Newbie building Fiddle

Posted by Al Lyons on January 9, 2013 at 11:37pm

Hey Y'all, 

Greetings from the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, NC.  I'm a newbie interested in building a Cigar Box Fiddle. My Mama told me recently that my Great-Grandfather made and played a homemade fiddle, back in the day, barn dances and taverns and all that. I "saw" on a fiddle some, I'm not any good at it, but it's fun. I actually play guitar and piano, but there's something I really like about the fiddle, whether I can play it or not. Anyway, sweet Wife bought me a scroll saw for Christmas, been wondering "what to build, what to build?" Figured I would try to make a fiddle. So, I ordered a few cigar boxes from Ebay (although I think they might be too small), some uke pegs, a tail piece, some strings. I'm looking forward to sawing some wood - I will need some help from you all, too. Then we'll make some music!

Al Lyons

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Replies

  • thomas h. a. brown February 9, 2013 at 5:12pm

    hi al have not made any fiddles but here is a place to get tuners and may be strings    www.cbgitty .com or try  www.stewmac.com      keep on building    

  • ROBERT GREGORY January 23, 2013 at 1:31am

    Hi Al! Good to see a fellow Tarheel on the site. I am a NC native living in the desert n Utah right now. Lived in Mars Hill for 14 years and still have a house there. I plan on moving back by spring but to the Outer Banks.

    I haven't made any fiddles, but I have made 7 3 string fret-less CBG's. I can honestly say that they get better all the time. The real thrill is finding out what they sound like because no two are exactly the same.

    I have been kicking around the idea of fretting a neck, and I will get around to it. But I play a fret-less bass and I really like the sound of a fret-less neck. My next goal is a 2 string Cigar Box Bass.

    Hope you have fun and as always keep your eye on the saw blade. By the way, good girl that wife of yours!

  • Savage Mojo CBG January 10, 2013 at 2:23pm

    Hey there Al, I too am working on building a fiddle, it's funny the wife bought me a scroll saw for Christmas as well, so I am cutting a neck piece out of 1 3/4" mahogany, and using a Cohiba box for the body. I will pass on any tips I learn from my endeavors. I also don't play the fiddle at all, but I have played the guitar for thirty years, and I figure if I am passionate enough I can learn to fiddle around.

  • Thomas "Duck" Petry January 10, 2013 at 12:03am

    Welcome to the insanity Al. It's really not addictive. I built my first early last year, a Cookie Tin Guitar. Now I've added four Canjos and five CBGs to the list and I have another CBG almost done and eight more boxes and a bunch of cans waiting. Haven't tried a fiddle yet, but I have a wine box that might work and a larger six bottle wine box that I'm thinking may become a stand up bass. I really can quit any time I want to, I just don't want to as I'm having too much fun. :)>

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