Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever - Cigar Box Nation2024-03-29T12:08:59Zhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/categories/other-stuff-off-topic-fun/listForCategory?categoryId=2592684%3ACategory%3A146453&feed=yes&xn_auth=nocrossover guitar.tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2024-03-11:2592684:Topic:38176972024-03-11T12:17:56.434ZTimothy Hunterhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/TimothyHunter
<p>I will try to keep this short if i can.</p>
<p>many years ago when i was about 10 my step father was a telephone installer for the PMG. T his is an Australian thing but it stands for Post Master General. it was the government bodu for postal services and telephone/telegraph services. </p>
<p>not rlelevant on a tangent already...lol</p>
<p>He had to crawl under houses to retro fit telephone wires etc. one day he came home with a guitar. It was a homemade thing and he made a wallhanging out…</p>
<p>I will try to keep this short if i can.</p>
<p>many years ago when i was about 10 my step father was a telephone installer for the PMG. T his is an Australian thing but it stands for Post Master General. it was the government bodu for postal services and telephone/telegraph services. </p>
<p>not rlelevant on a tangent already...lol</p>
<p>He had to crawl under houses to retro fit telephone wires etc. one day he came home with a guitar. It was a homemade thing and he made a wallhanging out of it by painting the back. not a good painting..lol</p>
<p>4 years later i inherit it when parents split and he went back to England. </p>
<p>i sanded it down and strung it with nylon strings because it had a classical style bridge. it had had steel strings on it and warped the top. i sanded the bridge to compensate staines it a red cedar type colour and did a poly finish... remember i was only 14. </p>
<p>i played that guitar for over 25 years on and off i loved it. .</p>
<p>so basically i want to recreate it. smaller body and a narrow neck 46 ish mm would be good under the 1"7/8 freedom unit mark. and a scale of 615mm or around 24.2" </p>
<p>without buying a new guitar can i put nylon strings on a steel string guitar ? do i need to chanbe the bridge first? do i just build myself a stick in a box 6 string with nylon strings? looking for the options and short commings of this idea? could i get a cheap second hand classical guitar and reshape the neck to a bit narrower? i would possibly have to replace the fingerboard with one say 16" radius?</p>
<p>i think the cheapest crossover guitar i can buy in Australia is over $700 AUD.</p>
<p>the whole point is to be able to quietly play at night and not wake the missus up! plus the nostalgia for a guitar i lost 24 years ago.</p> CBG site issues, continued.tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2024-03-01:2592684:Topic:38163462024-03-01T23:23:57.644ZTaffy Evanshttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/TaffyEvans
<p>Hi, I thought I would bring this discussion from the <strong>Guitar For My Grandson</strong> thread.</p>
<p>Hi again, I did not want to risk hijacking the original poster post thread.</p>
<p>I just found the back information section, at least I think that’s what you are talking about, took me a while, I had not seen it before, it appears to be listed under another website, so I have never bothered to go there, my bad. Having seen it, I can understand the concerns expressed about losing some…</p>
<p>Hi, I thought I would bring this discussion from the <strong>Guitar For My Grandson</strong> thread.</p>
<p>Hi again, I did not want to risk hijacking the original poster post thread.</p>
<p>I just found the back information section, at least I think that’s what you are talking about, took me a while, I had not seen it before, it appears to be listed under another website, so I have never bothered to go there, my bad. Having seen it, I can understand the concerns expressed about losing some or all of it.</p>
<p>The search facility is chock full of info too, I have not used that before either. I tried it with a question and had a choice of over 3000 posts on one subject. I do not have time to sift through all that, so posting a question and getting an up-to-date answer is the way I would go. Also, many other members benefit from the question and the answer/s, not just me, if I had found time to do the research. I would imagine it also keeps that search facility fresh and updated.</p>
<p>My thoughts were that if I bring the matter up again there may be a member with enough computer/web building nous, to help affect the fix. I do not use Facebook, other than my business page to post information, nor any other social media. I’m probably alone there. Old school, hahaha.</p>
<p>I did check the Facebook site and was disappointed, I scrolled back to the start of the year and all I could see was mainly advertising of one form or another. Maybe I did not search the site properly. I could find no builder’s info sharing, as I was expecting to see, as there is on here.</p>
