OK--

My first attempt at building a $20 cigar box uke, per the instructions posted by Shelley Rickey:  EPIC FAIL!!

I blame myself entirely!  Here's my post mortem:

1.)  I used an old pine 1x2 that I found in my basement, left from home improvement projects by the previous owner--my wife's grandpa (who passed in '96).  WAY too soft to work with well.  Poplar--much better.

2.)  I made the headstock area WAY too small.  Didn't leave enough room for the tuning keys to be decently placed.

3.)  I made the nut VERY poorly.  A.)  I used wood I cut out of an old wooden ruler.  Too soft.  B.)  I didn't cut grooves, but notches.  They couldn't hold the strings decently.  C.)  I made it the wrong height.  Not sure what the right height would have been, but mine was wrong.

4.)  The zip tie frets didn't work out.  They were probably too big.  I used 8" ones.  That's the smallest I can find at Lowe's.  There have got to be smaller ones, that would be easier to tie on and make work as frets, and that wouldn't be nearly as thick.  But...where to find them?

So...I took off two of the tuning keys, put on two steel strings and made it a slide-machine guit.  (BTW, the body is a Christmas cookie tin, not a CB.  Just thought I'd mention.)

Oh well.  I'll try again.  With poplar.

4.)