for a cbg.
Anyway, I'll start with that wood, if it turns out that the strings are too close together, the hole made in the box can always be made larger for a neck of the proper size. I will put the two external strings just 1mm (0.0394" ;-) ) from the outside of the neck. Do you agree or should they be more on the inside? Think I should do it differently, finding the right stick of wood first maybe?

I'll go for the 25" neck for the moment since I already subscribed for the 'starter pack" in "learncigarboxguitar.com" and the lessons/examples are all in GDg. I suppose having the exact same notes on my box as in the examples will make it a lot easier.
And thank you Robert for the proposed help on choosing the right strings. I sure will need it!
Now, if I can get the GDg notes out of a shorter neck I'm more than willing to try it.

All your responses really made it easier to continue with this project, I am almost convinced I may get there!

Now about the box and my lovely wife. If it had been a steamer trunk then she would probably have objected. A little thing like my cigar box is unlikely to contain all her bits and bobs...

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on November 15, 2014 at 8:42am

Ah now, it's still easy. :-)

A 1.2" width is fine for three strings, consider that 1.6" (40mm) at the nut is fairly common on 6 string guitars.

You see 1.5" a lot on here because 1.5" is a standard off the shelf dimension for lumber in the US. A milled 1x2 in the US is .75" x 1.5".

A 1mm inset is too close to the edges. Mark the center line and measure 10mm to either side. That's your string spacing and the leftover 5mm on each side is your inset. You could even go up to 12mm spacing between strings if you like.

Having the same notes will make it easier to follow along since it will sound the same as the example.

Now as to scale length, you are not restricted to 25" for GDG. If you like a shorter length I can tell you which strings will give those notes at any reasonable scale you choose. A shorter scale neck with the right strings will simply mean that the notes are closer together. Less distance to slide to hit the notes. :-)

I mouth off for quite a bit over on one of Tom Temple's threads about picking strings but I thought that might bit a little overwhelming to you at this stage so I don't mind calculating your strings for whichever scale you decide to use. Trust me it's not an imposition, it will take less time to do than discussing it has taken.

LOL Sure that little box of yours wouldn't contain all the wife's bits and bobs but it could hold the ticket stubs to the event where she decided you are the one, that lock of hair from a child's first hair cut, the odd photo or two of family and home, the letters sent while apart, small trinkets of little physical worth but priceless personal worth and so on...

Anyway get your parts together, decide what you want then think about it before making  any cuts. If you are not sure on something ask. There is a good talent pool to draw from on this site.

Don't worry about being new or not having a lot of knowledge yet. Think about it, every single one of us has been at the place you are right now.

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Permalink Reply by BUGGY (C) on November 15, 2014 at 10:08pm

25.5 fender scale is good... but I have just slapped strings on almost anything and it seems to work

chose your strings wisely though..

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