BuildingBuilding Your FirstYour First Cigar BoxCigar Box GuitarGuitar

A self paced guide to this CBG kit construction(Standard fretless/slide model – 3 or 4 string)

"So I went ahead and made me a guitar. I got me a cigar box, I cut me a round hole

in the middle of it, take me a little piece of plank, nailed it onto that cigar box, and I got me some screen wire and I made me a bridge back there

and raised it up high enough that it would sound inside that little box, and got me a tune out of it.

I kept my tune and I played from then on."-Lightin' Hopkins

Introduction

First off, I would like to thank you for your purchase of my cigar box guitar kit. If you are like me, you love building all sorts of things and consider yourself somewhat handy. The first cigar box guitar (CBG) I made from scratch with no kits or formal plans. I did manage to find lots of information on the Internet (I'll give you some great links later on). That CBG turned out great but I made a number of mistakes during its construction. This is why I put together this kit for you. I hope you enjoy building and playing this truly unique instrument.

Some things to be aware of though before we begin. First off, read these instructions carefully! I will be happy to answer any questions you have at any time, even if you don't read over everything, however this guide is intended to answer the basic questions of CBG construction. Do read this booklet.

Second, we assume you know how to use basic tools and have basic woodworking skills. That is, you know how to use a screwdriver, a saw, a drill, and glue parts. You will need at least access to the following tools:

• Medium and fine pointed philips head screwdriver• A saw. A miter saw is a great saw to use. If you have a rough cut or coarse

toothed saw, you could use that but be careful. These types of saws cut quickly but don't cut cleanly

• A drill. This can be a hand held drill or a drill press if you have one• Drill bits: 3/8”, 1/4”, 9/16” and 1/8”. A drill bit assortment is great and they

should be able to drill into wood• Glue. I can't say more about this. Use a good wood glue (Titebond Original,

not school glue) or hide glue. I will include a recipe for a great glue I use that is made from unflavored gelatine. DO NOT use Gorilla Glue. It expands when applied and doesn't come off cleanly if smeared. Also get SuperGlue!

• Sandpaper. I use 3M Sandblaster 120 and 220 grit paper to rough sand the neck. I also use 3M 300 to 600 grit paper to fine sand the wood. You might also want to get some steel wool

• A 12” to 36” ruler and tape measure. Something that you can cut against is best• Pencil, pen, marker. Something like that• Blue painters tape. Trust me, this will come in handy• Utility knife or hobby knife

Optional equipment:• Band saw. Makes cutting easier and is great for cutting a custom design• Hand held (palm) sander or a belt sander• Wood rasp or similar. This is handy to shape the neck with• Coping saw or jig saw. You can also use a hobby saw. You can use this to

make the sound hole(s) with• Drill press (instead of a hand drill)• Countersink bits to countersink the screws• Wood stain or enamel paint to make the wood look really neat (DO NOT

use latex based paints!)• Varnish/polyurethane/shellac/spray enamel/clear coat. Something to cover

the wood• A triangle or T-square. Something to measure 90 degrees with

If you have ever built a musical instrument, you may certainly be as creative as you want with this kit. I have no problem with that and will support any question you may have. The parts in the kit can be easily replaced as well, you can certainly make any modifications you see fit.

While we're on that thought, one great thing about CBG construction is that there are no rules. I do provide instructions here, but all in all, there are no set patterns or set rules. The greatest thing about a CBG is what you make is uniquely yours! It has your touch to it. It's going to be your sound and no one else has that.

At the end of the basic construction guide, you will find some great tips to make your CBG a much better instrument, so PLEASE read over this guide completely. You might want to try some of my tips. I will also put in helpful hints along the way.

IMPORTANT: Decide now if you are going to build a three or four string model. There is little difference between them, but you will need to know before you drill any holes. I have provided templates for the three and four string models.

Lets get started

Let me say here that building a musical instrument like a CBG is not rocket science. Nor is it brain surgery. It only takes patience and the ability to understand what is in front of you. In fact, our steps are simple: we review the parts and lay them out, we will begin to

measure and prepare the pieces, we will make our cuts and drill our holes along with shaping our neck (we might also apply any finish at this point), we will assemble our pieces, and finally we will play our new CBG. Sound fun, eh?

Tip! There is an old saying: Measure once, cut twice. Measure twice, cut once. This means that we need to check our measurements and make only one cut. Mistakes are allowed but as example, if you cut the neck to 30” you will not have enough wood. I have also provided templates to help you get it right

1. Laying out our parts

Our kit should contain the following parts:• Cigar Box. The size WILL vary from the instructions here. All measurements

following, except where specified exactly, are dependent on the box you have. PLEASE keep this in mind

• One piece 1”x2”x3' poplar strip which we will use as the neck• Four 1/2”x1/2” wood blocks • One set of (4) guitar tuning pegs• One set of 4 guitar strings (11p, 13p, 22w, 30w ga)• Six 1” Screws to secure the neck and lid• Two pieces of 1/4” threaded stock, one longer than the other. These will be

the nut and bridge• Four string guides, 1/8” x 1/2”

All of these parts are replaceable! If you are missing anything or lose anything, you may contact me for a replacement OR most everything can be replaced from a hardware store. I will list some stores at the end.

Remember, you can add items to this list if you want to customize your CBG and I will give you some of those ideas later on.

2. Measuring and preparation

So now we have our parts accounted for and we need to prepare our wood and box. We're going to work on this in stages. You can do this all at once or you can do this one at at time.

First, we're going to measure everything and the most important is the cigar box itself. This is going to determine what length we are actually going to make the CBG. We will be using a set scale for our CBG. A scale is known in guitar lingo as the distance from the nut to the bridge. I will explain what a nut and bridge are in a second, but know that our scale will be 25”. You may vary this if you are comfortable doing so, but you will need to adjust your measurements accordingly. For now, lets do the 25” scale.

When we measure, I will use the terms length, width, and depth. Length here will be the longest dimension. Width will be distance 90 degrees from the length and the depth will be from bottom to top (see below).

NOTE: If you are making the box left handed, change the following measurements from left to right.

2a. Measuring the boxMeasure the cigar box first! Note its length, width, and depth (LxWxD). You will also want to measure the length of the box lid. This will be equally important and when you make your cuts on the neck you will use this measurement.

