"I have used both pine and poplar on lower cost builds. It works BUT. You have to make sure your frets are very flat before tapping them in and you will have to drop some super glue on them. Don't over drive the fret wire or you get some too…"
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Michael Bowlin
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Neck and Fret Board material.
Started this discussion. Last reply by RON NORTHCUTT Nov 17. 11 Replies 1 Like
HiI am getting started soon on my next project. For many reasons I need to keep the cost to a bare minimum. I am going to use for the neck what I consider to be very unconventional, bordering on…Continue
Pin Tin Banjo
Started this discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Nov 1. 11 Replies 0 Likes
Greetings. My eldest daughter recently expressed an interest in a Banjo. I found these plans Make a Tin Pan Banjo - 1923…Continue
Electric Delta 3-pole Pickup
Started this discussion. Last reply by Neeraj Pardhan Jul 21. 7 Replies 0 Likes
HiWorking on my 3rd build. On my first I used this pickup from CB Gitty. Really liked the results so I am using another in this build. My question is, what the heck are the 2 springs included in the…Continue
Michael Bowlin's Page
Latest Activity
" I have actually used both high and mid quality Plywood on my builds-it is definitely doable. Depending on the ply quality, you may need to watch for splintering as you saw and file,may or may not have voids in the wood(in which case I…"
"Super glue the frets. :)"
"I've used pine for a fingerboard several times. There is lots of different kinds of Pine. You want tight fret slots if the wood is soft. I take a 99 cent yardstick from the big box store, cut my fret slots, then wipe on a coat of shellac, let…"
"You can pick up a 1/4" x 2" (1.5 actual) x 24" piece of Red Oak for 3 bucks at Lowes. Makes a great fingerboard."
"Yes, that is my plan. Edge grain up. Then laminate a solid wood for the Fretboard. I'm hoping I can find some source for this other than the hardware store. Yes, I can afford to go buy a little wood. But for reasons I don't need to go into…"
"Thanks, I fixed the post."
"Michael, if you look up above the title of your discussion, next to the add button, you should see an “options” box? There’s an edit as well as a delete function in the pull down menu? "
"General rule of thumb is the fretboard material is harder than the neck wood. Softwoods like commercial white pine will give less stability & sustain, & at some point the fret ends will come loose unless you glue them in? You can get a…"
"Hi, If I used ply for a neck, for stability I would have the ply run upright. So instead of [with the ply I have] being 13 plys thick it would be 26 plys wide by joining two strips, and as thick as you need. Like some Martin guitar models'…"
"ok, that got away from me fast. Bumped the keyboard and that posted way before I was ready. And I can find an option to edit or delete. "
nFret Board material.
HiI am getting started soon on my next project. For many reasons I need to keep the cost to a bare minimum. I am going to use for the neck what I consider to be very unconventional, bordering on taboo, plywood. Now don't go jumping up and down. Nice cabinet grade oak ply. Yes, it's going to look wonky. But oh well I have it on hand and I can save money for the parts I have to buy. Now for the fret board itself, the only thing else I have on hand is our old waterbed from 1980. Its 5/4 pine and…See More
"Hi, that string looks lower possibly due to the fact that it is touching the 5th fret and the others are coming off the fingerboard nut. If you fingered the other strings to the 5th fret, they would look the same height as the 5th string off the…"
"Hi Taffy and Brian Q. your inputs have been great and I am planning on getting a start for this build this weekend. I still have just a bit of confusion over this 5th string. I understand it is a drone. From the look of the picture Brian Q posted,…"
"Just so everyone is on the same page. My daughter is 34. From what I am seeing 26 inch is pretty much the norm, so that is what I am going for. I have moved away from the Pie Tin idea and leaning more to the Cookie Tin idea. I like this one.…"
Profile Information
- How did you learn about Cigar Box Nation?
- Internet
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- 2
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- Love Building. Just learning to play. Great sound, great look.
Comment Wall (1 comment)
- At 6:53am on December 13, 2021,
BrianQ. said…
Welcome, check out the Resources tab for build/play info and join some groups located in the Posts tab? Forum is for questions and Blog posts are for sharing your build processes? Site has a glitch, here’s the trick:
The Essential Pages
Recommended Links & Resources
- CigarBoxGuitar.com - the knowledgebase of the homemade music movement.
- Cigar Box Music - How-to-Build CBGs DVDs, How to Play CBG and more!
- 3-String-Guitar.com - John "Red Dog" McNair's unique take on cigar box guitars and their history - lots of historic photos!
- The Cigar Box Guitar Manifesto - the mission statement and rallying cry for the Cigar Box Guitar Revolution.
Forum
Building with vintage paper/pressed board cigar boxes.
Started by Chance in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion 5 hours ago. 0 Replies 0 Likes
Cigar Box Nation Christmas Album 2023???
Started by Skeesix in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts 22 hours ago. 0 Replies 0 Likes
Fat Back Neck
Started by Jim Booth in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Carl Floyd yesterday. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Sliders only.
Started by Chance in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans on Tuesday. 12 Replies 1 Like
Back of the box or the lid?
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Justin Stanchfield on Sunday. 8 Replies 1 Like
Sound holes, do we need them?
Started by RON NORTHCUTT in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Justin Stanchfield Nov 23. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Sound holes, do we need them?
Started by RON NORTHCUTT in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by RON NORTHCUTT Nov 23. 3 Replies 0 Likes
Neck and Fret Board material.
Started by Michael Bowlin in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by RON NORTHCUTT Nov 17. 11 Replies 1 Like
Cigar box piccolo ukulele string gauge
Started by Tracy Glenn McDougal in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by BrianQ. Nov 13. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Aw, nuts......
Started by James Pobog in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Order99 Nov 6. 11 Replies 2 Likes
Latest build.....
Started by James Pobog in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Nov 4. 1 Reply 4 Likes
humbucker height
Started by Mel Cooke in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Mel Cooke Nov 4. 5 Replies 2 Likes
Pin Tin Banjo
Started by Michael Bowlin in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Nov 1. 11 Replies 0 Likes
EBE tuning
Started by Thomas A Morphew in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Carl Floyd Oct 30. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Attention New Members
Started by BrianQ. in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by BrianQ. Oct 28. 1 Reply 5 Likes
Buzzing strings when fretted. Frets look good. I have a zero fret license plate guitar. Break angle I can inprove at the nut however the buzzing is coming from the bridge, I used a banjo bridge.
Started by Robbie in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Oct 25. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Building a gas can guitar
Started by Dave Roy in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Oct 21. 3 Replies 0 Likes
String Gauges??
Started by Jim138 in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by BrianQ. Oct 14. 6 Replies 0 Likes
First licence plate build
Started by Michael Myers in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by BrianQ. Sep 16. 10 Replies 0 Likes
What's on your workbench?
Started by Paul Craig in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Carl Floyd Sep 8. 2270 Replies 20 Likes
Blog Posts
Who will be the first to embed GO in CBG? =)
Posted by Vlad on December 6, 2023 at 12:17am 4 Comments 1 Like
Man & A Half ~ the Delta Blues Outlaws
Posted by billy jones bluez on December 2, 2023 at 12:33pm 0 Comments 1 Like
My first CBG from Captain Nemoff.
Posted by Vlad on November 29, 2023 at 3:41am 0 Comments 1 Like
I have not been 'round in a long time.
Posted by Craig Mayhem on November 22, 2023 at 11:28am 2 Comments 1 Like
New Album 2023
Posted by Gary O'slide on November 5, 2023 at 2:41am 0 Comments 1 Like
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