How To Make A Fretted Cigar Box Guitar
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- Опубліковано 28 сер 2024
- A cigar box guitar tutorial was the first project video of this kind I ever filmed. That was 4 years ago. I've always wanted to build a fretted version from the ground up, and for this video I finally got around to it. I hope you enjoy! The goal I set for the design was to use only tools and materials that can be purchased at a local hardware store, other than a cigar box and guitar strings.
Below are the parts and tools used for this project. I occasionally overlook an item in a video this long so let me know if you notice anything missing from the lists. If you try this project be sure to let me know! I would love to see a video of your own cigar box guitars.
Tools:
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Tape Measure
Pen/Pencil
Hand Saw
Hammer(Mallet)/Chisel
Drill w/Bits
Sand Paper/Sanding Block
Fine Grain File
Gel Super Glue
Tape
Razor
Paste Wax (optional)
Materials:
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1” x 3” Maple Plank (must not be warped)
Wood Cigar Box
1 1/2” Inside Corner Brace (x3)
4” Eye Bolts/Nuts (x3)
Door Hinge Pin
Fencing Staples
1 1/2” Finish Nails (x12)
#18 x 5/8” Pins (x3)
Acoustic Guitar Strings
Total build time should be around 8 hours, so the project can fit comfortably into a weekend. The cost of the materials not including any of the tools is about $35. Not bad for a guitar! I suspect I am going to receive quite a few comments saying I should have used wing nuts on the tuners so a wrench wouldn't be required, and that was initially my plan. The bolts are a little too close together on my model for wing nuts to spin without hitting each other, but feel free to try it yourself.
If you would like to build a guitar with a different scale length than 24" you can use this website to calculate fret measurements: www.harpkit.com...
The first song I play in this video is 'Prelude to Cello Suite No.1' by Bach. The later songs are improvised blues. I was in drop D tuning.
I also want to give a shout out to one of my favorite song covers played on a frettless Cigar Box Guitar, check this out if you want to see how well a CBG can be played: • Muddy Waters - I can't...
I made this for a science project and got an A+ thanks man!!
I made one a few years before the grade where we had to make an instrument, but then that teacher left before I got to bring it in and brag
Same bro, even got extra credit for playing Smoke On The Water
Why the hell would you need a guitar for science
dont you mean A# ?
that's pretty cool, did you need a lot of skill or is it ok?
The most important thing in ANY tutorial is that each step be cleared explained with each step clearly filmed. You did a GREAT job on this score! Thank you, sir. :-)
This needs to be the flagship video for this subject. Very detailed! Maybe I'll try this!
Thank you kindly!
I want to be a music teacher and this is one of the coolest DIY projects I have ever seen. I don't have fancy heavy machinery, but I have lots of enthusiasm, so I am absolutely trying this out!
I've made one of these years ago and never thought about frets. Thanks for sharing!
I watched your video and it's nice to see a guitar being made from basic parts. I make cigar box guitars and for very little money and effort, I would suggest real machine heads. They are easy to install and much easier to tune. Also fret wire is so inexpensive and with the right size of slots being cut, will stay in without any need for glue. For cutting out the shape of the neck I would clamp the wood and cut slots along the neck up to the line and then chip them out with a chisel. There's less chance of splitting the wood the wrong way. I'd also use a pencil to mark everything, use wood glue and clamps, mark the fret lines in two places and use a t-square to draw the line for cutting. I also like to install the neck inside the box and have the bridge on top of the box for better resonance. Sorry this isn't me being critical, these are just things that can be done for not much more effort or money. Great video :)
Amazing!
woAh
Can you use a jigsaw for the cuts in the neck?
Germey Bovenzi I do not see why not, and it would be much quicker.
Alltime10s it is good i want to meet you
Now that's what I call CBG playing. AND you even show us how to make our own guitar. It doesn't get better than that.
Brought back great memories of my Grampa and my dad making and playing cigar box guitars !
Has been so many years ago.
What a great flashback !
Nice tone quality by the way !
