My interest is in building cigar box ukes. My first CBU was a tenor scale built from an Avo box, and while it looks good, the sound is rather thin with its thick plywood top. I'm working on #2 and #3 right now, and I expect them to be a lot better, as one is from a Davis 1886 Redwood box, and the other is a DIY trapezoid from Sitka Spruce and Red Oak. Some well known master luthiers have built top of the line smaller ukuleles with either the Davis 1886 box or the House of Windsor Palmas box. I have done a lot of searching, and found several other older boxes from various brands that are made from premium quality wood, but they all have the same thing in common: they are small, most under 9" on the long edge. That's good for a soprano or concert scale uke, but far too small for a tenor or baritone.
Does anyone know of any larger cigar boxes that are made from high quality wood that isn't extra thick? I do have the capability of making my own box, but that sort of defeats the purpose of repurposing a nice cigar box. I did find one old and large (14 x 6 x 3) redwood box on eBay, but it wasn't in the greatest shape and the asking price was a lot higher than I was willing to go. I don't even know if many larger boxes were built from good quality wood (not plywood), but I thought I'd throw this out to see if anyone has any info they can offer.
Tony
Tags:
After much searching since I made the above post, I ended up purchasing two large boxes on eBay this morning. One is a 1960 "Awful Bills" Redwood box that measures just under 12" x 8" x 3". It will become a tenor CBU. The second is a Don Tomas Spanish Cedar box that measures 12" x 8" x 4". It will become a baritone CBU. My wife asked yesterday what I'm going to do with all of these cigar box ukes. Play them, I guess. My little office/music room is getting a bit crowded, though.
Started by J. D. Woods in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Southern Ray on Friday. 8 Replies 1 Like
Started by Southern Ray in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Southern Ray on Friday. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Started by J. D. Woods in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by BrianQ. on Thursday. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Rich Butters in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Crazed Fandango on Tuesday. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Nomad Jack in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by J. D. Woods Apr 17. 7 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Moritz Voegeli in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 14. 6 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Apr 10. 14 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Tom T in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 9. 9 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 4. 7 Replies 1 Like
Started by Timothy Hunter in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 27. 1 Reply 2 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 10. 1 Reply 3 Likes
Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by BrianQ. Mar 9. 4 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies 1 Like
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Ken I in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Brian partington Mar 8. 8 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Cool gear discussion - that's not cigar box related. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 6. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 5. 4 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Carl Floyd Mar 1. 15 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Joe in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Carl Floyd Feb 29. 13 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Chance in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 22. 12 Replies 1 Like
Posted by Vlad on March 31, 2024 at 11:48pm 0 Comments 1 Like
Posted by Vlad on March 6, 2024 at 2:32am 5 Comments 2 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 28, 2024 at 2:09pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 17, 2024 at 11:00pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by Vlad on February 11, 2024 at 1:06am 1 Comment 1 Like
May 11, 2024 from 11am to 8pm – Speakeasy Grill
0 Comments 0 LikesMay 30, 2024 from 6:30pm to 10pm – The Casual Pint of Huntsville
0 Comments 0 Likes© 2024 Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker. Powered by
Cigar Box Nation is presented by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, your one-stop-shop for Cigar Box Guitar parts and accessories!