Hello...I'm new to the forums and new to cigar box guitar building. In the last month, I've completed two guitars and really enjoyed the process. I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy learning to play them, though. I've been playing six string acoustic guitar for about 20 years now and really enjoy playing my Larrivee OM-3. That being said, I do want to learn to play some blues/slide on the second CBG I made. I plan to find some lessons online.

Here's the first one. I bought the neck (with fret slots cut in) and fret wire and did the frets myself. It's got some good volume. I used tung oil on the neck/fingerboard. I went with a "zero" fret for the nut. I didn't "dress the frets" -- do I need to, or only if I'm having issues with buzzing or something else?

Here's the second one. I was at an antique store and found the box and the aluminum strainer. I used red oak for the neck and fingerboard (staining the fingerboard ebony). This has a nice sound. The box is a bit big -- I'm thinking of playing it in my lap. I bought a slide for it. I just need to place fret markers on the neck. I broke about four strings trying to get the high G (tuned to open G) tuned. Finally bought a set of guitar strings and was able to get it done.

I'm just finishing up a two-string washtub bass and will post pictures of that soon. That was fun. I'm starting my next guitar today -- it will be a four string electric (piezo). Looking forward to that.

Thanks in advance for any advice, suggestions, or help you have to offer. I'm looking forward to using this forum and the knowledge of its members to help me with my building and playing.

Jay