Measure the thickness of the box lid. This measurement will change from box to box. I will reference a 1/4” for the lid, but you will want to measure your own box for accuracy.

2b. Position the neckTo measure the neck for length we have to know a few things first. We have to know where our bridge is. I usually place the bridge about 1/4 to1/3 the distance from the left edge of the box (not lid). Look at your box so you can read the design. Measure or approximately 1/4 to 1/3 the distance of the length from that left edge. Take a 2” piece of painters tape (or similar) and apply that at that point across the width (see below). Make a small mark where the 1/4 – 1/3 distance from the left edge would be. This indicates where the bridge will be. I told you that the tape would come in handy.

Lay the neck on the box leaving about 2” hanging off the left side of the box. Make a mark on the neck (in pencil) at the same place you make the mark on the tape. If you are satisfied with the position of the neck to the box, proceed to the next step. If not, reposition the neck and mark it again. Make marks on the neck where the left and right outside edges of the box are.

Also make a mark on the neck where the bridge will be relative to the box lid. This will be important when we measure the neck length.

2c. Marking where the neck recess will beOk this will be tricky but can be easily done if we pay attention to our measurements. We will want to make a recessed area on the neck so the lid will fit flush with the top of the neck. This recess will need to be as exactly the same depth as the lid. Usually that is 1/4” but you will need to make sure its 1/4”. If it isn't, you will need to use what you measured.

Tip! One great way to make sure you get an exact measurement of thickness is to lay the piece with the thickness needed against the side you are needing to mark.

Now you will also need the measurement of the box lid length. Since we are assuming the box panels are 1/4” thick, we will measure 1/4” from the left box edge mark on our neck and make a line. From there we will measure the exact length of the box lid and make another mark. If we have measured correctly there will be a 1/4” gap between both of the box edge marks and the lid length. If this gap is not exact, don't worry. These are guides. The only distance that needs to be exact at this point is the lid length distance.

We now know where we need to make the recess: within the box lid area (between the blue lines above).

Now we are going to measure the depth of the box lid and mark that on our neck sides. One quick way to do that is to lay the neck down (top side down) and lay the open box lid next to the neck side. We can use that as a guide to mark the depth (see below).

Mark that on both sides of the neck. This will be important when we cut the recess.

STOP! Go to the section marked “How to make your CBG sound better” for a great modification on to the neck.

2d. Marking where the Head will beWhew, that wasn't too hard. It just needed to be carefully done. We are ready to measure where the nut and head will be. We will be measuring the neck stock.

Lingo I threw these terms out before and now I need to explain them. In stringed instrument lingo, the bridge is the seat where the strings cross the body of the guitar. This is the point where sound enters the cigar box (in our case) from the strings. The nut is the seat where the strings are farthest from the bridge and where the tuning pegs are located. This indicates the division between the neck (the poplar 1x2 here) and the head (or headstock) where the tuning pegs live. In our case here both the bridge and nut are two pieces of 1/4” threaded stock.

IMPORTANT: I mentioned earlier that we are going to be using a 25” scale. By that I mean the distance between the bridge and the nut will be 25”. In our case here, if we are off by a fraction, its not a big issue. Our simple CBG is a fretless version (it has no wires where our fingers are placed to make the notes) and we will most likely be using a slide.

Lets start by measuring the neck, 25” from the bridge mark to the far end of the neck. Make a mark there and that will be the placement of our nut. We need to give ourselves some length for the head so measure from the nut mark out 6”. Make a mark there and that will be the end of the head.

STOP! One of the coolest things about CBGs is that you can customize the look any way you want. Above, I said to measure out 6” from the nut mark to indicate the end of the head. If you want your head to have a custom shape or design, now is the time to factor that in. Later in this guide, I will include some ideas on head[stock] design as well as give some examples. If you think you are going to cut your headstock into a shape or apply a design, add a few inches onto the end before you cut.

Tip! Sometimes I cut my headstock into a custom shape. One great way to make sure I have the design in the right place is to draw or print the design on a piece of paper, cut out the design (with 1/4” excess) and lightly glue it onto the headstock with school glue. I know I said school glue is not a preferred glue but it will work well here as it can be removed easy with warm water.

2e. Marking where the tuning pegs (machines) will beThis is not going to be hard but must be done well. Accurate measurements need to be made so our tuning pegs are not too close or the head is not cut too shallow.

In the back, I have provided a two templates for tuning peg positioning, so this part is taken care of for you. One is for a three string CBG and the other is for a four string CBG. If you want to use another head design or tuning peg position, you may though you will need to make your own template or mark the tuning peg holes yourself.

If you use my template, simply cut the template out and lightly glue it to the back of the headstock. Do not glue it on the front as we will be removing some of the wood there. The template takes into account that tuning pegs attached to the bottom of the headstock.

2f. Marking the headstock recessOnce strung, the strings bend over the nut and down to the tuning pegs. The wood we are using for the neck/head is too thick to put our tuning pegs on, so we must make it thinner. We need to trim the wood down to 5/8” deep. We are going to use 5/8” on the assumption that after sanding and finishing, the wood will be no less that 9/16” deep. We must not go any less deep than that or our tuning pegs might not attach correctly.Again, to make this process easy, I have included a template that you can attach to each side of the neck. Use this as your guide for that cut. If you feel you want to do a different design, you may, but I suggest you use the template. I have it marked as “right” and “left” sides with indications where the nut and end of the headstock should be (see below).

Tip! This is a perfect time to find someone with a band saw. Though you can do this with a hand saw, your cut might be off and it is hard to get the cut straight. If you can't get access to a band saw, cut this very carefully and slowly. One of the ways to do this is to put the neck in a vise and saw from the top down after you cut off the excess head length. Put the neck between two pieces of scrap wood to prevent damage to your CBG neck. Also add some excess with your cut. That is, add 1/16” to the recess depth (make the recess 11/16” instead of 5/8”) and remove the excess later as needed. Always err on the side of having to remove more material.

2g. Marking where the neck will enter the box.We are getting close to the end of this stage. Whew. Hopefully this hasn't been too hard of an ordeal. Now we will be marking the cigar box where the neck will enter both ends of the box. This is simple but has to be done correctly.

What we are going to do is to look at our box again so we can read the design, and mark on the left and right side panels where the neck will have to be placed. We will also have to mark the depth of the neck on these panels.