Thanks
Working on my CBG as I speak. I’ve stolen some of your ideas and have added a few of my own. First off you can’t get cigar boxes where I live in N Ireland and so I’ve had to make my own box out of 3mm ply with a lite pine baton for the sides. I could only get a piece of walnut for the neck which I had to buy rough cut and miles too big all round. I’ve spent most of the day shaping it because I decided on a profiled neck wide enough for 4 strings. I’m using your tuner idea but put wing nuts on so hopefully I’ll not need a wrench to tune up. I’m enjoying the challenge. And I thank you for giving me the inspiration. I can’t see mine turning out anywhere near as nice as yours but I’m doing alright for an old timer with Parkinson’s. I’ll keep you posted.
Brilliant video, well edited and perfect commentary. I have been wanting to build my own guitar for a while now but decided to go with a cigar box style guitar first and this video is exactly what I was looking for. No expensive routers, table saws or other expensive tools, just good old fashioned elbow grease and hand tools!
Great tutorial. I don't think you could have made it shorter. I often watch video's like these and realise half way through I don't have the correct tools or expertise so I like the use of basic tools most people will have access to and the easy to follow instructions and useful tips for novices.
Thanks! Yeah I definitely could not have made it any shorter. As it is I cut out explaining some of the more simple things with the hope that the viewer will understand what I'm talking about anyway. Things like what a scale length is, a head stock...
I love your making a guitar video. You went slowly over some of the steps in making a musical instrument make sounds correctly so that is understood. I am not a musician at all but I am a wood worker and I am impressed how well you did using a limited number of woodworking tools. No band saw, hole saw, orbital sander, no polyurethane, just wax, The really hard wood working you did very well by hand could be done very easily and very quickly with power tools. I am not criticizing your wood working, just saying that part could be done a lot easier with a few cheap power tools. The really neat part was how you explained frets, stringing , drilling in the right places, the depth of the nails, their positions and all the stuff that makes a guitar work properly. You have created an excellent guitar making video. A person could alter the woodworking part and maintain the musical integrity that you showed so clearly and make a guitar that looked any way the wood worker wanted and yet when strung the way you showed and explained would most likely sound acceptable if played by a musician.
Thanks! I am a very amateur wood worker but it's something I would like to become better at. I do have quite a good selection of power tools, but part of the goal for my videos is using the simplest/most affordable methods possible. Besides, I think chisels are fun to use!
NightHawkInLight FINALLY!! someone actually agrees
NightHawkInLight You have succeeded in a wonderful simple way to make a wonderful musical instrument. I love how you did it.
A chisel at best in my hands a very crude tool. You make the chisel work beautiful!
I would watch one hundered thousand how to videos if your voice was in it. this is the most helpful video I have EVER watched.
+LameNch33zy Thanks!
This is by far the most straightforward video of a cigar box guitar I have found. Thank you so much for taking the time to share. Now I feel confident enough to try one this weekend.
I am starting up a woods shop here soon. And one of the things I want to do is be able to teach people how to be self sufficient. Projects like this have a variety of skills and tips that gives people the tools to be able to solve the problems they may confront in life. Honestly, thank you for these videos. Maybe one day you will head a class when the shop is open.
What inspired you to take up this craft?
well, one could use one to busk- you might get sympathy even if you can't really play! But self-sufficiency? Please! Considering the tools, materials and workspace needed- this is not self-sufficiency. I've befriended enough homeless people to know these kind of classes don't help, it just makes teachers like you feel better about yourselves. Heck, if I could find an employer just looking for basic woodworking skills- I'd be applying myself.
The video is 17 min long but really just felt like 8 min
Thanks! I'm glad some of you are enjoying it even as long as it is. I wasn't sure very many people would watch the whole thing.
Make sure you didn't change the video speed
NightHawkInLight
Some of us love long videos. This one was amazing.
NightHawkInLight This was really fun to watch, I hope I get to build one next summer, always wanted to get myself a cig box guitar.
NightHawkInLight
I wasn't expecting myself to watch it all either, but then it finished after what felt like 7-10 minutes... And I'm left with an urge to go to home depot lmao.
