How To Make A 3 String Cigar Box Guitar
In this blog post, I’ll take you through how to make a basic, fretless, 3 String Cigar Box Guitar. In this instance, I’m using a Cigar Box Guitar Kit that I picked up from eBay. The kit contains all the parts that I need to build the guitar, with the exception of the box (luckily I have a spare box!).
Cigar Box Guitar Parts
The kit came with: a length of Redwood for the neck,
3 closed machine head tuners,
3 nylon strings (which I may swap for steel strings later),
1 piezo pick up, already soldered to a 6.35mm jack (so the guitar can be plugged into an amp)
3 string guide screws,
1 length of aluminium pipe for the bridge
1 length of aluminium pipe for the nut
1 picture frame hanger to use as a string retainer
Scarf Joint
I have used a scarf joint for the headstock on this neck, it’s not compulsory but I like to do it that way. I’ll create a scarf joint tutorial another day, it’s not hard to do as long as both sufaces are level, smooth and you use the right glue (Titebond3).
I’m quite happy with the kit but not sure about the nylon strings as I’ve never used them before! I’ll give them a go and see what it sounds like.
Power8 Workshop
The Redwood neck is too wide for my liking at 1.3/4″ (4.4cm), so I’ll narrow it down to 1.1/4″ (3cm) using my new toy, the Power8 Workshop with its table saw facility.
Next, I draw a line on the back of the neck where the neck is going to enter the box and a line at the headstock end directly under where the nut is going to sit. I then round off the back of the neck with my spokeshave, checking now and again so I don’t take too much wood off. I just need to remove enough so it feels comfortable to hold.
Spokeshave
When I’m happy with the feel of the neck, the next job it cutting the nut slot. The nut is a small piece of aluminium tubing but because I’ve narrowed the width of the neck, I’ll have to cut the nut to match the neck with my junior hacksaw. Then use a round rasp so the cylindrical tube fits the slot comfortably.
Cutting the nut slot
Next, the headstock. The headstock needs to be around 7/16″ (1.5cm) deep to accomodate the machine head tuners. the neck is 3/4″ (2cm) thick so I need to remove around 5/16″ (0.5cm) with my rasp.
I’ll be removing the excess wood from the top and the bottom of the headstock to tidy it up a little, so I measure and draw a line at 1/8″ (0.25mm) on both sides to give myself a guide.
Once I’m happy with the depth, I file away any ugly marks from the rasp.
Thinning The Headstock
The machine head tuners are all right hand, so I’ll put them all on the same side of the neck. Measure roughly 1.1/4″ (approx 3cm) between the tuner positions and use an 8mm drill bit to drill all the way through from the front to the back of the headstock. Then I enlarge the hole at the back of the headstock using a 10mm drill bit, only drilling around 3/4 of the way through. I do it this way because the tuner bushings are 8mm and the bottom end of the tuners are 10mm and this ensures a snug fit.
Drilling Tuner Holes
I make sure that the tuners fit before moving on to the next stage.
Making Sure The Tuners Fit
Once the holes are drilled, the whole neck and headstock can be sanded smooth. This can take five minutes or hours depending on the type of finish you require and which tools you use, I’ll use 150 grit sandpaper for this excercise.
When I’m happy with the neck, I wipe it with a cloth and some white spirit, to clean up the sawdust etc. I’m not going to apply any woodstain or finish to the neck as it’s a basic build.
Sanded Neck
The neck can now be offered up to the cigar box to see where the box requires cutting. Find the centre of the box, measure the width and the depth of the neck and mark the entry and (if you are making a through neck cigar box guitar) the exit points on the box. Cut the box with a Stanley bladed knife or hacksaw, taking care to cut INSIDE the lines marked on the box.
Cutting The Box
On this build, I’m not going to take the neck right through the box, so I have to insert a small piece of wood into the box at the rear so I’m not screwing the string retainer directly into the endgrain of the neck.
Trying The Neck In The Box
When I’m happy with the position of the neck, I need to cut a slice from the top of the neck but only from the part that fits inside the box.
I need to remove just a little more than the equivalent thickness of the box lid, leaving a small step for the lid to sit on.This is done so the ‘fretboard’ sits level or slightly above the box when the box is closed and it also allows the lid to vibrate or resonate.
This can be done however you like, I sometimes make a series of cuts with my tenon saw and then chisel out the wood that I don’t need but I’m going to use my Power8 Workshop’s tablesaw this time and glue the ‘slice’ to the bottom of the neck to add strength to it.
The 'Slice' Is Glued Under The Neck For Strength
After cutting, ‘dry fit’ the neck to make sure it fits ok, you may have to do a little filing or sanding so the neck is a snug fit.
Figure out where you’d like to put the bridge, measure the distance from the top of the nut to the top of the bridge to get the scale length then find an online Fret Calculator, key in the scale and number of frets you require. This Cigar Box Guitar will be 25.1/2″ Fender Scale and it will have 19 ‘frets’.
Measuring The Scale Length
You will then be able to print out the fret spacing information.
Cut out the fret spacing template and lay it on the fret board,
mark where the frets go and draw a line straight accross the neck at each mark
using a set square.
Lay The Fret Spacing Template On The Neck
I know this is a ‘fretless’ build but it’s nice to know where the frets should be!
You can us a junior hacksaw, a pencil, a biro or anything you like to mark the frets, it’s up to you. For this build, I’ll just use a pencil, I can always revisit it later.
Marking Out The Frets
Next, I’m going to make a hole in the box for the 6.35mm jack socket, for this I use a 10mm drill bit and then file the hole to the right circumference using a round file.
Drilling The Jack Socket Hole
Jack Socket Fitted And Pickup Placed
Place the piezo tranducer pick up (that is attatched to the jack) on top of the neck directly under the bridge using double sided tape or hot glue.
Once the jack is fitted, insert the neck and the small piece of wood for the string retainer. and screw in the string retainer.
String Retainer Fitted
The lid can then be closed and the machine head tuners can be fitted. The strings can now be threaded through the retainer and up to the tuners. Before tightening, the nut and bridge are put into place
3 String Fretless Cigar Box Guitar
Once the Cigar Box Guitar is strung up it is tuned to my favourite tuning which is GDG and that’s it! I have a basic 3 string Fretless Cigar Box Guitar!
Here is a sound sample of the Cigar Box Guitar
It doesn’t take long and it’s nothing to be frightened of!
You can use whatever you like or whatever you find lying around to make a CBG. I don’t play (I’m learning) but I love building, the sense of acheivement I get when I string a build up and get the beautiful Cigar Box Guitar sound out of it is truly unbelievable!
Why not give it a go?
Just remember the rules of Cigar Box Guitar building,
Rule Number One : THERE ARE NO RULES!