First lets mark the middle of the width of the box. On the box in the pictures, the width is 7 1/4”. The midpoint is then 3 5/8”. I will cover the edge of the side panels with a strip of painters tape and make a mark at 3 5/8”. Lay the neck on the panel edge and center it as close as possible (doesn't have to be exact). Make a mark on the tape where the sides of the neck are. This distance should be 1 1/2” wide (yes, the poplar is not really 2”, rather 1 1/2” by 3/4”).

Now we need to mark the depth. The easy way to do this is to place 3” strips of painters tape across each panel in the middle and mark down 3/4” from the top edge of the box. You will need to make a line parallel to the width across the tape at this mark. Make two perpendicular lines from the marks at the top edge (neck width marks on the edge) to the line (see below). Do this on both right and left sides.

Ok I think we're done marking where things need to be cut or drilled. Take a break and we'll start cutting.

3. Cutting our box and neck

Whew! What a time, eh? Well the preparation part is done. Before we cut one thing, take a few moments and check your measurements. Make sure that all your measurements and marks are where they need to be. If you have any questions, contact me and I will be able to answer.

If you are confident that all the marks are correct, Lets cut...

3a. Cutting the head and drilling tuning peg holesThe hardest part of cutting the neck is getting the headstock right. Remember my tip, if you have access to a band saw or router, use it. If not, be very careful cutting that headstock recess. In my tip, I suggest cutting off the excess neck/head first, putting the neck in a vise and cutting. Again, a miter saw or finer toothed hand saw will work well. Go slow. Keep an eye on both sides of the headstock so as not to veer off course. This is why I have a right and left side template – to ensure you are cutting on target.

STOP! If you have a custom design, now is the time to cut it. Make sure you have allowed any extra length for the design! You can also cut the design after you cut the recess but you have to have any needed length. Once cut, you can drill the holes for the tuning pegs. The 3/8” or 9/16”drill bit is what you need (check the ferrule width first!) , but first you might want to drill a pilot hole on the center mark with the 1/8” bit. It is much easier to get the 1/8” bit on target than a larger bit. If you have a drill press, use that. If not, a hand held drill will work fine. Try to drill as straight as possible.

In the photo below, I test the tuning pegs for fit and I also made a grove for the nut.

Tip! Drill bits do vary slightly in width. You might want to test the bit on a scrap piece of wood to ensure holes are not too big or too small.

3b. Cutting the box lid recessThis cut is not as critical as cutting the headstock in that the recessed area in inside the box and not readily seen. You do however have to watch that you are doing and take your time. The marks indicating where the lid recesses in must be accurate or you will have a gap. Again, better to cut the recess short in length than too long. That said, how do you cut this recess? Cutting from the end of a piece of wood seems easy, but in this case, we can't just start cutting with the grain. Here's one solution you might try.

To cut the recess, we are going to make a series of parallel cuts, 1/4” deep, 1/8” apart the length of the area we need to recess. Then we are going to remove the sections by simply popping them out. You can use a screwdriver or chisel if you have one. What is left is a rough but fairly even area that we can then sand or file flat (see below).

STOP! Before you cut, go to the section marked “How to make your CBG sound better” for a great modification on to the neck recess.

Tip! Put strips of painters tape along the bottom edge of the recess line on either side of the neck. It will act as a good guide for the depth and can be removed easily.

Tip! One good way to remove any excess wood is to sand it down. I'll give you a suggestion for sanding later.

Tip! If you have access to a router or band saw, they will make this part much easier.

Test the fit by placing the lid in the lid recess. If any adjustments need to be made, make them now.

3c. Cutting the box side panelsThis is where the neck enters the cigar box on both sides. Cutting this is fairly straight forward. We are going to cut these parts out the same manner we cut the lid recess on the neck.

First, cut down the lines from the box panel edge to the neck depth mark (see below). Do this on both sides. Then make a series of cuts 1/8” apart the same manner you made the previous lid recess cuts. After all the cuts are made, simply cut them with the utility knife or chisel. Sand or carve the area smooth and flat. Be careful in cutting this out.

Test the fit by placing the neck within the spaces we just cut. If any adjustments need to be made, make them now.

3d. Cutting sound holesSo how does the sound get out? Sound holes, that's how. A sound hole is simply a set of holes put into the CBG that you cut in. The most simple holes are 1/2” to 2” holes in the lid. Some use smaller holes, some use slots. It all depends. Here we are going to cut one or two 1/2” to 2” holes for our sound holes.

Start by finding a circular object about the size we need. Medicine bottles are great for this. So are half dollar coins. Anything that is round and as small as we need.

Once you find your object, trace its shape on the lid. The picture below will give you an ideal as to where traditional CBG sound hole are located BUT this does not mean you have to put them there. Cut them anywhere you want.

You can cut them with a jigsaw, a hobby saw or knife, a coping saw, cut them with a utility knife, or drill a series of holes with your drill. Any way you do it will be fine.

Tip! I have some great ideas on making your sound holes better and better looking. Check out the later sections for those ideas.

Tip! Some stores sell circular hole saws for drills. That's a useful tool to have for this.

3e. Cutting and drilling the tailpieceOk, so I've ignored this so far but there there is one more set of cuts/drills to do on the neck. If you saw the tailpiece template in the back and wondered what this was for, now you will know. The tailpiece of the guitar is where the strings are first placed on the guitar. It is as important as the headstock as it holds the other ends of the strings in place.

What we are going to do is to cut the tailpiece down and drill three or four 1/8” holes for the strings to pass through the neck. On my template, I have positioned where the holes will need to be drilled. Again, you can glue the template onto the tailpiece and if you wish, cut the tailpiece down either flat or in a design. I allowed 2” for that and that should be enough as there is usually not much design work on the tailpiece. I have also included four string guides that will be inserted into the tailpiece to keep the strings from cutting into the wood.

Strings on a stringed instrument can reach tensions of up to a few hundred pounds combined. That tension would easily cut into the wood and cause the strings to lose tuning, not to mention look very bad.

Apply the template of your choice and drill 1/8” diameter holes. Cut any design you want on the tailpiece at this time. You can also position the holes in another design if you want. Remember, there are no rules.

