Blogs

All Posts (1994)

Sort by

About Cuban Cigars

Posted by Sam Alien on January 24, 2010 at 6:11pm
Cuban Cigars originate from Cuba. There are lots of things you'll find fascinating Cuba and what it is famous for. It is a small island that is located just few hundred miles away from the Florida coast. It is mostly famous for its rum, dancing and women.Cuba is very famous for its world-wide famous cigars. They are considered to be the best as well as expensive ones. They have become a style icon as well and these have also been labelled as the forbidden fruit; it is because of their unique flavor which you won't get anywhere else. All the production is carefully controlled by the government. These are made up from tobacco, wrappers grown and fillers; being manufactured in Cuba only. One unique fact about is that they are hand-rolled. These hand-rolling is done by the masters in this field; also known as the torcedores and they are highly respected. It is, to an extent, illegal to use in the United States of America.CUBAN CIGARS are so famous that even many non-cigar smokers know it or at least have heard of it. It is always been regarded as the finest and the most tasting brands available world wide. Another reason why they are so famous is that it is really hard to get them. Solo offer an extremely good market for the purpose of importing and exporting it to hardcore cigar lovers worldwide. Today, there are various brands of available like Montecristos and Coronas Especiales. As mentioned earlier, its distribution in the US is illegal to some extent; however, there is currently no outright law that forbids their presence in the United States. Recently, the embargo on the Cuban products were altered by the Department of Justice; making it allowable to bring some amount of it from Cuba visit; which is approximately two boxes and that's for personal use only. There are various private hotels and casinos or bars where they are sold and they have been working in this way with almost no or very little problems over the recent years.If you are a Cigar lover then be aware that in the recent few years, there have been many growing cases of the black marketing of bogus or fake materials. If you know much about cigars, you'll be able to identify those fake Cuban cigars because of their poor quality and above all their poor appearance. However, black marketers are trying to make fake quality that may be cause difficulties in being recognized as fake. If you don't want to be tricked by these then make sure that you buy these Cuban cigars from reliable and authorized dealers only.If you are a real lover and really interested in trying, regarded as the finest cigars available in the market but if you more concerned about its legal consequences then don't worry; it is not a matter of too much concern. It is allowed to have non-commercial and private use of it and it's been going on for years; moreover, it has also been used by various politicians and showbiz stars as a style statement.Summary :-Sami Alien has done years of research about CUBAN CIGARS. He has great knowledge and tries to help lovers to keep safe from fraud peoples who trying to sell fake cigars. He studied in detail all about CUBAN CIGARS from different resources so that the stuff he write is useful for those who read.
Read more…

Check out my custom cigar box tea shirts at my Zazzle store.

Posted by Steve Haines on January 19, 2010 at 6:26pm
Check out my custom cigar box T shirts at my Zazzle store.Featured this month is my outlaw blues T shirt.I will have more shirts in the future.Have fun viral marketing our favorite hobby with a one of a kind discussion starter!Other proposed shirt ideas are Gospel blues, Surfing on 3 strings, One string boogie, 3 string punk oi, and psychedelic 3 string mind trip.In association with Zazzle.com
Read more…

2010 Deep Blues Music and Film Festival

Posted by Chris Johnson on January 15, 2010 at 7:58pm
We're pleased to announce that our January 2010 Deep Blues Film Festival will be an official event of the St Paul Winter Carnival. Please join us Saturday January 23rd and Saturday January 30th for several great films and also special live performances by some of the musicians featured in the films.

ChristophMuellerposterfinal.jpg

Saturday January 23rdFilms - at the St Paul Eagles Club 287 Maria Ave St Paul MNnoon - Wayne County Rambling2pm - Moments and Truths3pm - The Hand Of Fatima4:30pm - It Came From Detroit6pm - The Folksinger7:45pm - Can't Take It With You When You DieLive Music - at the St Paul Eagles Club 287 Maria Ave St Paul MN9pm - Teague Alexy (Moments and Truths)10pm - Reverend Deadeye (Folksinger and Can't Take It With You)11pm - Possessed By Paul James (Folksinger)Saturday January 30thFilms - at the St Paul Eagles Club 287 Maria Ave St Paul MNnoon - NOT TBA - CEASE AND DESIST (7 hours of private collection)Live Music - at Palmer's Bar 500 Cedar Ave S Minneapolis MN9pm - Kenny Brown11pm - Mark Porkchop HolderWe're requesting a $5 donation at the door. Reserved advance admission is available with a Deep Blues Festival Membership $20. You can also help support the festival by purchasing additional memberships for your friends or sponsoring a membership for a musician.https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9677158There are just a handful of shirts still available. $20 includes shippinghttps://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=11144993shirtfrontinvert.jpg

