How y'all doin?
I've recently gotten it into my head to try my hand at building a cigar box guitar and I had a few questions I would like to ask. I've been slowly getting things together for my first build and I am stuck in 3 critical places.
1st- Nut height? I like a fairly low action on my other guitars and basses but I don't want my strings grounding out on the fretboard when I slide. Which begs the question what's a decent hight for the nut to raise the strings and still keep a decent action?
2nd- and this follows #1- Bridge height? I was thinking of using a Mandolin bridge but would that be too high? Is there a nut to bridge size ratio to keep strings level?
3rd- The tailpiece. I've seen several CBG's using small hinges as their tailpieces, which I think looks classy but how does it affect tuning, intonation and playability? I would think that having a movable part like that for a tailpiece would put a lot of play in the strings as far as intonation and tuning goes. Are my fears justified or unfounded? I'd really like to incorporate this into my guitar but I want something that is going to stay in tune once I get it there.
Any and all help, advice and/or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.
You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!
The saddle is just the part on some cigar boxes that line the inside and come right out, cut it to size sand it down a little
to bring the action down a bit and let it role
Thanks again to everyone for their input so far. The info has been great!
I have noticed the online debate about where to put the bridge on the box.
Is it better to have it towards the middle or closer to the edge?
Does it really make a great deal of difference?
Also, I have very limited tools.
What is the easiest way to make the cuts in the box for the neck?
I can make the vertical cuts with my small handsaw but not sure how I'm going to accomplish the horizontal ones.
If I use allthread or threaded bolts for my nut and bridge, do I still need to file grooves?
If so, I'm gonna have to find me some small files.
The nut slot can always be deepened, if some material is left there to remove. Cutting it to deep on the first try, will make you say extra words. The bridge can be lowered to your desire for your favorite string height. As far as in intonation, the only way to achieve real accurate intonation is to have an adjustable bridge, but this isn't about building a flawless work of technical art. I use a bolt for a bridge. Your tail piece will be fine if you are worrying about the hinge flexing. The string tension will hold it solid.
Nice trick! Learn something new every day. Thanks Jay.
I take it that you don't just lay the nut on the fretboard, rather lay it in position and place the penny on the fretboard/frets to get the gauge, right? Sorry, just want to understand.
-Wes
tinyguitars said:
Welcome William Make your nut 1/8" higher than the fretboard and then using Doc Oakroot's method of cutting the slots, use a penny against the nut on the fretboard and file down untill you hit the penny. Use a nickel for higher actions for slide. I use a triangle shaped file for this.This will get you quite close, and it is a very good method! Then using your torch tip cleaner to round the bottom of the slots so the strings won't buzz.
Good luck on your first try! Appears you have some background with musical instruments, but I'd suggest not overthinking at first. CBGs tend to be very much of a seat-of-the-pants thing....
For slide, obviously you want the nut height to be sufficient that you're not whacking the neck or frets (if you decide to use 'em)
On the instrument I'm playing currently, the strings lie just about 1/8" off the first fret. Just enough so that fretting at the first position is difficult.
Bridge height is determined mostly by neck angle, as you likely know. Most CBG designs have a pretty level neck, so the bridge tends to sit pretty low.
You can easily get around this by using an added-on fretboard. (Just a piece of 1/4" hardwood stock) This raises the strings a bit relative to the soundboard and adds a bit of reinforcement to the neck as well.
You can, of course, angle the neck; I used a 5 degree angle on the mandola you see as my sig.
If you have a separate bridge, the tailpiece is mostly out of the acoustic equation, as long as it's reasonably sturdy.
I've used simple brass or stainless-steel stock, and for a 3-string a brass picture hanger.
This design uses a piece of 8-32 threaded rod for the nut and a 1/4" eyebolt for the bridge. The tailpiece is the end of the neck that sticks out the end of the box. You will learn a lot about how to build one of these just by building it.
The most important thing you will learn is not to be afraid to modify something if it doesn't work out quite right the first time (for example, I found I had to put on a string tree to hold the strings down on the nut). If the action is too high, file the groove the threaded rod fits in a little deeper. If too low, shim the rod up a little with a piece of card stock. You will have a maximum of about 20 bucks invested in the materials, and if you REALLY screw up an important piece, it can be rebuilt for a couple more bucks and some time.
Work neatly, (some level of craftsmanship is important) but don't go crazy trying to make it fancy--it only needs to be playable.
Replies
to bring the action down a bit and let it role
Ishmaelprophet said:
Thanks again to everyone for their input so far. The info has been great!
I have noticed the online debate about where to put the bridge on the box.
Is it better to have it towards the middle or closer to the edge?
Does it really make a great deal of difference?
Also, I have very limited tools.
What is the easiest way to make the cuts in the box for the neck?
I can make the vertical cuts with my small handsaw but not sure how I'm going to accomplish the horizontal ones.
If I use allthread or threaded bolts for my nut and bridge, do I still need to file grooves?
If so, I'm gonna have to find me some small files.
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/photo/show?id=2592684%3APhoto%3...
I take it that you don't just lay the nut on the fretboard, rather lay it in position and place the penny on the fretboard/frets to get the gauge, right? Sorry, just want to understand.
-Wes
tinyguitars said:
For slide, obviously you want the nut height to be sufficient that you're not whacking the neck or frets (if you decide to use 'em)
On the instrument I'm playing currently, the strings lie just about 1/8" off the first fret. Just enough so that fretting at the first position is difficult.
Bridge height is determined mostly by neck angle, as you likely know. Most CBG designs have a pretty level neck, so the bridge tends to sit pretty low.
You can easily get around this by using an added-on fretboard. (Just a piece of 1/4" hardwood stock) This raises the strings a bit relative to the soundboard and adds a bit of reinforcement to the neck as well.
You can, of course, angle the neck; I used a 5 degree angle on the mandola you see as my sig.
If you have a separate bridge, the tailpiece is mostly out of the acoustic equation, as long as it's reasonably sturdy.
I've used simple brass or stainless-steel stock, and for a 3-string a brass picture hanger.
I would suggest simply building a stick-through-box model along the lines of the one in the "How to Build a Cigar Box Guitar" file at this link:
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/page/free-plans (you will have to cut and paste this into your browser)
This design uses a piece of 8-32 threaded rod for the nut and a 1/4" eyebolt for the bridge. The tailpiece is the end of the neck that sticks out the end of the box. You will learn a lot about how to build one of these just by building it.
The most important thing you will learn is not to be afraid to modify something if it doesn't work out quite right the first time (for example, I found I had to put on a string tree to hold the strings down on the nut). If the action is too high, file the groove the threaded rod fits in a little deeper. If too low, shim the rod up a little with a piece of card stock. You will have a maximum of about 20 bucks invested in the materials, and if you REALLY screw up an important piece, it can be rebuilt for a couple more bucks and some time.
Work neatly, (some level of craftsmanship is important) but don't go crazy trying to make it fancy--it only needs to be playable.
Best regards, Willie