<p>For me, this site, even with its faults, would be more beneficial to up-and-coming builders and players. I was also thinking of the frustrations I experienced back in the day when losing posts. The sad thing is, too often the person whose post was lost does not come back for whatever reason.<br/> Anyway, <br/> Taff</p> Happy new year to alltag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2024-01-03:2592684:Topic:38097832024-01-03T12:55:26.937ZTimothy Hunterhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/TimothyHunter
<p>well another year has started . cant believe im the first to post in 2024!!</p>
<p>I hope this forum picks up this year as its near flatline already. I think Taff is keeping it alive all on his own. </p>
<p>Without an official hand on the tiller i have my doubts we will survive this year. sad...</p>
<p>well another year has started . cant believe im the first to post in 2024!!</p>
<p>I hope this forum picks up this year as its near flatline already. I think Taff is keeping it alive all on his own. </p>
<p>Without an official hand on the tiller i have my doubts we will survive this year. sad...</p> What did I get for Christmas... Incentive, Inspiration Motivation.tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2023-01-11:2592684:Topic:37447452023-01-11T22:55:59.404ZTaffy Evanshttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/TaffyEvans
<p>Hi, this story stems from one cigar box guitar four years ago, a bit long but I’ll post it anyway…</p>
<p>Well, this last one was the best Christmas that I can remember in many a year. We spent it with my son and his family, they live on the other side of Australia 2600km away, so visits are few and far between, and since the onset of Covid, it’s been over three years.</p>
<p>What made it a trip to remember was that within that time my son Warren had started building guitars and I had not…</p>
<p>Hi, this story stems from one cigar box guitar four years ago, a bit long but I’ll post it anyway…</p>
<p>Well, this last one was the best Christmas that I can remember in many a year. We spent it with my son and his family, they live on the other side of Australia 2600km away, so visits are few and far between, and since the onset of Covid, it’s been over three years.</p>
<p>What made it a trip to remember was that within that time my son Warren had started building guitars and I had not yet seen, heard, or played one.<br/> Of course, the topic of conversation was guitars, guitars, and sometimes more guitars, in-between doing stuff with the rest of the family, and researching guitar-building information.</p>
<p>First thing was to see and play his first guitar, a dreadnought-style acoustic. As Warren did not want to mess up good sets of tonewood on his first build, he built this first one out of regular plywood, top, back, and sides. The tone and volume really surprised me, and I found it hard to put it down. Could be a lesson in <strong>it’s</strong> <strong>not what you use, but the way that you use it</strong>, here.</p>
<p>Warren had already built this first guitar and was about to box up his second one [Mahogany and spruce this time] with very little guidance from me, other than sharing the books from my library that I started with, and a collection of photos that I had taken over the years of my journey into Lutherie. It was great to see his interpretations of the building process, and his different ideas for jig building and machinery modifications. It caused me to think about what I do and why I do it.</p>
<p>I could also see that the challenges and pitfalls he faced now were the same as the ones I faced fifty-odd years ago. I also noticed, like me, he puts a lot of thought into what he does before doing it and he keeps in mind that the parts of the build you can’t see have got to be as well executed and clean as the parts you can.</p>
<p>We spent time talking about an issue he had with his newly braced back. We decided that the removal and replacement of all four braces and the redesign of the replacement braces was the answer. That turned out to be a great instructional opportunity. I thought he does a good job for an auto mechanic.</p>
<p>All this stemmed from one basic CBG kit I sent him.<br/> Now I’m wondering when I will be able to play this latest build. Hmmm.<br/> Cheers Taff</p> It's raining Mandolins, and that's not all....tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2022-10-15:2592684:Topic:37310632022-10-15T00:04:45.963ZTaffy Evanshttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/TaffyEvans
<p>Hi, do I need more work? …….no thanks. <br></br> The instruments that get left to me for whatever reason are piling up, even though I constantly pull one off the shelf when I can, in a quiet moment, and restore them. I then move them on to those who can use an old and often-battered instrument, but fully playable and reliable. <br></br> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842197477?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842197477?profile=RESIZE_710x"></img></a></p>
<p>Today I took…</p>