Read more…

Just the parts mam... duh, duh,duh,du

Posted by Darren "Big Daddy" Dukes on January 15, 2010 at 3:06pm
Okay it's not Drag net.. but In response to a number of request, we at Back porch mojo have added a "Parts Pack"Just the parts, no box, no neck...just the parts you need to make a 3 or 4 string Cigar Box or cookie tin guitaravailable in the Back Porch Mojo storeavailable in a 3 string setor a 4 string setalso recents adds to the store are strap buttons and an undersaddle pickup with volume and tone just $14.00so visit Back Porch Mojo today!!ThanksBig Daddy
Read more…

Fingerboard Software (And How I came To Find It)

Posted by Jeff "Sweet T" Tinsley on January 14, 2010 at 1:55am
Hi all,I have promised to build my 9 year old nephew a guitar.I was showing The Nation to some relatives during our family Christmas gathering, and Jake got hooked.When Jake was 5, he tangled with a piece of lawn equipment and lost his left hand and half his left forearm.He has decided he doesn't want to learn to strum with the nub..... he wants to play slide and be able to finger pick.Well, I happened to have a bottleneck with me, and (don't ask why) some aluminum TIG rods in the trunk of the car.I spent several minutes twisting up a prototype prosthetic slide for him, taught him to count 4 while tapping his foot, and explained Open, 5th, 7th, and 12th frets.Well, he spent the next 90 minutes knocking out some rattly..... but steady... rhythm.I've been working on a more controllable and permanent prosthesis.It occurred to me today that he would be well served by knowing the notes he'll be playing.(duh)I started drawing out a fingerboard chart and realized, well... realized that is too darn much work. So I started looking for one I could copy and print from online.And so we finally arrive at the point of this post. Lol.I found this dandy little online program that will create a printable chart for almost any tuning and number of strings.It calculates fret by fret notes, chords, scales........ I hope it helps someone.Jeff
Read more…

First guitar finally done

Posted by Juniper Jaxx on January 13, 2010 at 11:06am

I have several guitars in process, but this is the first that has made it to a playable stage. Didn't have a cigar box I wanted to use so I found a couple of pans at Goodwill. The neck is made from Juniper that my wife and I sawed with our portable sawmill. Plays pretty good and has a nice semi-resonator sound. Definitely learned a lot, especially on what not to do! Anxious to try some other things. Body - two pans from Goodwill Sound hole covers - folding colander from Goodwill Neck - Juniper from Chocktoot Creek Ranch Neck and bridge - bone from PetCo Tail piece - Habitat for Humanity ReStore Tuners and frets - eBay Strings - my junk drawer Piezo and jack - Radio Shack
Read more…

2nd build - the "Pete" model

Posted by Corey on January 12, 2010 at 12:07am
Over the Christmas break, my dad (Pete) and I made a nice little CBG out of a big box. It's a LOUD through-neck four string, 25 inch scale with a tapered neck, four-barrel carburetor, power-matic transmission and a cold six-pack built in (just kidding about those last few). The neck is made from 3 oak boards glued together to make one deep board, then carved out to include one of those nice-feeling knobby protrusions on the back of the neck behind the nut area like on my wonderful Gibson ES Artist or some banjos. The neck is tapered and spaced to be as close as I could make it to my beloved Larrivee D-19, only on a 4-string scale. I bought a pre-slotted rosewood fretboard from StewMac and installed frets I got from CB Gitty. I "carved" the saddle with a belt sander. One of the reasons I wanted to make a CBG at my dad's is that between he and his neighbor they have tons of great tools. I also got a lot of great advice from Jim Mitchell of CigarcityCBGs(.com), from whom I got a CBG for Christmas for my brother, who is pleased as peaches about that, and so am I. We had fun playing these things together. I sure learned a lot working on this thing, and learned a lot about what I need to learn, and it's still not finished. The nut and bridge are way too high (made to be finished later when I learn what I'm doing a bit better) and I think it may need a sound post like in a violin and perhaps some other internal bracing to keep the thin top from caving in under the pressure from the strings. I want to keep any bracing to a minimum because the thing sounds great and I don't want to mess that up.