Again, that was a LOT of work. Take a break. Eat something. Rest. A few more things to accomplish and we'll be ready to assemble our CBG.

3f. Shaping and finishing the neckAre you rested? Good. We'll want to at least round the edges of the CBG neck and to do this, we will have to decide how much to do. When I make CBGs, the necks are rounded over on the back much like a traditional guitar. On my earlier ones though, I merely rounded the edges off with a router or even just sand paper. If you have access to a wood

rasp, wood plane, router, or even a hand held sander, they make this job easier. You can even use a utility knife to round them off quickly, but REMEMBER YOUR SHOP SAFETY! Do not use any knife or sharp instrument if you do not know what you are doing.

You don't need to round off the top edges of the neck other than making them smooth. Take of about 1/16”. The back sides of the neck where the palm of your hand will be is the most important. You can make a 1/4” to 3/8” round over easily. This will feel much better in your hands.

You only need to round off the area where the neck leaves the box until it meets the nut and headstock. You do not need to round off the whole back of the neck!

STOP! In the section “Making your neck look good”, I go over steps that you can use to round over the neck to look more professional.

To finish the neck, you need to sand it with sandpaper. I use 3M Sandblaster paper. You can use what you want. I use 120 and 220 grits to do the rough sand, then move onto 300 and 400 grit for the final smoothing. Sand all the parts and faces (except the box lid recess. That should be done already). Make sure all pencil marks are erased or sanded off as well as clean off any templates.

Tip! A wood rasp or a bench/belt/hand held sander makes this part much easier.

You might also want to draw or otherwise put in fret marks. Since this a fretless kit, you won't have traditional wire frets. I've seen folks draw them on with a marker, burn them in with a wood burning kit, or simply paint them on. If you want to put fret marks on them, certainly do so. I have a template I can send you via email that will fit this CBG scale. The precision is not as important on this instrument as would be on a real fretted CBG, so the template should work fine. Make any fret marks now before you apply any finish to the neck.

Tip! While we are working on the neck, one thing you might want to do is to cut a small groove where the nut will be placed. This would help hold the nut when the strings are applied.

After you get the neck smooth, you might want to apply a coat of varnish or polyurethane before the final assembly. Check out my section on “Advanced CBG finishing” for more information.

STOP! If you are going to apply a stain or finish to your CBG neck, do this now before you attempt the assembly.

4. Assembling our CBG

Wooo Hooo! We're almost finished. I hope that your CBG neck is. If not, finish it up and make sure its the way you want. Again, we are going to do this in stages. We are going to glue the neck to the lid and further reinforce this with the four screws. Then we are going to install the tuning pegs, nut and bridge, install the eight brass washers to the tailpiece, and finally string the instrument up for its initial tuning. At that point we are done with the assembly and can start to enjoy our CBG.

4a. Securing the neck to the box lidThis part is easy. We will be screwing the lid to the neck to attach it to the lid. Simple, but we are going to want to place it on correctly. Lets start by placing the neck in the box. Just to make sure we have every thing in place correctly, orient the box so you can read the lid design. Open the lid and place the neck into the neck slots you cut out earlier. If it does not fit correctly, make the necessary adjustments and replace the neck. Make sure the lid recess in facing up and within the side panels of the box. Make sure the headstock end of the neck is facing to the right (or to the left if you are left handed). Lower the lid so that it sits within the lid recess. Adjust the neck position to ensure the lid fits correctly. If any adjustments need to me made, make them now.

Once the lid can be shut properly, take some painters tape and apply some 2” strips to the box lid as seen in the photo below. Do this to both the left and right side of the box lid. Make some marks about 1/2” from the box lid edge and place one dot on the center line where screws will go.

STOP! If you have a countersink bit, use that to countersink the screws. If not, drill 1/8” holes at the dot locations as pilot holes.

Screw in two of the six screws provided in the kit on either side of the box lid. This will secure the lid to the neck and can be easily removed.

4b. Securing the lid to the boxYou cigar box does not come with a latch to hold it shut. If you find a small box latch at a hobby, craft, or hardware store, use that. I have included four blocks that you will glue to the inside corners of the box – flush with the top of the sides, that you will screw the lid on with the remaining four screws. You will need to measure where the blocks are and try to be as close to the center of the blocks as possible. You will find it helpful to drill a pilot hole first!

4c. Install the tuning pegsIf you used my template, the tuning pegs will install easily. Simply push them through the holes in the head from behind. Screw them in with the supplied screws and assemble the ferrules on the top. NOTE: Your tuning pegs might look different.

4d. Install the bridge and nut.Remember the marks we made for the nut and bridge? We will need them now. Remove the painters tape from the box lid (I assume its still there) keeping in mind the distance from the left edge of the box. Apply some wood glue to the longest threaded stock piece and apply that to the box lid so that it is centered on the neck width (see below). You can use any other type of glue if you want. Wood glue is slower drying and some use a hot glue gun.

Next we will install the nut. The nut piece provided should be 1 1/2” wide. If you sanded off or otherwise removed the nut mark, don't worry. Simply remeasure 25” from the bridge to the headstock and make a small mark. Glue the nut there as close as possible with your glue. If you cut a grove for the nut, this will help with the nut position better. Use a small amount of glue for this.

Tip! Remove tape carefully as to not damage the box lid design. Its paper.

4e. Placing string guidesThe string guides are provided so the strings won't cut into the wood at the tailpiece. Simply put the string guides into the holes you made in the tailpiece and secure them with wood glue or SuperGlue.

4f. Stringing it upOnce all the glue has set and we are confident all our parts are secure (this is a good time to check), we can string up our CBG.

There are a lot of opinions as to which strings to use. You will have a standard six string set and will only need three of four depending on what you built. I personally use the top three or four strings (the thinest strings in the pack or the D/G/B/e strings). Some folks use the lower strings (A/D/G or A/D/G/B strings). The lower ones will give you a deeper tone and the higher ones will give a brighter sound. For my usual tunings (DGBD and ADAD), the higher ones work the best. You chose though. Strings are cheap enough that if you don't like what you did, you can replace them easily.

To string a CBG or any guitar, you will need to thread the strings through the three or four holes in the tailpiece. Do this from the bottom having the strings come out through the top. Standard strings have the thicker on top when the instrument is held.

