http://www.palmguitars.com/item.html#1529
http://www.palmguitars.com/item.html#1530
Just another type of resonators, based on gramophone pickups
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Hi chaps. Thanks for the great comments and advice.
Jim, I'll check that man out, thanks
Uncle John, It's not for sale ). Great encouragement, thanks and passed on to Tom, who I've suggested should join CBN. Your point about strengthening the corners...I had way too much resonance from the plate, especially B 4th fret, which I've managed to dampen with part of a beer mat jammed in under one of the corners. I guess new plates are flatter but they miss the character. Corner brackets (like on old suitcases) holding it to the box might be the answer - and look good, too. Nice suggestion.
Fomhorach, that's really the point, isn't it; make the machine and the music. I've written quite a few songs but never played an instrument. When I go back to the songs I can't remember what sort of tune I had in mind. My son built this and said I would be able to play it; he's right-ish. The thing is that I'm learning a new language with it and the play-along stuff in riffstation is a great way to improve my vocabularyand musical grammar; what chords/notes work well in a sequence or repetition and so on. Working on Bob Dylan's "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid main theme" at the mo and that's giving me ideas about sequences and stuff. Thanks for your response; that's my objective, too.
Bobby G and Derek Rose, thanks guys
Hey Grandpa; it sounds beaut, but I'm having some trouble with the pots. Took them out, blow dried and cleaned them but still not optimal. Part of the fun, though. Red oak sounds good.
I'm using riffstation (paid one and Beta) which I find great to see chords and play along with. "Country Honk" without the fiddle part is my fav challeng at the mo but I can pick from Utube with the Beta version and my own, vast, music collection with the paid one.
This is not an ad, btw, I'm just a newbie passing along something I find very useful and fun.
If anyone can help me I'd be grateful to be pointed to a good 3-string tab site. I've tried using the 6 to 3 string conversion method on here but just can't get it. Would be greatly appreciated.
Last thing; if any 3-stringers live near me (Croydon - ish, Surrey, UK) and want to get in touch, please ping me.
Happy plucking
Spend an afternoon making these bridges,better than using a bolt
1.The day before glue up a sandwich.These are 1/8" thick and 40mm. wide for 20mm. high bridges.The filling is 6mm. narrower
2.Mark out as shown
3.Using a 16mm. brad point bit drill until the point of the bit just comes through the under side,invert and drill through
4.Cut down the centre line and remove waste
5.Cut into lengths....lots of bridges
6.Bevel,radius or scallop the corners,sand varnish and add a saddle
Hejka, bywa tu ktoś z Polski? Pozdro
Ok, it's not exactly a tea chest bass, but it'a similar. Part CBG, part Cajon, part... crap from my garage.
Since I don't come across legitimate tea chests much (ever), I decided to take some leftovers from cajon building and make something a little more portable. Figured it would round out the bottom end of the collection too!
Box is nothing special. Roughly 8x12x18, 1/2" ply. Bottom is 1/4" ply. Top is 1/8" luan. Works great on my CBGs and cajons, so decided to give it a try. Top is braced to increase durablity, sustain and potentially damp the resonances a bit in an amplified situation.
What is special about the box is that it is slot loaded (ported/tuned) like a speaker cabinet. Computer modeled to 40 Hz - and it measures 43 Hz in the real world. Not bad.
Stick is a $5 tool handle from HD. String is weed eater line and already needs tightened. I used a 1.5" steel ring to act as sort of a capo/nut. Marked a scale length of 43" since that's the scale of an upright bass.
But what does it sound like? Sorry I don't have a sample yet, but it sounds a lot like an upright bass - maybe a little more mellow. Amplified, it sounds pretty much the same, only louder. So far, it's really hard to find the notes, but when you do, they ring true.
I have a lot of tweaking to do yet, but it's playable and a lot of fun. Three of my kids pounded away on it for 30 minutes or more, smiling all the time.
Why didn't I just make one out of a bucket or a wash tub? Where's the challenge in that?!
Autumn, and time for me to make the annual pilgrimage to Bremen to attend the Van Thom Weekender, accompanied by my travelling companion of old, Hollowbelly. It's an extravganza of alternative music organised by Andreas Reidel, aka DJ Tourette van Thom, and a great opportunity to catch up with old friends that we've made over the years. It was also a stepping stone for us going on to the 1st German cigar box guitar festival the following weekend.
