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First cbg, some problems

Hello there!

Yesterday i discovered cigar box guitars and i was hooked immediately :). I started today with my build (a nice Free Cuba box i found years ago) and due to my inexperience and the difference between the box in the tutorials and my box, i made some errors. I didn't think about the need of a seamless transition between box and neck. I attached some pictures so you can see.

Because of the big lid, there's quite a gap between the neck and the box. Could i just glue another piece with the remaining height on top of my neck? Maybe also take some wood from the bottom of the neck to make it less bulky?

In addition, there's a gap inside the box between the neck piece and the top of the lid (around 1.4cm/0.55 inches). I've read that you can glue the neck and the box together or leave a little space, but that amount of space would be too much probably? So should I glue a piece on the neck inside to touch/come closer to the top of the lid? Would it be able to resonate properly? Or should I discard this project and start over with a new box?

Im sorry for asking this many questions, I'm just a little frustrated right now. I hope you can understand my problems.

Thanks in advance,

Toby

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on February 11, 2019 at 11:24am

Here’s a video of how to better prepare your neck for the box

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2W6A38lMgJ0&list=PLQoYJG1ht92f3gc...

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on February 11, 2019 at 11:25am

Welcome to CGB addiction. Don't be discouraged with your first build. There "WILL" be more. Use this one as a good learning experience.

Now to the current build. You "could" add a piece of wood on top of your existing neck to make it flush (or about 1/4" higher than the box lid, but I wouldn't. It's gonna look weird, weight too much and be a pain in the ass to play.

Instead, consider notching the box lid so the neck rest against the top-inside of the lid. then, notch the neck where it goes inside the box by about 1/4". That will raise the neck, when installed, to slightly above the top (outside) of the box. Look at photos of cigar box guitars on this site and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Now, there will now be an opening in the side of the box below the neck since the neck has been raised up. use a piece of wood (the slide in liners of a cigar box would work well) to build a nice looking neck surround that hides the hole.

You should now be close to a normal cigar box guitar. Work toward building it right instead of compensating for problems and you'll have a playable guitar.

Do some YouTube searches of building CBGs and you will find lots of helpful vids.

Good luck

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on February 11, 2019 at 1:12pm

Hi Toby and welcome, my first advise, and its what I do is not to glue my necks in, but to screw or bolt, easy if you have a lid that removes easily. Makes it easier to learn the tricks of setting up, I think.

Also as the top is the most important component in the acoustic sound chain, so don't dampen its vibrations by having it touching anything in side, except maybe a brace if needed.

Here's a few photo's of what I have done in the past. Left a few steps out but you should get the idea.

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Permalink Reply by Toby D. on February 13, 2019 at 10:55am

Thanks for all the helpful replies! Im definitely encouraged to fix my build and have ideas for the next box guitar. Great community :)

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Permalink Reply by Toby D. on February 13, 2019 at 10:57am

Thanks for the detailed reply. Didn't think of this but this looks like the best solution :)

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on February 13, 2019 at 1:20pm

Hi again, I rarely do a neck through, I mainly do as shown in the photo.

Two blocks. One inside [neck block] and another out side [ the heal], this increases the gluing area or in my case the bolting/screwing area.

Also allows for more air space in the box cos' no neck shaft.

Cheers Taff

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Walter on February 14, 2019 at 2:30am

Awesome design. on another blog i was going on about thru necks, but mentioned any thought out design works. This is a great example, very nicely built. Actually a setup like this takes more time and patience than putting the neck through anyway. Wood glue is truly an amazing thing, what they say about a good glue joint being stronger than the wood is true.