Once the strings are through the tailpiece holes, bring one string at a time over the bridge. Position on the bridge at this point is not critical, we will adjust them in a second. Bring one of the strings over the nut and thread them through the small hole in the corresponding tuning peg hole. It should be fairly easy to determine which string goes with which tuning peg. Thread the string through the tuning peg hole.After the string is in the hole, pull the string taut and then pull the string back about 1” to 1 1/2”. This will allow for enough string to wrap around the peg a few times. Wind the tuning peg so that the string is winding from the inside of the headstock (see photo below). This is very important that this be done like this. Loosely tighten it down.

If you find that the strings slip on the threaded stock, you can cut shallow notches with a hack saw. This will help hold the strings.

Also make the first wrap above the string excess and all following wraps below the string excess (see photo below).

Do this for the remaining strings one at a time. After all the strings are strung, you will want to space them out as evenly as possible leaving no less than 1/8” on either side of the neck. Three string CBGs can leave more. The distance between strings can be roughly 1/4” to 5/16”.

4g. TuningsHere are some tunings that you might want to try:

Standard guitar tuning is EADGBe from lowest to highest (thickest to thinest strings)

Tunings for a 3-string cigar box guitar(utilizing A,D,G strings from an acoustic guitar string set)

All notes are listed from low to high (bass to treble)Open D: D,F#,A,DOpen E: E,G#,B,EOpen C#: C#,E,A,C#Open A: A,E,A'Open G: G,D,G'Open D7: D,F#,A,C This tuning can be done with any open tuning by dropping the high string down one tone (flat 7th).

A7 (the magic jazz tuning): A,E,GA6 (Hawaiian tuning): A,E,F#G9 (mandolin-type tuning/Shane Speal's "sitar" tuning): G,D,A

Half-DAD: DAD (3) Blues ADA: ADAD (4)Open G four string: DGBD (this one is my favorite)

5. Playing your new cigar box guitarWell this subject is quite extensive but I can boil it down to this: you will need to take some time and get a feel for your CBG. Playing with a slide is not difficult but may require some “feel” for the instrument. Slides can be anything from a bottle neck to a store bought stainless steel or brass monster. I have use a simple 2” piece of copper tube that fits on my middle finger. I also have a glass slide I use on my ring finger.

The trick with using a slide is not to press the string down to the neck. In fact, the slide acts like a fret. Place the slide on your middle, ring, or little finger (your choice) and simply lay the slide flat on the strings with a very slight pressure. About as much as if you were tickling someone. Then place your index/middle finger gently on the string behind the slide. This is to mute the screeching overtone made when strumming or picking the string. Trust me, your listeners will appreciate your kindness and skill. Place your finger with as much pressure as the slide. You should get a clear tone if done right. Practice that.

One other great thing about using a slide is that you can “bend” strings. You will quickly find that when you move up or down a string, the tone moves up much like a slide whistle. You will get to the point that you can change notes without the “bend”, but for now enjoy your new skills. Playing with a slide can make some really great delta blues tunes.

If you made fret marks you will see that you can easily hit notes on tune and even make chords. I won't go into chords here but there are many online resources that can explain them.

The most popular style of music on a cigar box guitar is the blues. The blues is easy to do on a CBG. If tuned to one of the tunings above, one can play blues chord structures easily. The blues is generally played in “12 bars” which is called the “12 bar blues”

Simple 12 bar bluesJust for fun, lets tune our new CBG to Open G or DGBD. Once tuned, the 12 bar blues is played like this:

Open strings for 4 beats (do not put the slide on the strings at all)Place the slide across the strings where the fifth fret would be for 4 beatsPlay the open the strings again for 8 beatsPlace the slide across the strings where the fifth fret would be for 8 beatsPlay the open the strings again for 8 beats

Place the slide across the strings where the seventh fret would be for 4 beatsPlace the slide across the strings where the fifth fret would be for 4 beatsPlay the open the strings again for 4 beatsPlace the slide across the strings where the seventh fret would be for 4 beats

Hah, you just played your first blues song!

History of the Cigar Box Guitar

Early beginnings

Cigar boxes in their current form did not exist exist prior to the 1840s. Until then, cigars were shipped in larger crates containing 100 or more per case. After 1840, cigar manufacturers started using smaller, more portable boxes with 20-50 cigars per box.

Cigars were extremely popular in the 19th Century, and therefore, many empty cigar boxes would be lying around the house. The earliest proof of a cigar box instrument found so far is an etching of two Civil War Soldiers at a campsite with one playing a cigar box fiddle. The etching was created by French artist Edwin Forbes who worked as an official artist for the Union Army. The etching was included in Forbes work LifeStories of the Great Army, copyrighted in 1876. In this work, the cigar box fiddle appears to sport an advanced viola-length neck attached to a ‘Figaro’ cigar box.

In addition to the etching, plans for a cigar box banjo were published by Daniel Carter Beard, founder of the Boy Scouts of America, in St. Nicholas Magazine, potentially in the 1870s. The plans, entitled ‘How to Build an Uncle Enos Banjo’ showed a step-by-step description for a playable 5-string fretless banjo made from a cigar box. Searching through an archive of the St. Nicholas magazine does not immediately reveal that Daniel C. Beard wrote an article with this same title, however, nor that he published the plans at all in that magazine. It is more likely that the plans for the Uncle Enos Banjo were first printed in the American Boy’s Handy Book in 1882 as supplementary material in the rear of the book as suggested in its prologue. (Beard, Daniel Carter (1882). The American Boy's Handy Book. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0879234490. )

It would seem that the earliest cigar box instruments would be extremely crude and primitive, however, this is not always the case. The National Cigar Box Guitar Museum has acquired two cigar box fiddles built in 1886 and 1889 that seem very playable and

well built. The 1886 fiddle was made for an 8 year old boy and is certainly playable, but the 1889 fiddle has a well carved neck and slotted violin headstock. The latter instrument was made for serious playing.

The cigar box guitars and fiddles were also important in the rise of jug bands and blues. As most of these performers were black Americans living in poverty, many could not

afford a "real" instrument. Using these, along with the washtub bass (similar to the cigar box guitar), jugs, washboards, and harmonica, black musicians performed blues during socializations.