Read more…

#2 Is Complete

Posted by Jess on January 8, 2010 at 8:43pm
Today I finished the build on #2. I call this one my "Olli", 'cause it's a Oliveros box. The headstock and tailstock are shaped a little differently than on the first box, and the neck is a deep Mahogany color with a natural color fretboard. The bridge is different as well, but the greatest difference is in the offset of the box to the neck. I wanted to hear if the sound may be more resonant with a larger cavity and 'f' holes cut in the lid. This really sounds good accoustically and is very nice with the amp. The output jack is located under the tailstock, which keeps it out of sight and still easy access for the amp cord. I don't inlay fret locations in the neck, and instead chose to countersink spots on the leading edge of the neck in the critical positions to glue BBs for markers. That's right, BBs. It's kinda cool and I haven't seen it done. Let me know what you think. I'm having a great time with this whole CBG thing, just wish I'd have found the hobby years ago.
Read more…

Disaster leads to learning experience...

Posted by marcianx on January 7, 2010 at 1:57pm
...that I hope never to have to do again! LOLLast Wednesday I was working on the head piece for my first CBG build. Drilling holes for the tuners that had just arrived. I was feeling pleased with the knowledge that I would soon be done with my first build and that I would probably have it ready before the new year and present it to my lil boy.After looking at and measuring the tuners I realized that I was gonna have problems with the action/height of the strings over the nut. That lead to the decision to make a slotted headstock. I created a jig to help guide the hand drill shaft straight and set about making turner holes which all came out very good. I was ready to cut the slot when I had to stop to take the kids to 'zoolights' for the evening (an annual holiday light show at Lincoln Park Zoo-- a holiday tradition in our house.)When I got back, I, anxiously, went right back to work after going over the steps in my head on the drive home. It was too late to use the router table, so I decided the trusty RotoZip would have to do... figured it would only take a few minutes and I'd be done. So I set up an impromptu guide to make sure I wouldn't go offline and began my work.After making the first pass, I decided that if I turned the rotozip around 180 deg (to the front) I'd be better able to see my work while sitting down to get a closer view. Big mistake! LOLIn my haste, I forgot that by changing the orientation of the rotozip I also needed to change my feed direction from left to right, to right to left.The rotozip bucked at the end of the slot (near the nut) and ripped it to pieces!! GOTDAMNMFITALLTOHELL!!ROFL!! I can laugh about it now... I couldn't last week!! LOLInstead of creating another neck/headstock. I decided to see what I could do to fix the thing. I ran thru a number of scenarios that I could think of and tried a few that didn't work and left me with no headstock whatsoever. By the time I got thru tinkering I was down to the fret area --- not even space for the nut!No choice now but to lengthen the neck or start over.It would've been much easier to start over, I had more wood for a neck, but since I screwed this up I thought best to make a learning experience out of it. After looking at any number of joints that I could use to lengthen the neck, the only plausible solution (at least for this amateur) seemed to be a lap joint -- glued and doweled together.Took me some time sawing, sanding and filing to get a good, straight joint line by hand, but I think it came out pretty nice. I was/am a bit worried about the amount of stress on the joint and whether or not it will stand the test of time. Still have to put the dowels in -- want to let the glue cure for a week or so and test out the joint by stringing the instrument w/o dowel. So far so good, the joint seems to be holding up just fine -- no bowing at all. But I'm still going to put in the dowels.I broke a few strings while stringing my very first instrument. Followed Keni's suggestion to use the 3,4,5 strings (but I used light gauge instead of his recommended medium) and used the instructions at Fret Not Guitar Repair on how to string a guitar. I used D'Addario EJ16 Acoustic Phosphor Bronze (Light .012-.053) <-- Whatever the hell all that means, I have no idea! LOL And I ended up breaking the A & G strings -- have no idea how tightly/loosely the strings should be tuned or even if I've tuned them to the proper tones -- so I'm using E, D, E (1, 4, 6 strings from the pack) maybe I should use the B instead of the .012 E. But I don't know what I'm doing anyways so it might not make that much of a difference! ROFLMAO! HAHAHAAH, I'm having a good time!I'm gonna start on the 2nd build straight away.. still working out the plans in Sketchup. And I bought some 1x2 Maple that I haven't decided what to do with. Was looking at the Mahogany, Walnut, and Ash and there's a great exotic wood shop a few miles away that I haven't visited in many years (since I bought the purpleheart). Scared to go in that place -- thoughts of Bocote, Bubinga, Jatoba, Padauk, Wenge and Zebra wood dancing in my head and scorching a big fat hole in my credit card.For a guy who doesn't know a damned thing about guitars, this has been quite an enjoyable (and frustrating) project. But I'm learning a lot which is teaching me that I have a helluva lot more to learn !! LOLI'll post some pics soon... be gentle with me.. LOL.
Read more…

