First Build - Minimum Box Size? - Build a Cigar Box Guitar 101

Hello CBN,

I'm approaching my first build and my thoughtful wife brought me a load of boxes from a local resale shop for a whopping $3.00 for the bunch!

But, are any of them suitable for a 25.5" acoustic slide build? See photo below.

The Punch and the Montecruz are very thin, so I'll use them for electric builds later on. Or is it possible that it might actually be easier to do a piezo electric build first and explore acoustics later.

The White Owl box has a cardboard bottom, so it sounds pretty dead.

The La Escepcions measure 7.5" x 7" x 1.5" INSIDE. The 1.5" depth is less than recommended, but they might be candidates for a first build.

Then there are the gorgeous IMHO, solid wood, antique Muriels which sound glorious when tapped. Alas, they are 7" x 4.5" x 2" INSIDE.A little small for a long scale acoustic? I might like a 23" tenor scale, but I really would rather not use them for ukuleles. Also, I know the antiques need extra care, which I may not yet be experienced enough to deal with.

Or, do I just get a bigger box that's definitely suitable for a long scale acoustic and leave these boxes for specialty builds later?

So, what percentage of you are thinking, "Good grief, dude, its a CBG, just start building"? My guess is it's probably very close to 100%, LOL!

Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Bob

Replies

the anonymous pick February 22, 2018 at 1:23pm

Too small ? pffft .... tiny still works ;-)
- Bob Herget > the anonymous pick February 22, 2018 at 2:52pm
  
  Wait a minute.................., another minute......................., almost ready...................,
  
  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
  That's, yeah, that's, uh, yeah, that's absofreakin'lutely awesome!!!
  
  I love the leg rest, the tuners, plumber's strap, everything.
  
  Is she a delicate flower, or is she up to ten rounds if called upon? Or maybe somewhere in between?
- the anonymous pick > Bob Herget February 22, 2018 at 3:00pm
  
  Thanks man she's pretty rugged, but I wouldn't toss her down a flight of stairs. strap is a berry box handle.leg rest is a potato masher and a metal arm band.
- Richard Dean > the anonymous pick February 22, 2018 at 1:37pm
  
  tiny....I see your tiny and raise you an itsy bitsy
- the anonymous pick > Richard Dean February 22, 2018 at 1:53pm
  
  yup , those altoids pop up now and then . is that your build Richard ?
- Richard Dean > the anonymous pick February 22, 2018 at 2:00pm
  
  no, just something I saved because my wife uses these mints(another brand) but the same size, so I'm thinking a piezo powered didley bow, have a ton of these things bagged up.
- Thomas "Duck" Petry > Richard Dean February 22, 2018 at 1:49pm
  
  If you don't get ideas from all of this you could have a problem...Grab a box and build something. The first build gives you something to play with while you plan the next build and it just goes crazy from there.
  
  If you run out of boxes, cookie tins work fine as banjo/resonator type things.
- Bob Herget > Thomas "Duck" Petry February 22, 2018 at 2:37pm
  
  Oh, I've got ideas, all right. My wife's pressure cooker gave up the ghost the other day, so I'm planning on cutting the pot down to about skillet height, then transitioning up to a box to mount a license plate on. I have no idea what it might sound like, but I'm gonna give it a try.
- Richard Dean > Thomas "Duck" Petry February 22, 2018 at 2:02pm
  
  nice, I have some round tins, saved your pic to inspire a future build....sorry for the thread hijacking.
Richard Dean February 22, 2018 at 1:04pm

Personally, I like the "La Escepcion", I'd brace all the sides front and back with wood, do a through neck, and as far as scale, just make the neck as long as you need to achieve it, add as many frets as you want, doesn't mean you need to fret the neck the entire length.

something like this, but not with your punch box which is smaller

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