The Great Depression of the 1930s saw a resurgence of homemade musical instruments. Times were hard in the American south and for entertainment sitting on the front porch singing away their blues was a popular pastime. Musical instruments were beyond the means of everybody, but an old cigar box, a piece of broom handle and a couple wires from the screen door and a guitar was born.

Modern revivalA modern revival of these instruments (also known as the Cigar Box Guitar Revolution) has been gathering momentum with an increase in cigar box guitar builders and performers. A loose-knit tour of underground musicians tour the East Coast (US) each summer under the banner "Masters of the Cigar Box Guitar Tour." These musicians include Doctor Oakroot, Johnny Lowebow, Tomi-O and many others. Also, there is a growing number of primitive luthiers adding cigar box guitars to their items for sale.Modern revival is sometimes due to interest in jugband and the DIY culture, as a cigar box is relatively inexpensive when considering other factors, such as strings and construction time. Many modern cigar box guitar can thus be seen as a type of practice in lutherie, and implement numerous personal touches, such as the addition of pick up and resonator cones into it.

Another factor in the current revival can be attributed to many musicians' desire for a more primal sound. Blues guitarists, in particular, have picked up the cigar box guitar in an attempt to play Delta Blues in its purest form.

The modern revival of cigar box guitars is documented in the 2008 film, "Songs Inside The Box" (http://www.songsinsidethebox.com) which was shot primarily at an annual Huntsville, Alabama event called the Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza.

Notable performers

• Luther Dickinson, the guitarist of the North Mississippi Allstars, uses an electric cigar box guitar called the Lowebow."

• Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top performs with a cigar box guitar made by Kurt Schoen http://www.schoenguitars.com.

• Richard Johnston (http://www.richardjohnston.com), the subject of the 2005 Max Shores documentary Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour (http://www.maxshores.com/johnston), performs with a Lowebow. Johnston helped design the instrument with the builder, John Lowe.

• Tom Waits plays cigar box banjo on his album Real Gone.

• Seasick Steve plays several personalised and obscure instruments including a cigar box guitar )

• Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd plays a cigar box guitar made by Tomi-O. http://www.tomiocbg.com/index2.html

• Harry Manx, a Hindustani slide master, plays a Lowebow cigar box guitar.

• Rollie Tussing, National Slide Guitar Champion, plays cigar box guitars. http://www.rollietussing.com

• Chris Ballew, lead singer of The Presidents of the United States of America, has recorded with a one-string cigar box bass made by Shane Speal.

• Joe Buck, one-man-band performer and also a member of Hank Williams III's band Assjack, plays a cigar box guitar made by Tomi-O. http://www.joebuckyourself.com, http://www.tomiocbg.com/index2.html

• Robert Hamilton of the Low-Country Messiahs plays a 3-string Tomi-O cigar box guitar.

• PJ Harvey among many others plays a genuine Baratto Cigfiddle. http://www.cigfiddles.com/cf_gallery.htm

• Charlie Brown, of the peanuts comic strip, played a cigar-box banjo a few times in his first years (early 1950s)

Source :Wikipedia: Cigar Box Guitar

Tips and tricks to make your CBG better

How to make your CBG sound better

Our CBG should sound fine so far, but if you have reached this section before you assemble the instrument, now is the time to consider a great modification to the neck that will allow you to get richer tones and more volume.

We cut a recess in the neck to fit the box lid into. That was good, but lets do something else. Our box lid is an integral part of the sound. It must vibrate too. Attached to the neck, the lid is not allowed to vibrate much. What we are going to do is to liberate the lid to a degree allowing it to vibrate more by creating a second recess.

Start by finishing the lid recess. From there, mark another 1” line into the lid recess on both sides of the recess. Make another line the length of that area 1/8” below the recess on the side of the neck. This is the same thing we did to mark the neck recess.

Once marked, we are going to cut yet another recess. This time it does not need to be finished, but it should not touch the lid. The 1” shelves left are where we will glue and install the screws.

One thing to know is that if you do make the extra recess for the sound, you might want to reinforce it. Below is a picture of how to make a good reinforcement. Use this if you find that you cannot keep it tuned (progressively gets lower) or if the recessed area tends to bow inward.

Making your neck look good

I usually trim down the neck to make it more like a conventional guitar. This does reduce the strength of the neck some and I would definitely advise considering that if you make anything over a four string CBG. At the end of this tip, I will talk about reinforcing the neck with a thin iron bar, but for now I will talk about shape.

The method below is to be done on the neck before finishing and assembly.My method of making the neck rounder – almost a semicircular neck – is to trim the bottom edges with a wood rasp. I use a Stanley wood rasp with replaceable blades. First I mark a center line down the back of the neck. This is for two reasons: I don't want to remove any material there and I want to ensure that my curve is straight.

Next I make to lines down the sides of the neck about ¼ the distance from the neck top (the side the strings will be on). That is my limit up the neck side. I will not trim any material past that.

The next step is to make two lines up the neck back which are between the neck edges and the center line. I will make two lines up the neck sides that are the same distance from the neck bottom edge. This is where I am going to remove material.

I also taper the side lines so that the headstock and box joins don't look out of place (see below).

So if you are planning to trim the neck down to the more conventional neck shape, you might consider putting in a reinforcement rod. I use a simple 1/2”x1/8” piece of iron rod from a hardware store. You can find them at Lowes or Home Depot (as well as others) fairly easily. You can also use round bar stock but that can bend.

To install this rod, you will need to be able to dig a 1/8” wide x 9/16”deep channel in the top face of the neck. You could do this on the bottom but you will have a much harder time making the channel.

I install these by drawing a center line down the top face of the neck from just short of the nut to just short of the lid recess. Then I put a 1/8” router bit into a drill press, center the neck on the press so that the router bit is centered on the line. I will also attach a block to the drill press stand to rest the neck against to prevent the neck from slipping and causing the channel to be off center.I dig the channel but turning the drill press on, lowering the bit until it is about

1/8” into the neck and moving the neck back and forth under the bit from one end to the other end of the center line, lowering the bit slightly each pass. Digging out such a small amount of material makes the bit grab less and allows me to move the neck easier.

I will repeat this process until I have a channel 9/16” deep and straight. Once that is complete, I will glue the bar into the channel. The excess depth is so the glue and bar will fit slightly lower in the channel, allowing me to sand and finish the face of the neck easier. Iron does not sand or finish well.

