The Art of CigarBox Guitars

Hello Steemit! In the last few years I have become obsessed with the art of making cigar box guitars. I found out about these things after I recieved a bunch for free from a local cigarette store for free and started searching youtube for crafts to make out of them. There I saw a link to a Shane Speal video. After I watched in amazement as to what this guy did I saw a bunch of links to videos from CBGitty after that it was all over. I found myself in my shop and up at two in the morning planning out how to make these things. I also found Glenn Watt's Videos epicly easy to figure out how to build one. Another member of the CBG(cigar box guitar) community.

This is a neck on a cigarbox guitar but I did not make this from scratch this is actually a "refurbished" child's acoustic neck with locally sourced (Washington State) maple vaneer. I got a killer deal because I bought in bulk but I am running out so I originally wasnt going to sell this guitar it was going to be mine but I also told myself I wouldnt sell this unless someone offered me like $250 for it... welll yesterday that happened so she'll be leaving port once the final parts come in. (volume, tone control with built in tuner, locking tuners, strap knobs.) I am also creating a new nut out of a really nice corian sample I have(looks like granite).

I did gold foil on the side of the fretboard to match the gold on the cigar box.


You can see the little aged copper latch I used for the box lid.


Pardon the terrible photo. here you can see the heel shaped out with mahogany and some more of that maple veneer I got. I also cut a little bit of the extra scraps from the box of the borders and used the gold and white line to make the whole thing look like it was meant to be and match.
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The whole inside of the cbg is reinforced with some random hard wood I got from some nuns for helping them at their convent, a small cut of a skateboard, and a solid one inch piece of mahogany.
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Mahogany is my favorite wood to work with and built instruments with. To me it feels like I can feel and hear the difference with a guitar that had mahogany built to use it. It's expensive but every once in a while you can find some in scraps, old furniture, pianos, or I have even been gifted perfectly good boards. The stuff is as good as gold.
(img src: rainforest-alliance.org)
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If you would like a cigar box guitar or try and make one I would highly advise you do that. I have learned so much stuff about wood working, materials, and guitars by messing with these things. I'm also thinking I am somewhat ok at wiring electronics now. Really it is a great hobby and a seriously fun addiction.

-Daniel Angel