<p>Hi, do I need more work? …….no thanks. <br/> The instruments that get left to me for whatever reason are piling up, even though I constantly pull one off the shelf when I can, in a quiet moment, and restore them. I then move them on to those who can use an old and often-battered instrument, but fully playable and reliable. <br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842197477?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842197477?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Today I took ownership of ten such instruments. But I’m getting ahead of myself. <br/> <br/> In the first photo is seen various guitars, gathered over 30 years, waiting for their turn for repair and restoration. They are all in different states of disrepair and some are not worth the cost of the work needed. That’s why I have them. Although not worth the expense to the customer they are all repairable and I use them to try different repair techniques and hone my skills. And somebody will play them one day.<br/>
<a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842198473?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842198473?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a><br/>
In the second photo are a bunch of instruments left this year due to the cost of the repairs. Mostly orchestral instruments. Six violins, a cello, two ukes, and an electric guitar. All low-cost instruments.</p>
<p>And now today’s contribution to my workload. <br/> The next photo<br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842198690?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842198690?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a><br/>
<a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842199454?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842199454?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a><br/>
Eight mandolins, a Ukulele, a banjo Uke, and various necks and fittings ideal for “box” instruments. There’s a longish story about this stash of mandolins told by the builder’s son. His father built most of them, but that’s a story for another post, maybe. <br/>
Now, where can I store them??????<br/>
The answer is in the last photo….</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842200262?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10842200262?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>In my showroom/office. Cheers Taff</p> The not so hypothetical Construction Book- a lighthearted look at an alternative.tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2022-10-09:2592684:Topic:37303352022-10-09T06:36:13.909ZTaffy Evanshttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/TaffyEvans
<p>Hi, what prompted me to share this post was that whilst collating/reorganizing “stuff” accumulated over many years around my workplace, I recalled a post by Infirmary Citrus President suggesting the need for a hypothetical manual that could possibly fully cover the A to Z of the building and modification of Cigar Box Guitars.</p>
<p>It occurred to me said that I have that very thing here, whilst looking at the treasure trove of data collected on most of the popular stringed instruments for…</p>
<p>Hi, what prompted me to share this post was that whilst collating/reorganizing “stuff” accumulated over many years around my workplace, I recalled a post by Infirmary Citrus President suggesting the need for a hypothetical manual that could possibly fully cover the A to Z of the building and modification of Cigar Box Guitars.</p>
<p>It occurred to me said that I have that very thing here, whilst looking at the treasure trove of data collected on most of the popular stringed instruments for well over fifty years. <br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837518299?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837518299?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>What is seen in these photos does not include my CBG collection of plans templates and saved information.<br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837518484?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837518484?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Besides my collection of The Guild of American Luthiers publications dating back to issue one, I think around 1975 [I just received my latest copy], I still have copies of publications whose illustrations are black and white ink drawings, and date prior to 1975. Still relevant but now using more modern technics and tools. Plus books by the dozen.<br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837519265?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837519265?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>That’s a lot of valuable information. Lots of ideas from many different luthiers and repair persons and, lots of different ways of accomplishing the same goal on many different instruments, from many different workshops. <br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837519290?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837519290?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Now, newcomers, and us older guys, have the internet with all that information at our fingertips at the tap of a button. My need to be informed and to collect data has not changed, just the way I do it. Instead of shelves full of journals and books, I have a desk covered in external hard drives. Ha-ha.<br/> <strong>Possibly the best reference book you could have is one that you create for yourself, so start now.