Bone nuts and bridges

Posted by Dan Tomkinson on January 5, 2010 at 12:31pm
any one else tried making nuts and bridges out of beef bone ? I have found that it works great! it is way more resilient than wood or plastic for this application and cheap too if you get a shin bone at the super market you can get a ton of nuts out of it , just my thought s figured I would share
Read more…

my official introduction:: Unstrung heroes and those who care to listen...

Posted by Crow on January 4, 2010 at 3:22pm
Unstrung heroes and those who care to listen...(Life, philosophy, music, and saving the lost.)Having traveled a lot, and with no real home to return to, I've spent lots of time broke and alone.Growing up watching MacGyver gave me a sort of personal insight to the world which I've held on to - that any obstacle can be overcome, no matter how few the resources and petty the tools. So that's what I do.Every instrument I have, I have either acquired for free or rescued from dumpsters or pawn shops. With the few tools I have, they become something new and interesting. With fewer strings, or altered tunings, these mostly 'found' instruments take on new and inspiring qualities.With the little talent I have, these practically useless items create music. MacGyver would have been proud.A friend once looked at my instruments and computers, as my electronics follow the same suit - overused, discarded, and rescued by myself. He simply said one word: redemption.It's quite a powerful word.In a way we're always trying to make up for the past, attempting to take things from their pallid state and restore them to a position of dignity.I can't fix my past, but god help me, I will fix everything else I can, and make them beautiful again.Just watch me.
Read more…

Frets from Gitty

Posted by Jess on January 3, 2010 at 6:20pm
I received the frets yesterday, which I ordered from Giddy, and they're installed on # 2 and #3. I must tell you how pleased I am with the customer service and quality of the materials I received, and the shipping was lightening swift. I checked all local music stores and numerous vendors on the web, and Giddy cannot be beat for price and service. Just thought you all would like to know that this is one advertiser on this site that is preamo.
Read more…

Uke fret measurements

Posted by Benjamin M. Jennings on January 2, 2010 at 6:37pm
I am making a cigar box uke for my son. It has @ 10" neck but I am having trouble finding measurments for the fretting. The free plans on this website don't go into detail here so I was curious if I am missing something or if anybody can throw me a rope?
Read more…

Number 3 is in the mill . . . #2 is on the way

Posted by Jess on January 1, 2010 at 9:00am
I finished shaping and sanding the neck for #2 yesterday, now I'm waiting for the mail to bring me fret stock from Giddy's, and I will be on the way to completion. The box is ready for installation and electronics. I hope it turns out as well as the first effort, but who knows, the proof is in the pudding, as they say.Number 3 is already in the mill. This CBG thing is intoxicating, perhaps even addictive. I found an 'old' Hershey's Chocolate pretzel tin among the stuff in my workshop left over from the hotrod building days in SoCal, which I used for storing geegaws, etc. It is really cool and I can only imagine how cool a 'pretzel guitar' will be.Whew, I better drop the cyber stuff and get to whittlin'.More later.
Read more…

My First CBG

Posted by Jess on December 28, 2009 at 5:17pm
Well, today I completed my first CBG effort started a week ago.I commenced with a Hemingway cigar box scavenged from the local newsstand/smoke shop, which is attached to a laminated oak and poplar headstock/fingerboard/tailstock. The design is all mine, using a stick of tuners and pegs purchased locally, strings I pilfered from my six-string supply, frets made from finish nails set in the neck at correct depth and intervals compared to my Martin D16-H, and a Radio Shack transducer and output jack.After shaping and sanding, I applied the photo on the back of the box and set out to varnish the rig. Once this was completed, I added strings and electronics, plugged it in and voila . . . music.Now, while building the next jammer, I'll need to learn how to play the darned thing. But, thanks to the generosity of many of you I'll get a headstart by viewing the many videos on the Nation.Let me know what you think of my first TotalRojo Guitar. All thoughts, suggestions and criticism will be appreciated.
Read more…