One of the things that I took away from the video, more than style or the how to, but I was taken by the why. I don't play guitar, so the reason why I enjoyed the video is now I understand the fretting, the reason why the neck has to be a certain length for a certain note. There is so much in this video that gives information rather than how to put the nails in the hole.
Willards51 Thanks! That's what I like to hear
I'm loving the Prelude to Cello Suite No. 1 at the beginning.
I bought 3 cigar boxes not long ago from a flea market. My oldest daughter was with me at another flea market this weekend and saw some guitars for sale, I told her I could make one. Your video came up when I searched how to make a guitar. I think I will try what you did in this video. When I bought the cigar boxes, I had no real use in mind, just picked them up. Thanks for your video, very detailed.
Dude, you're amazing! I don't know if you're crazy for having this kind of patience or if you're a genius for making this, but thank you so much for sharing!
Yet another great video. I belong to a local makerspace and we have used some of your other videos to get kids interested in making and building things for themselves. I think this one may have to join the ranks also.
That's great! Those are my favorite sort of things to hear
NightHawkInLight why you dont use fretsaw?
McRay47 Because not very many people have one
Man, this was such an awesome video to watch. I used to have an acoustic bass, but sadly no more. This video has made me want to try building my own. I noticed one thing about the way you constructed the head makes it not an easy guitar to tune on the fly.
There are probably a bunch of other people who mentioned this in the comments here... But if you altered the design of the head a little bit, it would also make changing the strings easier too. I would angle the strings the opposite way you've done it and create a second bridge at the point where the head and neck meet. This would allow you to put tension on the lines without adding the additional block of wood you did.
It could also enable you to easily make this a 4 string bass by positioning the tuning pegs to two on the top and two on the bottom.
Most detailed video tutorial i've ever seen, i don't think i'll be making my own but the whole process was just a pleasure to watch. Cheers
As a luthier who has thousands of $ in tools, I appreciate your use of basic hand tools. Fine job!
That actually sounds better than some of the acoustic guitars you can buy...
It is an opinion. I personally think both have ups and downs.
Well I think it's his playing and the style he is playing. Kind of like how Bossa Nova sounds infinitely better on a nylon string than a steel string
Pat Gedeon no wrong
Gedeon Music ok
Good Stuff Guy.......
"The ultimate dream of man, is to build something that lives on beyond himself" (Nivek)
This is a really good video, well put together, easy to follow, and well explained. I also like that you have demos of you playing in the beginning and end. I found this because I have a physics project where I have to build an instrument. Not only did I get an A but I also have a rad cigar box guitar now! Thanks man!
What an awesome way to use my grandfathers’ cigar old cigar boxes!
Amazing. I liked how you designed the tuners. I made a diddley bow a few weeks ago with home made tuner, but it was overly complicated compered to this one. I plan on making an acoustic bass next year both because it's fun and of financial reasons and it would help if I didn't have to actually buy tuners. Maybe I will design her head based on your vid, so thanks.
Great video. I especially like that you have used simple tools instead of power tools. Maybe in the next video you could make a piezo beer-can microphone to complete the vintage country rig? ;)
I haven't looked into that before, but I bet the sound would go great with a CBG!
That would be sweet! I have built cigar box guitars before, but this is so much nicer of a design... I'll be using this for sure!
I would absolutely love the beer can piezo microphone idea to go with it!
The idea with the eyebolts is genius, does it hold tune well? And the bridge pins, does the pressure the strings create hold them in well, without tuning issues?
Cheers, thanks for the new ideas!
ezrocks4u The tuners work pretty well, they're just easy to bump which sends them out of tune. The bridge pin works fine under string pressure
Great video, thanks for the easy DIY version. I cannot wait to make one.
Great job mate! I like the "raw" sound that comes out of it!
Thanks! I'm considering uploading an extended version of this video in a few days without any talking, just the tool sounds.
NightHawkInLight I think that would be a cool idea, I love woodworking videos of just the sounds of sanding and cutting.