Ok, so now I have a neck with an ugly channel. What to do about that? I install a fretboard on the neck. A fretboard hides the channel and makes the guitar look more finished (see the above picture on the right).

Fretboard wood can be bought at Lowes or Home Depot in the craft wood section. I use the 1/4” x 2” x 24” strip of red oak. Cut to the desired length and glue that onto the face of the neck. Finish and install the nut.

One word about fretboard installation: You will have to place the nut on the fretboard AND have to raise the bridge the same amount. I cut a simple 3” x 1/2” strip of the same red oak (you should have some excess from the fretboard) and glue that to the box lid. On that, I glue my bridge piece.

Advanced Sanding and Finishing

Sanding should be a no-brainer. Simply use sandpaper right? Yes and no. As

mentioned earlier, I use 3M Sandblaster paper in 120 and 220 grits to get the rough sanding and shaping done. Then I use 300 and 400 grit until the wood is smooth. Simple. What I do have to be aware of is that the poplar, while is a hardwood, it is soft. Its easy to remove much more wood during sanding that you thought. That is why I will say make sure your cuts allow a little more, so when sanding you don't remove too much wood. You will also have cut marks you make and mill marks on the wood (even though the wood looks smooth, it isn't). If you use a wood rasp or other tool to do shaping, you have to be aware that your tool will leave marks. You have to sand them out. 120 and 220 grits are perfect.

I will use my hand held sander to do some shaping. By that, I mean that if I have a design cut in or want to finish out the neck shape, this tool is perfect. If you don't have one, paste a ¼ section of the paper to a block of wood as well as have some loose in your hand. Sandpaper on a block will allow you to sand flat areas with confidence. I don't use a flexible sand pad because I can't get a flat surface. This is very important on the top face of the neck!

I will also tape a piece of sandpaper to a strip of 1/4”x2”x10” stip of red oak (same as I use for fretboards) and use that like a file. It gets in tight places and I can even make it thinner in width if I need too.

I sand until the wood is smooth. Why? Any finish will show imperfections once applied – especially black. Clear coats are more forgiving but my method for applying them will also show imperfections.

You can use steel wool but I recommend against that. It might leave small pieces of wool embedded in your wood.

If you use wood glue (carpenters glue) and get it on the wood, sanding that off is a pain, plus you end up removing wood instead of glue. Use strong vinegar to remove any glue. Vinegar will dissolve PVC based glues (wood glue is PVC based). Sand afterwards.

I have heard some folks sand until smooth, then lightly wet the wood. This raises the grain and one last sanding removes that. Supposedly that prevents the grain from raising again.

I have used polyurethane gloss coat (MinWax brand is great) but I have to thin it out. Add about 4 oz of thinner to a small can and it should glide on. I have since switched to using a nitrocellulose based clear coat.

Now, I use Deft brand Clear Gloss Wood Finish in both the can and aerosol versions. Its great! It works well, doesn't (usually) glob, reduces down to a thin sheen, dries very fast even when brushed on and can be sanded easily without clogging.

My finish schedule for most necks is to sand well down to 500 grit, brush on very liberally the Deft finish and slowly rotate the piece so that the finish will settle flat with few runs (some will happen. Can be fixed). I do this 3 to 10 times with 3-6 hours in between coats – depending on how deep of a finish I want. Between every 3-4 coats, I wet sand with 600 grit sandpaper. This keeps the sandpaper from clogging and makes a better finish. I end with a nice wet 600 grit sanding.

At the end, I will take the aerosol version of Deft and apply a few even coats. This creates my high-high-high gloss shine without buffing. If I have a scratch or a blemish, I will use Mothers Aluminum and Magnesium polish dabbed on a paprt towel. This stuff takes marks out and leaves a great shine.

In both types of finishes, I strongly suggest practicing on a scrap piece of wood to get your technique down.

Now if you are not into lots of brushing, there are clear coat sprays in polyurethane and shellac. There are also enamel clear coats. Anything but any paint with latex in it. Latex paint will grip your hands and will easily scrape off. Its designed for your house trim, not musical instruments. Krylon spray paint will work so long as it is completely dry. I have seen some builders paint their necks and boxes and most use something with enamel or lacquer.

Again, test the finishes you want to use on a scrap piece of wood. If you are not satisfied with the way the finish feels or works, don't use it.

There are some folks that clear coat the cigar boxes them selves. I've done that too. Its OK to do. You can even do it to paper covered boxes but test a small spot to make sure you're not going to dissolve or smear the inks.

Frets

Some of you might want frets. Frets are the wires that are perpendicular on the

fretboard or neck face. You can put frets on this guitar easily but you will have to know what you are doing. I'm not going to go over fret installation here. You can find everything you need to know online. If you want frets, I will sell you a prebuilt fretboard ready to install or I can sell you a kit with the frets already cut. Only thing you have to do is to put the frets in and glue the board on.

If you want to make fret position marks on your new CBG without making frets, you can do that. I usually put them on the side as seen below but you can put them on the face of the fretboard or neck face if you want. You can drill tiny holes and insert wire, plastic, paint. Colored plastic toothpicks or pieces or 12ga copper wire make great fret markers. You can also use paint pens to make the fret marks. I have seen others take carpet tacks, brass nails, screws, and make fret marks or even burn them on with a woodburning kit. Be creative.

If you want to put some kind of fret position mark on your CBG, you can use the chart below for the fret positions. Just use the “Distance From Nut” column and get somewhat close. Since we have a slide model, accuracy is not as important.

Templates

The templates have been moved out of this document onto the CD in PDF format.

Links

The best thing about the Internet is how much information you can get. I learned how to build CBGs from sites I found and am glad to share them with you. Hopefully these links will not be outdated too soon and if they are, I should have new ones posted online.

The premier website to visit is cigar boxnation.com. Start there.

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/Go there and get registered as a use and have all of your CBG questions answered.