</strong><br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837519666?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837519666?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a><br/> Footnote: I had a hard drive die on me recently with 10,000 photos and other data lost, I have not lost any books or Manuals yet. Ha-ha. Oh, I managed to get them back and onto a new drive. Scary.<br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837519478?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><br/> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837520866?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10837520866?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a> Wakey, Wakey, Cheers Taff</p> Is it just me, site issues.tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2022-09-25:2592684:Topic:37278212022-09-25T23:04:13.533ZTaffy Evanshttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/TaffyEvans
<p>Hi, are you guys having issues viewing this site, or is it me only?</p>
<p>Taff</p>
<p>Hi, are you guys having issues viewing this site, or is it me only?</p>
<p>Taff</p> SWAMP WITCH GUITARS UNDER NEW OWNERSHIPtag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2022-08-19:2592684:Topic:37228852022-08-19T04:13:44.428Zthe anonymous pickhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/theanonymouspick
<p>Due to my recent battle with esophagus cancer , I will no longer be able to work on my guitars and continue running the swamp witch guitar empire .</p>
<p> <strong>HOWEVER</strong> ….. <strong>Have no fear</strong> !!!! </p>
<p>You will still be able to get the swamp witch brand guitars that you know and love .</p>
<p><strong>BEN BAKER</strong> at <strong>C.B GITTY crafter supply</strong> (CBGITTY.COM) now owns the <strong>legal rights</strong> to the swamp witch brand , design ,…</p>
<p>Due to my recent battle with esophagus cancer , I will no longer be able to work on my guitars and continue running the swamp witch guitar empire .</p>
<p> <strong>HOWEVER</strong> ….. <strong>Have no fear</strong> !!!! </p>
<p>You will still be able to get the swamp witch brand guitars that you know and love .</p>
<p><strong>BEN BAKER</strong> at <strong>C.B GITTY crafter supply</strong> (CBGITTY.COM) now owns the <strong>legal rights</strong> to the swamp witch brand , design , name , and all aspects of the business. I have supplied him with the brand secrets , blueprints , access to the same parts , same pickup , and treatments and tricks .. etc etc . Ben is the best candidate to do the job . he has the experience , the facilities , the staff , and parts supply , offering a faster turnaround time, and even a better artwork printing process than I used , (heck , I was using t-shirt transfer paper and a clothes iron .) Ben has a state of the art imaging process. </p>
<p>All this resulting in what I believe will be just as good , or possibly an even better all around swamp witch guitar in terms of play-ability and performance, and still have that swamp witch signature sound , available to you all soon, he plans to go into production in the very near future . </p>
<p>LOOK FOR HIS ANNOUNCEMENT SOON . I hope you are all as excited as I am to see what he comes up with , he may add his own take on it , improve it / change it, , offer new options etc ??? who knows ? it’s his baby now .</p>
<p>As for me . I will no longer have anything to do with the business , all orders etc... go through Ben from now on .</p>
<p>I feel l at peace knowing the the brand will live on now . and knowing it is in great hands . ;-)</p>
<p>I have nothing but mutual love , thanks , and respect for all my past customers , I’m sure the same sentiments can be shared and continued through Ben as he grabs the reins of this majestic musical thrill ride. Please welcome him with open arms . ;-)</p>
<p>Pick .</p> TinCan #7tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2022-06-03:2592684:Topic:37133132022-06-03T19:09:39.213Zjeff weinshttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/jeffweins
<p>Just finished TinCan#7 25 1/2'' scale tuned GDG maple neck and fretboard mini humbucker from CB Gitty</p>
<p>More photos and video at <a href="https://www.vtbscbg.com/">https://www.vtbscbg.com/</a></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10535517660?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10535517660?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>Just finished TinCan#7 25 1/2'' scale tuned GDG maple neck and fretboard mini humbucker from CB Gitty</p>
<p>More photos and video at <a href="https://www.vtbscbg.com/">https://www.vtbscbg.com/</a></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10535517660?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10535517660?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p> Tsugaru Shamisen , this showed up on my facebook.tag:www.cigarboxnation.com,2022-03-26:2592684:Topic:37033652022-03-26T12:03:36.057ZTimothy Hunterhttps://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/TimothyHunter
<p><a href="https://fb.watch/b_Ku2XVvkb/">https://fb.watch/b_Ku2XVvkb/</a></p>
<p><a href="https://fb.watch/b_Ku2XVvkb/">https://fb.watch/b_Ku2XVvkb/</a></p>