Cigar box guitar

Cigar Box Guitar
Information
Owner	critter42
Version	1.0
Status	In Progress
Started On	February 2010

Overview

I wanted a fairly easy project to do to possibly display at MidSouthCon, and the current issue of Make Magazine had instructions on building a Cigar Box Guitar. While I am not really musically inclined, I thought this might be a fun first project.

Features

• Design and style
  • 3-string guitar with a through neck made out of maple red oak stock.
  • Steel Strings Bronze acoustic strings
  • Fretted neck (may go fretless if the fretting doesn't work out)
  • Tailpiece/strings mounted on through end of neck rather than on box
  • Toothpick frets and bamboo skewer Nut/Bridge wood chip Nut and threaded bolt Bridge

Status

In Progress

• Fabricate Head/Fretboard/Tail

To Do

• Fabricate cigar box sound chamber
• Assemble components
  • Affix Neck assembly to cigar box sound chamber
  • Install hardware
    • Tuning Machines
    • Frets
    • Nut and Bridge
    • Tailpiece
    • Strap points
  • String guitar
• Tune guitar
• Play!

Completed

• Acquisition of materials
• Designing fretboard

Work Log

Designing fretboard

• Determined fret layout using Fretfind-2D with the following parameters (units in inches unless otherwise specified):
  • Scale - 24.5
  • String width at the nut - .75
  • String width at the bridge - .75
  • Fretboard Overhang - .375
  • Calculation Method - 12 (no unit)
  • Number of Frets - 21
  • Number of Strings - 3
  • Tuning - 1st String - D, 2nd String - G, 3rd String - D

Fabricate Head/Fretboard/Tail

• Head
  • Laid out cut lines for clearing away head and body sections
  • Cut away 6" long, .5" section from head end to allow tuning machine pins clearance

    

    6" x .5" cut from head end to accommodate tuning machine pins

  • Sanded sides of head to allow clearance for tuning knobs to turn
  • Drilled 3 1/4" holes in center of head for tuning machine pins

    

    Head shaped and tuning machine pin holes drilled

  • Rounded back corners of neck between head and body
  • Printed out fret layout and attached to neck. A piece of clear "magic" tape was placed over each fret line to prevent fret template from becoming loose when sawn through

    

    Fret template attached to neck

  • Fret slots cut using hand saw to a depth of about 1/16" to 1/8"

    

    Fret grooves cut into neck

  • Filled fret slots with Gorilla Glue and inserted toothpicks. Glued wood nut to top of neck and clamped all pieces securely

    

    Toothpicks placed into fret grooves, glued up and clamped

Future Improvements

• Addition of pickups or piezo buzzer to electrify the guitar
• Add more strings
• Make a finger slide

Lessons Learned

• Freehand-cutting the fret grooves properly requires skill and experience with a saw - a miter box would make the job much easier next time.

Bill of Materials

Item	Metric	Cost/Item	Qty	Sub Total	Distributor
Cigar Box	N/A	$0.33	3	$0.99	Tobacco Corner, Ltd
Red Oak 1" x 2" x 3'	N/A	$3.00	2	$6.00	Lowe's Home Improvement
Tuning Machines	N/A	$1.75	6	$10.50	Yarbrough's Music
Guitar Strings	N/A	$1.00	6	$6.00	Yarbrough's Music

Total cost so far: $23.50 + tax

Components for CBG Guitar - cigar box, oak stock, guitar strings, tuning machines and bolt for bridge. Toothpicks for frets not pictured

Tools Used for Construction

coping saw

table saw

hand saw

drill

belt sander

tape measure

speed square