Shane SpealTake a good look at this site. It was started by Shane Speal, who is one of the first to bring CBGs into popularity. His career has spanned some two decades and has

Fret

Nut 25.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.0000001 23.596858 1.403142 1.403142 1.3718932 22.272468 1.324390 2.727532 2.6962833 21.022410 1.250058 3.977590 3.9463404 19.842513 1.179897 5.157487 5.1262375 18.728839 1.113675 6.271161 6.2399126 17.677670 1.051169 7.322330 7.2910817 16.685498 0.992171 8.314502 8.2832528 15.749013 0.936485 9.250987 9.2197379 14.865089 0.883924 10.134911 10.10366210 14.030776 0.834313 10.969224 10.93797511 13.243289 0.787487 11.756711 11.72546212 12.500000 0.743289 12.500000 12.46875013 11.798429 0.701571 13.201571 13.17032214 11.136234 0.662195 13.863766 13.83251715 10.511205 0.625029 14.488795 14.45754516 9.921257 0.589949 15.078743 15.04749417 9.364419 0.556837 15.635581 15.60433118 8.838835 0.525584 16.161165 16.12991619 8.342749 0.496086 16.657251 16.62600120 7.874507 0.468243 17.125493 17.09424421 7.432545 0.441962 17.567455 17.53620622 7.015388 0.417157 17.984612 17.95336323 6.621644 0.393743 18.378356 18.34710624 6.250000 0.371644 18.750000 18.71875025 5.899215 0.350786 19.100785 19.069536

Scale (Dist from Bridge)

DistFret to fret

Dist From Nut

Dist From Nut (comp'd 1st)

been instrumental in bringing CBG and CBG history back to life. His devotion to the instrument has been an inspiration to all of us. But don't take my word for it, read his bio.

His site can be seen at:

http://www.cigarboxguitar.com/

Shane has recordings of his work at:

http://www.insurrectionrecords.com/

And he is the focus of this documentary:

http://www.songsinsidethebox.com/

Videos

There is a directory if you haven't found it yet that has video clips of how to play your new CBG. These are provided courtesy of Shane Speal (see, he's a great guy). Shane will guide you through the basics of playing your new CBG and give you some really great tips! His work can also be found on cigarboxnation.com, cigarboxguitar.com as well as on YouTube.com.

Speaking of YouTube.com, Go check out John McNair (johnmcnair). This guy is fantastic. He's the first one I heard play a CBG and I was hooked.

Another great artist and instructor is Keni Lee Burgess (KeniLeeBurgess) He has some videos online as well has instructional videos for sale online at ebay (search “KeniLee”).

Glues

I thought I would mention glue here. There are many kinds of glue and many uses for each type. As we know from our own experiences there are school glues, wood glues, adhesives, super glues of all sorts – just about anything you need to join with a glue, there is a glue for. In the luthier business, glues are used quite frequently as they can seam together two pieces of wood making a complete, strong join that transmits sound and is structurally stable. Wood being the material widely used by luthiers needs to be

consistent in how its uses, thus the top of a guitar is usually the same type of wood. Though there are many kinds of woods used, we must be able to seam them together as if they were one.

Traditionally, luthiers used hide glue which is a glue made by processing the skins of animals such as horses (yes they made glue out of 'ol Sea Biscuit), sheep, cow, and other animal hides. This glue can be readily found today and is quite inexpensive per unit. It also has the added features that I will go over later.

We also have more modern glues. Carpenters or wood glue, super glues, contact adhesives, etc. Some of these are used and some cannot be used. Carpenters or wood glue is widely used in CBG construction, so that makes it a good glue to use (not I did not say the best. I'll give you my opinions on that later.) Carpenters or wood glues are poly vinyl acetate (PVA) and while provide a great joint, might be a little hard to use, believe it or not. Super glues (cyanoacrylates or CA) can be used but only in special applications. I would NOT ever build a CBG solely on CA glues. Just is not the best to use.

If you do use carpenters or wood glue, I suggest Titebond Original (red label). DO NOT USE GORILLA GLUE. It expands and will NOT come off easy. BAAAAAD stuff.

Ok, so now I'm going to tell you my glue of choice. Keep in mind, that you don't have to use this as it seems much harder to use than PVA glues, but the benefits of this glue far surpass the PVA glues.

What I like is hide glue. More specifically is gelatine glue. That's right, gelatine. The kind you eat. Its made very similar to hide glue and is supposed to have better hardness and shear strength than traditional hide glue. The recipe is easy and somewhat cheap.

Hide/gelatine glue (HG) is a natural substance which when applied properly, is incredibly strong. As opposed to PVA, hide glue does not creep. PVA glues are poly vinyl and thus a plastic. Plastic can creep. Once HG glue is set, it is set and the only thing that will remove its hold is water and heat.

Water and heat? But that's not good. PVA glues are water resistant. Yes, they are, but when are you going to be playing in or under water. As well, if your CBG has succumb to that amount of water, you have bigger problems. On the other hand , being able to be removed by water and heat is a good thing. Let's say you want to

remove and reposition something. Easily done with HG glue. And, you don't have to clean the area the same way as you would using other glues. Simply soften the old glue with hot water and its back to being glue.

Here is a recipe for HG glue using Knox Genatine:

To make a strong hide type glue from Knox (Unflavored) Gelatin packets, you mix the dry gelatin with 3 times the amount of clear and clean cold water (about 3/4 oz. of cold water for each 1/4 oz. package of unflavored Knox gelatin). Because Knox Gelatin has higher strength than normal luthier hide glues, it needs a little more water than normal.

Stir the mixture until the water is fully absorbed, to about the mixture of ice slush, and then you can heat it up to no more than 150 degrees Fahrenheit to use it. The concoction should have a consistency like that of thick, clear paste. Don't let it boil, as boiling will reduce its strength, and don't mix it so that lots of air bubbles are introduced into it which will turn it milky white. It is important to keep the glue warm when you glue the parts together so that the glue stays in a liquid state before you apply the clamps. Joints must be clamped before glue

begins to gel at around 95 to 100 degrees.

When a hide glue joint is clamped, the glue should squeeze out all around the joint. If the glue which is squeezed out has the texture of cottage cheese, breaks up easily or turns to dust when rubbed with your finger, the joint may not have been clamped in time.

Sound Holes

I hate ugly holes and since I can't cut them perfect, the only thing I can do is to cover them. But with what?

Fortunately there are many things one can do to cover those holes while making them look really good. One thing to do is to pick up some 2” drain hole covers from Lowes or Home Depot. They are cheap and make wonderful covers.

Below is what I use. You can find other kinds and use them too. Or you can use grommets, shower rings, closet rod end covers. Just about anything that will make that hole look better.