Never Made one of these but I just ordered some boxes from a place here near where I live. Totally stoked to try making one of these. What a great video. Love the nails, and the staples are a great idea!
I think I'll make one, learn, then teach my boy. Because that is fruition, serendipity, perfection. You got one life. Spend it well.
And I shall make it from a box from Rockey Patels, which is what all my family smoked in celebration of his birth.
This is a great tutorial man. Thanks for posting. I've been wanting to build one of these for a while. I really like your design. Sounds great too!
BEAUTIFUL CRAFTSMAN!
I was once considering how to make tuners/tensioners out of nuts and bolts, but this is a good design with the eye hooks. A bandsaw is a good tool to have, but could be expensive, or a few minutes at a friends one, makes it simple, but chisling shows craftmanship with basic tools. It would be good to convert those fret positions to inches and, plus, 16ths or 32nds of an inch. THis is unique construction and design, and practical without fuss to make something. An oval hole on the neck could help the string sound get into the sound body a bit better, but it would not matter if you put a PAF in it. Possibly , the back of the neck can be rounded a bit more, with a 45 degree angle at the sides, perhaps 1/2 to 3/4 in, and then gradually smooth it round with a file and sand paper.
Muito interessante...!!! ~rr" ...
GREENPOWERSCIENCE p
All i can say is
amazing
This is a great video breaking down the basics to make a cbg. No special tools needed. Really good to give a beginner a chance of making something playable and not breaking the bank. Maybe next time electrify the guitar. Thanks keep up the good work.
no freaking way! i love to play guitar and i have been saving up my money for a while yet creating a guitar from scratch?! i am freaking out! i can actually have a guitar that doesn't cost anything and is better sounding than a normal acoustic guitar! thank you so much!
This is amazing. I am bookmarking this because I simply have to try it myself!
If you do make one I would love to see some pictures of the result.
nice vid man
PLAY FREEBIRD!!!!
Play Wonderwall
TheWakimaniac haha no,
FREEBIRD
play through the fire and flames
get out household hacker you suck now
There is a mistake at 9:51 and every couple months I remember it and have to come back and watch this video. In the video, he says "3.168" instead of the correct 3.618
Well done! The concept--simple tools and home center parts--is brilliant, and the result is excellent.
whoa this is awesome work. I wish I knew how to play guitar so I had a reason to make one.
make one, then you'll have a reason to learn!
exactly!
maz make one and learn
This is easy to learn trust me.
my lord this instrument reminds me so much of the music that is in the "cowboy bebop" series, it gave me a real nostalgia kick, I think I might make this for a birthday present,I cant play worth to save my life but I can build! thank you so much for sharing this,I could never pick out the instrument/ what it was until now,Im sure of it.
TeshiMeshi Yeah it does sound a bit like that but it reminded me more of 'Bastion'
Emil Carr ahhh, yes that too! shows how great this instrument is though regardless.
+TeshiMeshi I do believe it is a banjo in Cowboy Bebop... I could be wrong...
Can you do a video on how to play that sweet Jam you were playing
its called Bach Cello Suite No 1. (the first one)
We homeschool and this has just become a math/ music project for my son and my husband. Thanks!
im a wood worker coming at an instrument for a friend. know NOTHING about guitars. I found this very very informational about the guitar fret structure. thank you.
IM MAKING ONE RIGHT NOW.
This was a thorough and well-planned video. I'm a casual woodworker, and had no problems following along with not only the 'what' you were doing, but you also did a great job explaining the 'why.' I don't play guitar, but this makes me want to try it! One question for you: have you found that the superglue holding the neck to the box was adequate? I'd be worried about those two lines of glue holding the entire neck to the box.
+RusselSprouts1 Thanks Russel! Yes, I have found the superglue to be adequate. It would not be terribly difficult to break the box free with some effort, but doing so would not damage the neck so no harm would be done. Since the box has no reason to be held on any more securely than it is, I opted for a relatively weak connection in case it ever needed to be removed for repairs/replacement.
Ahh, excellent point. Solid work, I might have to give it a shot!
