Don't know if it's just me, or some kind of twist in the cosmic fabric. I built my first instrument, a Cookie Tin Guitar back in March of this year and have since finished eight more. Four canjos, built for the fun of building them, (two of them ended up being given away as birthday presents starting a fun tradition) and four CBGs, (two wood boxes and two paper boxes) because I love the sounds they make and each box seems to have it's own personality.

My last one, the "Junkyard Dog", is my traveling CBG, built out of some old junk wood I had laying out in the yard for two years and a Partagas Gigante box with the idea that I can throw it in the back seat and take it along anywhere and not worry about it getting beat up. Turns out it is the best sounding one that I have built so far and I'm learning (or it's teaching me) to play it now where it almost sounds like I know what I'm doing.

So far in my path to "collecting the whole set" as I tell my friends, I have yet to buy a box and they keep coming to me faster than I can build. Not complaining and loving the variety I have to work with. I have just started build #10, a pretty nice old cedar box given to me by an old friend who gave me the wood box for my 5th build. A while later a friendly local beer, wine, booze and cigar merchant gave me two boxes, a paper Macanudo box that I built for a musician friend as a retirement present when he left his job as a teacher and the Partagas Gigante that became build #9.

Along the way an old school buddy that lives in Nevada sent me a Rolando Reyes Sr. Viejo Presidente box that he found in a yard sale, my wife added a Santa Fe Corona Grande box that she has had for over 50 years to hold her sewing supplies, another friend gave me three large Cookie Tins, two friends have donated wine boxes for future builds, I have collected an assortment of nice cans and a giant Zippo replica for the canjo builds and today my friendly beer, wine, booze and cigar merchant gave me another lovely Partagas Gigante box and a small but beautiful Arturo Fuente Cuban Corona box.

It seems like I get two boxes for every one that I build and the more I build these things, the more I love them.

I started building CBGs for the joy of making my own music and something fun to do in my retirement when I can't afford to feed the expensive hobbies and it's really turned into so much more. Each build brings a chance to try something new, be a little artistic in my concept and have the fun of having it speak for the first time under my clumsy direction.

As an added bonus I have had the joy of hearing three of my builds played on stage by skilled musicians which really brought a smile to my face and gives incentive to keep on building and learning how to play them myself.

As my signature line goes on another site, "Life is good on the lunatic fringe". I guess I'll never look at a box again without wondering what it will sound like and I know that when I see some of the builds being done around here I think "I have to build one of those to add to my collection".

Sorry for the long winded ramble, just had a case of the "glad I found this hobby" feelings today and had to share. :)>