It starts with Hollowbelly driving up from Devon to my gaff in the Midlands, and then heading off down to the Channel tunnel. On this occasion we arrive half an hour late for check-in (the first time I've done that) and we get knocked back 4 hours before we can get on the shuttle..not a great start. Still, it's a well trodden path for us, and once on French soil we are ready for the long haul ahead, expecting to arrive around midnight in Northern Germany after around eight hours of driving.
After a few hours we arrive at the dreaded impasse of Antwerp around rush hour, but this time we take the northern Leifkenshoek toll tunnel and have a trouble free run...cruising onwards across the Netherlands.
A quick phone call to Andy when we arrive on the outskirts of Bremen to remind me of his address and we are greeted by him at the midnight hour at the side of the road outside his house.
Breakfast at TvT's
On Friday, after breakfast we head off to scout out the venue, "Tor 13" (Gate 13) which is a unit in the old goods railway station in the centre of the city...very alternative and very groovy. In the evening we meet up with our old friends, some in the audience, some on stage.
The bar at Tor 13...constructed for the occasion and decorated with TvT's collection of cigar box guitars.
Chillin' on the loading dock... Photo: Till Billy
Mel O'Dee and Don Voigt rehearsing by the railway tracks.
Totally crazy that there's no fence, no security, no health and safety to stop you walking across the tracks and into the main railway station...but I guess that in Germany people are credited with a degree of common sense.
Flatbilly DeVille Photo: Till Billy
Smal Water from the Netherlands. Photo: Till Billy
Hollowbelly headlining Friday night at Tor 13
It's a long old evening, with 5 acts, and we didn't get back to Andy's place until around 3.am. I was sleeping on the couch, Hollowbelly took the air matress on the floor...living the dream as our friends constantly remind us.
So, Saturday arrived and the big deal was that Revd.Beat Man was going to be headlining. Nevertheless there were plenty of other cracking acts, all well worth catching.
The entrance to the venue...just out of shot is the yurt with wood fired pizza oven...very groovy.
Hanging out with Revd. Beatman.
Stringtone Slingers...a good-time outfit with a great authentic rockabilly sound. Photo: Till Billy
Vincent Slegers from Belgium. Photo: Till Billy
Karsten from Mack Drietens. Photo: Till Billy
Karsten and Sonja were kind enough to offer us overnight accommodation on our way down to the CBG fest, which was great, as their place was pretty much in the middle of our journey down south...this is the sort of happy co-incidence that can happen out on the road.
Revd.Beat Man bringing the house down on Saurday night. Photo: Till Billy
On Sunday we took the day off, and had a lazy afternoon watching the football, Andy's team Werder Bremen didn't get on too well unfortunately. It was our way of paying back the hospitality.
Mofo the dog watching football with us on Sunday afternoon
We had a few days to kill before our next gig at the German cigar box guitar festival, so we built a new set of garden gates for Andy.
At the DIY store buying timber.
Starting work..fortunately we had all the tools and workbenches with us as part of the gear we carry for the workshops we'd be doing later that week.
Taking a break after completing the job.
Back on the road after a few days in Bremen..and heading a long way south for the German cigar box guitar festival in Pleutersbach.
It's not all hard work, a civilised lakeside lunch stop on the way to our overnight stop in Wuppertal.
"Dius" the Magirus fire truck..our overnight accommodation in Wuppertal.
Relaxing in Karsten and Sonja's allotment garden. What a beautiful place, hidden amongst the houses and factories there's a maze of little leisure gardens, all immaculately kept and with little cabins where you can relax, have a beer and sleep over if you want, so different to the UK's version of allotments.
If you want to see what happened at the German cigar box guitar festival, check out my blog on Cigar Box Nation...
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/profiles/blogs/1st-german-cigar-box-guitar-festival
Andy..aka DJ Tourette van Thom..the man who made it all happen.
Thanks to illness, family matters, school work (I teach at my local community college), and life in general, I've been otherwise engaged for a couple of weeks. This afternoon, I managed to get a few hours work in, and took a few pics as I went along.
I finished shaping the headstock using a jigsaw, a flat file and a half-round file. Realizing that there was still a significant amount of glue residue hanging around, I used a cabinet scraper to clean up the mess. Then I decided to shape the neck. I started by using a router and a rounding over bit along the back of the neck as far as I could reach. I used a dremel with a small drum sander to rough in the rest. I also shaped the heel around the transition from single thickness to double thickness, near where the neck enters the box. This picture sort of shows the rough neck as finished.
Lots of sanding left to do there, but the shape is about right. At this point, I finally decided to cut the box opening for the neck. I used the flush cut saw to cut the vertical lines, then drilled a hole for my coping saw blade in order to cut the bottom.