I feel the need to ask a very important question? Is it capable of dj0nt?
+Kevin Luper too many frets for the dj0nting
+Tyler Kilbourne it has about 11 frets too many for djent, and it could also do with a couple strings less
I feel this can djent
OrmTostesson for djent: as many or as little strings as possible, no in between
@@koffieverslaafde627 Single string "thunderstick" with electromagnetic pickup! Nothing else will do!
My son and I are building a cigar box guitar for his science project in the study of wavelengths and frequencies. This was a great video Thank you so much. MUCH easier than others. Way to go. Thanks again.
+Ines Calderwood Great! Let me know how it goes
My daughters are doing a school project and chose your Cigar Box Guitar as their project. Thanks for posting :) we appreciate the details and passion you have for this project.
Good to hear, hope they have fun!
I now have an irresistible urge to rewatch the TV show firefly... o_o
anyone else?
christopher onciu I know this post is old but i thought the same thing about firefly.
Please upload a 20 min video of playing on that guitar uncut just leave it as it is :))
Haha, we'll see.
could you show us how you make an electric 6 string version of your cigar box guitar?
something with a gibson scale lenght and with a p90 pickup which would be more than suitable for rock n roll
That's called a guitar.
well yes but with a cigar box as a body.
so you could think of it as a les paul junior with a hollow cedar body.
+ACDC1998Zippo A cigar box guitar is its own instrument, but I see what your getting at
+ACDC1998Zippo You'd be better off just looking up a tutorial on how to build an electric guitar. with the time and effort put into making an electric guitar out of a cigar box it would be easier to just get a couple solid pieces of wood and building an electric guitar.
+ACDC1998Zippo There is a guy who made one, the channel name is "scrap wood city", but it is only 4 stringed.
I really wish I saw this video 8 years ago, the way youve set up the tuners is very clever.
In all my years watching your videos I never knew you could play guitar that good!
I feel like I’m watching something that comes on only on early Saturday mornings😂😂
me casually band saw cuz chisel is meh
what kind of animal dislikes a video like this
What I like about this video is that you use everyday hand tools everyone has in their garage. Great video, thanks!
I ended up using round wooden toothpicks instead of nails for frets on mine and they worked nicely!! Thanks for sharing this with us all!!
Good idea! Thanks :)
you guys need to use metric !!
Tell that to the old people who won't let us.
One president already tried it, it didn't work out, although I wish it did
Damnit Jimmy! Why couldn't you pull through for us?
you need to suck it the fuck up
I'm American and use metric with all my original measurements
This is going to be my winter project!! I am so excited about this. Thank you!
Truly a hand made instrument! From the tools you used to the hardware installed. I've watched other videos on making a cigar box guitar and most use tuner pegs and saws to cut. Good job! The sound is awesome and you play it well!!
A very good friend is waiting to have his heart worked on and stents put in. I sent this to him in hopes he uses some of his waiting time to build one of these. Right now he is composing musing on his computer and he does play the piano, so learning to play this guitar should be a breeze.
I have turned 2 Bowl blues guitar s and this by far is the best description I have seen! Thank you ,halarty Now I can learn to play!
I prefer these tuners as opposed to how I did my first vigar box guitar - thanks for the great video and instructions!
One of the best diy's on a cigar box I've seen. Thanks for the detailed explanations.
I am amazed with sound quality from your cigar box guitar - or maybe it's that you play it so well.
This is the best how to video I've ever watched. I am confident this is doable, and I have t even hit the hardware store yet.
That come out great, i really like it, using nails for frets is a really good idea, that's probably how they did it when all this first started, they used what they had to make a instrument, great video and build 👍🏆
Watching this in 2021 and getting ready to make my own CBG. The staples head nut idea is ingenious. Such a shame we can't get cheap cigar boxes here in the UK.
I use to play the classical guitar and I've played the same Bach song and I'm amazed that your can play it this guitar. amazing. keep it doing your thing
This is so cool, I really want to play it! I'm not even great with my ukulele, but I love instruments like this!
