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Permalink Reply by Roger Morin on July 27, 2009 at 10:39am

Well I am not much of a builder myself but most cigar boxes are around 6"X 8" and the biggest is around 81/2 X 12" a nice size would be around 91/2 X 8". As for the actual building look at the plans page it's all laid out for you. Take a good look at some of the simple builds that are posted in the photos. It's really simple to build your first cigar box guitar. After that it's really what you want to add to it.

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Permalink Reply by Jataomm on July 27, 2009 at 10:44am

Yeah, but I'd alrady built the frame by the time I thought about this ;-)

Still, I should get a reasonable volume from it...

Roger Morin said:

Well I am not much of a builder myself but most cigar boxes are around 6"X 8" and the biggest is around 81/2 X 12" a nice size would be around 91/2 X 8".

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Permalink Reply by JUJU on July 27, 2009 at 11:09am

wow Bro that's one large box ! - hey dont dispare we all do it - it's all part of the learning curve !
you mentiond using bridge pins that's what i'd do they look cool and you can place them right where you need them - if the box is gonna be glued shut bridge pins are ideal , or another option would be to make a tailpiece but start it off 2-3inch from the bottom of the box , other ideas would be a little l shaped bracket with the string holes drilled in it , screw the bracket to the box
whatever you choose to do try and keep the strings as low as you can so you have a break point over the bridge or you will need a string tree to pull the strings down to give tension over the brige
hope this helps
juju.

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Permalink Reply by Jataomm on July 27, 2009 at 2:16pm

It is indeed a large box and definitely part of the learning curve lol. Still, nothing lost :-)

Since I'm planning to play it slide I was reckoning on a bridge height that will make pins reasonable (I note on an acoustic there's only slight raise).

I'll try to photograph it before I do more, and when it's finished so you can all join me in a good chuckle :)

I was wondering whether to make it electric or not, but at this size I think I may keep it acoustic...

J

soundssogood said:

wow Bro that's one large box ! - hey dont dispare we all do it - it's all part of the learning curve !
you mentiond using bridge pins that's what i'd do they look cool and you can place them right where you need them - if the box is gonna be glued shut bridge pins are ideal , or another option would be to make a tailpiece but start it off 2-3inch from the bottom of the box , other ideas would be a little l shaped bracket with the string holes drilled in it , screw the bracket to the box
whatever you choose to do try and keep the strings as low as you can so you have a break point over the bridge or you will need a string tree to pull the strings down to give tension over the brige
hope this helps
juju.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Doug on July 27, 2009 at 4:04pm

If you have only built the frame, what would be hard about cutting it down some? It's only 4 pieces of wood, right? I'd cut it down to around 12" X !0", I'm think'n. Just my thoughts.

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Permalink Reply by Jataomm on July 27, 2009 at 8:15pm

Yes, it had also crossed my mind, I just hate tearing things apart which I've made ;-)
I have the boards cut to size too, but again, it's just a case of cutting in the end.
I'm sort of intrigued to find out how this plays now, and then maybe make a smaller one afterwards.

Paul Doug said:

If you have only built the frame, what would be hard about cutting it down some? It's only 4 pieces of wood, right? I'd cut it down to around 12" X !0", I'm think'n. Just my thoughts.

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Permalink Reply by Ben on July 28, 2009 at 2:56am

Hey man, having the strings terminate in the top of the guitar will put alot of upward tension on the top (might need bracing, etc.). Have you thought about drilling holes in the top of the box where you want the strings to come through, then drilling holes in the back that line up so you can just feed them through from there? I suspect that the tension may require a brace of somesort on the inside but at least then the top still rings freely. Another suggestion would be fashioning a trapeze style tailpiece. There is a type of paperclip called a "bulldog" that can be easily taken apart and have holes drilled in it. I've got one on one of my latest builds but it's screwed down instead of suspended. Hope this helps!

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