The cut line is actually the gold border just below the drilled hole. Cleaned it up with a flat file. Here's the result:
And the other end:
Yep, I dropped the neck and dinged a corner, so I'll be trimming that off before I do anything more!
I also got the fretboard marked for 24 frets, made a test cut or two, and figured out where it's going to sit on the neck. Next task will be relieving the neck under the lid, final shaping and sanding the neck thoroughly, fretting, mounting the fretboard, staining, and finishing. Oh yeah, and drilling the headstock, which I FORGOT to do before I glued up the scarf joint. Gotta drag out my drill stand for that one. So far it looks like I may succeed in using every tool I have before this is over, but it's a great learning experience. I figure the second build will go a lot faster and easier, right, guys????
Me and Hollowbelly have been on the road again, this time to Germany. We'd been to the Van Thom Weekender in Bremen (more of that in another blog), and now were headed down south on another long drive to a tiny village called Pleutersbach on the river Neckar. It was a long and winding road about 40 minutes drive up river from the beautiful city of Heidelberg..and when we got there we astonished at how tiny and rural the place was...but the stage had been built in a barn just off the main street...there were two bars already set up, and our host Fabian Fahr was there to greet us.
We were shown to our accommodation, in a room above the barn, with our own ensuite hayloft, and after a bite to eat and a glass of beer we caught up with some much needed sleep.
On Friday morning we went up to the village hall to get all the gear set up for our workshop, as the street would be closed to traffic, as the event was part of the local village "Kerwe" or fete. On the main street the fire service were busy building a verandah outside the firestation, garages were being decked-out as pop-up Weinstuben, It seemed everyone was doing their bit, the local window fitter helped to construct a seriously impressive scaffold frame to cover the courtyard where the audience would be, complete with an enormous tarpaulin...presumably sourced from the local agricultural store, as it was big enough to cover a haystack. A pukka PA rig was installed, a forklift truck was shuttling tables and benches about, and there was an air of anticipation that something was definitely going to happen. A few people started to arrive...a couple of groups from the Netherlands...but I was still wondering how on earth there would be enough people to make the event go with a swing. Anyhow, me and Hollowbelly sound checked in the evening, and there was a campfire Bratwurst cookout.
Saturday we were up at 7.30am and off to the village hall, and after bit of a panic after I managed to trip the fuses for the power in the hall, our workshop was under way with 18 people in attendance. Fabian had done a great job in getting people there, and it all went well, with Hollowbelly taking on the bulk of the learn to play session. The workshop finished mid afternoon, just in time for us to pack away the gear and head down the crazily steep hillside back to the village for the start of the music.
So, it really was case of "build it and they will come"...more and more people started to arrive, more stalls had been erected in the street selling hearty German fare, and serious amounts of good German "Schmucker " beer was being drunk.
Fabian "Capt'n Catfish" and Nicole got the event rolling with a short set and the whole event really went with a swing. The audience were generous with their applause, and every performer without exception got a very warm welcome.
There were performers from Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and UK...
The crowd were enthusiastic form start to finish...despite the rain starting at about 9.00pm, the courtyard was well protected and the weather made no dent on the numbers or enthusiasm.
Here's Freidel Geratsch...a proper pop star with a German no.1 hit to his name! He's really nice guy and I spent quite bit of time talking to him and passing on playing tips to him.
Blues Tones
The courtyard during the evening sets
Vincent Slegers
Some bloke from the UK...
A pensive Hollowbelly backstage...in monkish mode
Hollowbelly finishing off the evening...benches had to be moved to provide more space for dancing! All in all it had been a cracking day - the local people were so welcoming and warm, and for a place with only about 500 inhabitants, it seems like at least half of them had turned up.
We weren't sure what Sunday would bring, and I was thinking that folk might start to drift away, but when we went downstairs, long communal tables and benches were being put together...and breakfast was served!
Sunday breakfast was an enormous pan of Bauernfruestuck - eggs, potatoes, onions and bacon (with a veggie alternative).. plus fresh rolls, tea, coffee...and beer of course. Again the place stated to fill up, and there was an open stage for people who weren't on the bill to have ago. There was also canjo making for kids, displays by other local guitar makers, pin striping custom paintwork on display..and out on the street pony rides, food stalls, wine bars and a duck race on the mill stream were just some of the things going on.