I happened to make one as a project, and thankfully it turned out really well. Thanks so much man!
I started to watch this a year ago and got sidetracked, came back to it today and WOW how cool was this build!
I'm going to make two of these one for a buddy of mine that suffers from a disability. and for me. awesome work! and thank you
My kids and I enjoy watching a lot of your videos together. So many awesome science experiments. Keep up the great work on this fantastic UA-cam channel. I may try making my son one of these cigar box guitars since he particularly liked this video.
Really a good first try... I have built a few instruments and assisted a violin maker during an internship I was serving to learn some of the basics... one thing that improve things a bit is use brass nails( a little harder to find ) for frets and a 8" sanding block to level your frets to prevent string buzz...cut equal spaced groves in your hinge pin bridge to let the strings set in and one up from that, use a hard wood bridge instead of metal which will allow the sound to travel into the cigar box more efficiently which will allow for better resination of the sound and tone of the instrument...thx Larry
Hey I just wanted to say thanks for putting this up!
back when I was 17 my sister and I split rent on an apartment, and one day while walking around our local Lowe's and looking at the pre dimensioned craft wood section, I decided that I was going to build a 5-string banjo with a wooden body!
( because I had always wanted a banjo but could never afford one)
Well I bought a coping saw and a in indecent amount of sandpaper, and got started! thankfully we had one local music store so I got some old guitar tuners and I had a neck off of an old Fender which I used to copy the Fret spacing, which was ironically a 24-inch scale length, so went to work with steak knives and Titebond II wood glue and by the time it was over I put a half of juice can in the front of that thing and it sounded all right! Now at 30 years old I have a half-decent wood shop with a workbench and an assortment of reasonably respectable machines and hand tools, but I never have made the journey back into lutherie although that is what got me started to begin with, but I just might, I just might!
Very awesome video and how to. It really is inspirational and even encouraging, as well. I've been looking for positive projects, to build stronger bonds with my children. We have done a lot of projects, over the last few years but this one, has never crossed my mind. I've been a guitarist for over 20 years and I have built a few guitars (to exacting scales). I enjoyed it but no way would I try that, while building positive relationships... It is far too detailed and can be nerve racking at best. My kids are, 6, 11 and 18. Your method (The Home Depot Method... Just kidding) is perfect. It leaves room for, an endless degree of individual design, while lending itself, to an understandable approach, to guitar mechanics. I simply love it and I appreciate, that you took the time, to make it possible. Thank you, for sharing
Very clear instructions. Very clever design. Just what I needed. Thank you from Australia
Thank you! This video really helped me get started. I now build and sell them thanks to your video and others.
Great to hear!
Finally... A well made, fantastic, entertaining, useful video on You Tube. Thanks man... Well done.
Your style of basic cbg building is one I haven't seen with the neck as part of the face; pretty cool and looks more comfortable than straight through the middle.
Brilliant idea for Father's Day
I enjoyed this video a lot. I have thought of making one or modifying a guitar. Surely you have done this video in detail and I have learnt a lot. Thank you
thank you i have been wanting a guitar and now i can yhqnk you and that the lord blesses you in everyway thanks and god bless
That was great!
Have some boxes. Going to give it a try.
Very detailed.
This is the most well done cigar box tutorial I have seen
This was a very well done video. A few years ago my daughter had to make a stringed instrument as part of a school project, and I wish we had seen this video then LOL. Thank you for the video
Man, one of the coolest diy CBG I've seen! The offset and shaped neck really gives it some style.
Mesmorising! I watched this with my 4 year old daughter, drawn in by the bismuth crystal vid. Thank you!
Thank you for your video, very well done. I very much enjoyed watching you measure, cut, and shape the neck and headstock as I am about to begin a CBG and wasn't sure whether to attempt a neck, or just buy one - you've inspired me to make my own, so thanks again.
what Ozzy said: excellent thanks for taking the time to film this
Best I've seen. It's simple and to the point.
This is awesome! As a woodworker and hobby musician I can't turn this project down. I will post when I make it :D