Not done, but ready to play.  Sorry about the paucity of pics.

I built this one with a 20" scale length so the lower frets would be closer together, make it easier to play with my little stubby fingers.

I also built the fingerboard up higher than the face of the box so there would be room for a higher bridge and nut and still leave some space in the…

Launching a build on CBG #2. This one will have a 20" (506mm) scale length. I'm going to cut away (relieve) a significant portion of the neck behind the box top in an attempt to allow the top to resonate better, a la Shane Speal's "Dado Blade" video, but I'll use a router, 'cause that's what I have.
It's a pretty fancy box. I didn't take any pics tonight but I'll get some.

I got myself a playable CBG as of the evening of the 23rd of June, 2013.  I've been so busy playing it and messing with it that I didn't get up to posting about it until now.

'T'ain't perfect, but I guess that's life.  It plays, and not too bad.  since these pics I drilled a couple 7/8 holes in the sound board and put psuedo-brass grommets in them.

I…

Yesterday I got to put some major components together and get something that looked like a Cigar Box Guitar!  

I failed to order the necessary internal electronic parts - jack, volume pot - in a timely fashion, so although I've got my piezo rod pickup in stock I'll have to wait for Monday's mail before I can put in the rest of the internal parts and fasten the…

Lots of work around the house / yard yesterday, so I didn't get to the CBG until late.

Avid fans will recall that I cut three slots too wide with a high dollar manual miter box from Lowe's before smarting up and cutting the rest of them with a very narrow-bladed Stanley imitation Japanese pull saw.  Next I sanded down the fret board enough to fill the wide slots with sanding dust and then filled them in with glue in the hope that it would be strong enough to hold the frets in a…

Another not much, actually.

Yesterday I laid out the fret lines on my fret board.  I printed out a 20 fret scale from StewMac's calculator and laid the frets out in mm using a tape I bought from Duckworks for my boat project.  Measured from the nut.

Then I measured from fret to fret as a backup check.…

Well, on Monday (today's Wednesday) I went to Kansas City to a cigar store and picked up 8 cigar boxes for $24.00 plus tax. Three bucks apiece. Stopped by the hardwood lumber yard (Schutte) in KC and bought two poplar 1x2 and a red oak 2x2, all four feet long.  Laid 'em out in the shop to look at and make a decision.  Picked a couple boxes for my first two CBG's, measured the top thickness, and cut fretboards on the bandsaw.  Then came in and mortgaged the farm to CB Gitty.

The plan…