Of course, it being Sunday morning there was an outdoor holy mass, and during the day performances by the local band the "Muskkapelle Allemuehl"..I like them so much I bought their CD,
Hubi, the irrepressible and jolly one man band.
Cigar Box Henri and Friends jamming on Sunday.
Gumbo Guitars stand..and there were several others.
So, all credit and huge respect to Fabian aka Capt'n Catfish for organising an absolutely top-notch event. So enthusiastic, and a totally "can do" sort of bloke whose energy and warmth was evident even single minute of the event.
Completed my first CBG, though it was technically the second one I started building. Learned a lot, especially what not to do. Mainly, don't rush - some frets (cotter-keys) are a smidge crooked. It sounds really good though to my untrained ear. My second (no pictures as of yet) was the first I started and eventually completed - is a neck through that I put polyurethane on. Has same scale and box, but it sounds like a banjo. I almost hate to send this one off...
Check out this BBC radio for program Making History, WW1 and the Blues
How would I go about aquiring one?
So today I went for broke and scarfed the neck. First, I marked up all the locations, from the tailpiece to the end of the box, to both inside locations, the bridge location, the heel, the nut location, and the headstock length. Using the suggestions from the forum (thanks to all!) I located the scarf area and made the cut using a flush cut saw from Harbor Freight.
I placed the two cuts in alignment and used a belt sander to flatten the cut area. I used a miter saw to cut the neck to final length and to cut the doubler for the heel area. I also sliced up the wings for the headstock at this time.
Gluing up was an adventure. I got the scarfed area stabilized. Then added the wings to the headstock, then the doubler for the tailpiece area. The resulting assemblage of clamps looked like a piece of yard art!
Or maybe just a junkpile!
Once everything was solidly set up, I got out the cabinet scrapers and removed all the excess glue, then sanded everything lightly. I trimmed the corner at the heel, and did a quick overall dimensional check. Looks good so far. Now if I could only figure out where I stored my coping saw…or my sabre saw….. well, anyhow, tomorrow is another day. More to come!
I've been toying with building a Civil War Era style banjo. After a dozen CBGs and other stuff, I think it's time.
I have the pot and neck wood in hand, but decided it might be smart to build this virtually first, just to make sure it all fits together. Plus, I can take measurements off the drawing and minimize screw-ups (which are more common that I'd like to admit.)
Anyway, here are my Sketchup drawings. Obviously, the neck will get tapered and thinned. Also have to engineer the dowel, but this gets me close enough to start making some sawdust.
Hoping to post more as I progress.
Design parameters
600mm scale length, 20 frets. cigar box is 270 x170x50 mm
threaded rod as nut and bridge
string through on 35 mm overhang
600mm%20scale%20length%20fret%20guide.txt
thanks Jhono for the tips on getting the frets straight. i hadnt thought that far in advance . i envisioned just drawing a line and gluing them down. How hard can it be???
ok so any glaring mistakes? neck drawing is roughly 1 to 1 vertically and 30 to 1 horizontally.is bridge position too far in or not enough?
got this set of tuners coming so i will get a second go if i stuff this one up...
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/171889223445?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
just need some decent glue and some split pins and i will be good to start next weekend. The missus is off on a scrapbook retreat then off to Sydney to look after her godson for a week. so i can be messy and get away with it...ha ha .
gotta love it when you spend a few hours making a finger joint jig, and just about the time that you think that its running good, the index pin snaps off...hopefully the glue joint repair will hold up...oh well, enough whining for now
Hi everyone, my name is tim.
I have been playing guitar on and off ( mostly off tune) since i was about 13 when my step father found a handmade guitar under someones house when he was installing telephones back in 1973.
I have seen Cigar Box Guitars around over the years and always wanted to have a go with one. So i figure now is the time to start and after reading through the forums here and a intensive 3 week google self education binge it time!
I am going to start with some plans and ideas for the build. So here goes. Some/most of these ideas i have borrowed from this site so if i ever forget to mention who's idea i am pinching please forgive me.
I have 1.2M 40mmx18mm Tasmanian oak for the neck. i also have a 1.2M 40mmx8mm piece for fret boards.
I am going to use Wayfinders split pin fret method . I have some found booker rod cutoff i can use for the bridge and i will use a 5 or 6mm bolt for the nut. I am going to use a 600mm scale length 3 string instrument.
this is the box i have
this is a PDF of the headstock design
Headstock%20plan%20CBG%20first%20build.pdf
any ideas or better ways to do things Please feel free to let me know i am a very open and helpful person. Looking forward to payback all the knowledge i have gained from this wonderful site.
