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Pickup mounting hole and sound holes?

I am looking to build my first cigar box guitar over the summer however I have very little in the way of power tools etc.

I would like to build an electric version with a single coil pickup and two sound holes. Is there a short cut method for creating the holes (both the sound holes and for the placement of the pickup), without using a routing tool. I would like it to be reasonably neat but I appreciate a short cut method would not produce the same results as a dedicated tool. If this is too difficult without dedicated tools then would someone be able to recommend a cheap tool for the job that is suitable for beginners.

Sorry about my ignorance but this is going to be my first build!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

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Permalink Reply by Tom Gould on April 8, 2014 at 12:42am

Cheers Richey, I thought there must be some of UK dwellers on here somewhere! And Ive definitely found the problem you have mentioned with finding good priced boxes here.

I will start looking for local cigar shops. I have also found an unfinished cigar box on this site.

http://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/119635315/unfinished-wood-cigar-box-...

What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on April 8, 2014 at 3:56am

I'm sure it would work Tom, but it still ships from the US. So you'd pay through the nose.

Look at these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PLAIN-WOOD-STORAGE-BOX-CHEST-DECOUPAGE-SL...

Take off the lid, replace with thin spruce, stain the box etc and you get this:

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Permalink Reply by Tom Gould on April 8, 2014 at 5:06am

That looks great Richey! Where do you get the spruce from? Cheers

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on April 8, 2014 at 5:12am

From a model aeroplane parts supplier :-)

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on April 10, 2014 at 6:30pm

eek - forgot to mention that if you're using any solid wood for a soundboard you will need to brace it.

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on April 8, 2014 at 5:01am

Commemorative Walker's Chocolate boxes are a good substitute for cigar boxes, see my photos for an example.

You should be able to find them readily and if you have to buy a full one for the Mrs. to get the box it's a win all round. :D

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Permalink Reply by Tom Gould on April 10, 2014 at 6:32am

You have built some great guitars there robert! I will keep a look out for chocolate boxes as well!

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Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on April 9, 2014 at 4:03pm

Tom, take the time to make friends with the cigar shop owner. Talk to him. Tell about what you do with CBGs. Show him one, give him one. Build one for him on his favorite brand's box.

Today I was in in Wichita after being gone 3 years. Walked into 2shops, walked out with renewed friendships and 30 buildable boxes and an invitation to come back with 2-3 CBGs for consignment and a gig date. The power of friendship can do amazing things

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Permalink Reply by Tom Gould on April 10, 2014 at 6:34am

This is good advice, thanks Wichita Sam. Unfortunately I don't know of many stores in my area. The only one I do know of, I have already been in and been semi successful in getting a box but it is a fair bit smaller than what I want (8.5 x 5.5 x 1.5) and they don't get any larger boxes in unfortunately

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Permalink Reply by Muddy Creek Guitars on April 7, 2014 at 12:02pm

My wife gets all my boxes for me off of eBay.she can sniff out the good deals and gets me some beautiful boxes! Sometimes tobacco shops will give you one for free if you ask. That's how I started out. After three boxes they started charging me $5 a box. My wife can usually beat that price on eBay.