EASY TO BUILD CIGAR BOX GUITAR: AN UNCLE CROW STYLE CBG IN ONE HOUR!!

Today we're going to have a step-by-step cigar box guitar building class!  The total time to build is about one hour, not including the introduction video, or video 8, where we're just playing the guitar.



Build a three string, slide cigar box guitar with the following items:

Materials

  • wooden cigar box - $3
  • 1x2  - $1
  • three eye bolts, 3/16" x 3" , 24 thread - $1.50
  • six #8 washers - $.98
  • three wing nuts, 3/16", 24 thread - $.98
  • three 6/32 machine screws with matching nuts - $.98
  • machine bolt, 1/4" x 2" long - $.98
  • guitar strings, one pack - $5
  • three wood screws - 1 1/2" long - $.98


These items are really much cheaper than i list here. most of them are bought in bulk, so for just a little more money you could build a LOT of guitars. The prices listed above are the average hardware store price, if you were to buy the item in small numbers in individual bags from the pegs in the fasteners section.

Tools

  • drill
  • 1/2" paddle bit for three sound holes (you could use 1/4 bit with six holes)
  • regular smaller drill bits
  • phillips bit
  • hand saw (box saw is best)
  • sand paper


Additional items

  • guitar picks can be bought at most box stores
  • slides can be bought at home depot. go to the cabinet section, and ask for a 2" long 3/4" steel spacer. they cost $1.50, and are the best slides i've ever used!!

 

WORKSPACE, SUPPLIES AND TOOLS

 


NECK

NECK, EYE BOLT TUNER INSTALLATION AND BODY BLOCK


MOUNTING THE NECK AND SOUND HOLES


FRET CALCULATION AND FRET MARKERS

Fret Markings:  THANKS TO DAZEDLEMONPIE, the following fret measurements have been transcribed for us, and i've copied and pasted them here.

"i just written down all the fret measurement from part 5 of the video, I thought I would share it with those interested in building one.

The following are based on scale length of 59cm

59cm multiply .9439 (or any other scale length) equals your first fret location.  It should be marked as follows: 

  1. 55.6cm   
  2. 52.5cm   
  3. 49.6cm   0
  4. 46.8cm  
  5. 44.2cm  0
  6. 41.7cm  
  7. 39.3cm   0
  8. 37.1cm  
  9. 35cm     
  10. 33.1cm 0 (G chord)
  11. 31.2cm
  12. 29.5cm 00
  13. 27.8cm
  14. 26.2cm
  15. 24.8cm
  16. 23.4cm
  17. 22.1cm
  18. 20.8cm
  19. 19.6cm"

STRINGING IT UP, STRINGS AND EYE BOLT TUNERS


TUNE IT UP AN PLAY!


PLAYING THE CIGAR BOX GUITAR : COLLECTIVE SOUL - "SHINE"

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That's high praise.  Thank you.  It's the 3rd one I've built. 2nd with a big  angled headstock.  Need a different pickup set up. The neck turned out better than I could have hoped.  It's just right and the red oak is much better than the poplar I used on the other two.

 

Thanks again.

Here's my attempt at an "Uncle Crow Bo". :)

Didn't do eye bolt tuners, because I already had open gear tuners.  Turned out pretty well.  Has a nice tone to it.  I went "Swiss Army" on the neck and made it "multi-functional".  On the front it has "standard frets" drawn on, using Uncle Crow's formula. On the side though, instead of just marking the usual frets, I marked the frets for the "diatonic scale".  That way if someone doesn't know how to use the standard scale, they can at least play it as a "dulci-slide".


May just have to make all my builds this way. :)

Great job. Throw up a video when you get your groove going.

Hey arnold nice build!! i cant wait to hear how it sounds! I love seeing my concepts put to use. it seems that most people put thier own small adaption on when buiding it, which is awesome! Any little build trick or simple mod that makes the instrument make more sense or easier to play is a good one in my book!

Thanks for the compliment. Don't know if I'm gonna do a video. I usually don't because I really do more than "make noise" with my builds. LOL! I have had others play them and been quite pleased with how they sound. Perhaps I'll post a vid...I don't know. :)

Hey Crow....Is there a reason you attach the neck to the BOTTOM of the box instead of the top?

Is there a difference in sound?

that's a great question! yes, there are several reasons, almost all of them affect sound.

- appearance -
the bottom is usually the "odd" side, which would be unfinished or a different color from the rest of the sides, so to me it looks more like a "front" of an instrument.

- better resonating surface -
the bottom of the box can be a little thinner and would resonate better

- better sound transfer -
the bottom of the box is already firmly attached on all sides to the rest of the box, transferring sound better. the more solid, continuous resonating surface we have, the louder, clearer sound we will get. the lid is only attached on one side, making for poor sound transfer, and three sides out of four that only rest against the rest of the box, that could cause buzzing, rattling and vibration issues that would not only make unwanted sounds, but also lose the sounds we want to keep. remember, extra vibration interferes with the pretty sounds we want both in volume and quality.

- more durable -
the bottom of the box is already firmly attached on all sides and therefore the sturdiest part of the box to mount the neck. the lid is only attached on one side and therefore is the weakest part of the box. a paper covered box has only a paper hinge which can tatter and rip, and a hinged box has (usually) poorly made hinges that weaken in time. structually, the lid is the last place i would want to build anything that would require stress over time.

- clasps and hinges suck for music -
if a box has hinges and a clasp, they usually will weaken in time and develop rattles, which are noises we definitely don't want to come through when we are playing. mounting to the lid would make these problems develop pretty early because the neck would be a great long torsion handle that we are constantly handling during play, torquing the lid around and causing lots of problems

simply put, the lid is the worst place to put your neck. but one may reply, "why not bolt/glue/nail down the lid as a final step" my final reason?

- function-
i can build the entire instrument on the bottom of the box, and leave the lid completely intact, and still functional. if it's an electric guitar, i can open and adjust/repair it at any time, without having to de-string and re-build the guitar each time. in the case of an acoustic-only guitar, i cover all the interior seams with glue and once the neck is mounted, i glue the lid shut on all sides to make a nicely sealed box for best acoustic resonation.

sorry for the long answer, but it's such a great question, and it's a subject that i have learned a lot about through my builds. hope this helps.!! :)

Glad to see there's a lot more thought that went into the design than just simply, "Let's stick the neck on the bottom cause it looks different". ;)

I asked simply because on other sites I've been made to feel like it is a stupid thing to do, mounting the neck to the outside of the box.  It actually kinda tickles me (as well as irritates me) when I give my opinion on a CBG topic (on other sites) and people quickly "correct" me, giving others the impression that my way is wrong and their's is right.  

ALWAYS remember!  There's no "one way" to build a CBG. ;)

Dont listen to them Arnold...I did one with neck on top of box, this is a pic of it, and it turned out great and sounded great too.

http://handmademusicclubhouse.com/photo/farmer-teds-1st-dulcimer-st...

Looks great, Scott!  I'm thinking I might try my next one with the neck on the top of the box. :)

Absolutely! Neck-on-box is a great solution, especially for first builds, to get the hang of the finer points. there is definitely no "wrong" way to build. I checked out SCOTT AKA FARMER TEDs stuff, and as you'll see there, he likes building dulcimers - which is where i first got the idea for a stick-on-box design. Dulcimers are amazing instruments in their simplicity and were a major inspiration to me when i first saw one.

Keep up the great builds guys!!

..although it also looks as though farmer ted also makes some other.. incredibly.. more complex works too. WOW! :) beautiful stuff there!!!

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