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Not much progress and some thoughts.....

Even though I have wood I can glue together to get a nice neck I'm still looking for a source for more. Everywhere I go it's the same story. They can get it but it'll have to be ordered in. Which means I'll be stuck buying wood without seeing it first. Don't like the idea at all. It's not just wood I'm looking to get. It's a part of a musical instrument. Something I'm going to build and play. Means a lot more to me than whatever they decide to ship. I know of one lumber yard 40 or so miles from here. Privately owned. Really hoping they cary good woods. The only specialty wood shop I know of is a good 60+ miles from here in northern ST. Louis. Really cool place. Even has huge sheets of veneer. Kind of a drive. Hoping the closer place has what I need. Always driven by it but have never been in it. Huge place.

Did get a saw and end nippers. No one had a decent hammer. I'll go closer into ST. Louis tomorrow and continue to look for one there. Get all the tools I need then some fret wire and get to work with it.

Now for some thoughts. Just what is folk art. Using what you have to the best of your ability to create something. Doing crafts is turning junk into junk. I can't imagine someone, years ago, with no money to buy a guitar just slapping something together. Not even doing the simplest of designs and materials. It's outright obvious after viewing the vid of the museum slideshow,

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/museum-slideshow

that folks took a lot of pride in what they made. Those instruments were built to be played in front of folks. Real instruments. That's what I want to create. Something from the heart. The best of my ability with tools I can get, use and learn with. Just like the real instruments. Made from what they had, could get and with tools they learned to use. I don't need 50 cigar box guitars. Just a few really nice ones. I wan them to look and sound so good that folks think I spent a lot for them. I want to create real folk art. I want to create music on something that I had to learn a skill to build.

The reality is what I want to do and what I have the skills at this time to do may be two different things. But not for long.

Now about the cigar boxes themselves. I have a few that might be good wood. But for the most part it looks like its cedar veneer over particle board. Not worth the expense. I'm really glad there's a no rules state of mind here. Looks like I'll be making my own boxes. I have access to a lot of cedar and have a lot of pine of my own. Both are good tone woods.

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