Got a few few hours this Sunday?
August 8, 2015 6:24 PM Subscribe
Make your own 20 dollar cigar box guitar (slyt) Three strings of awesome.
For your pleasure...These guys show you how to play it.
Free concert for a middle school in Denmark by the Ben Miller Band.(slyt)
For your pleasure...These guys show you how to play it.
Free concert for a middle school in Denmark by the Ben Miller Band.(slyt)
The "20 dollar" figure for these sorts of things never includes the cost of an entire woodworking shop.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 1:03 AM on August 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 1:03 AM on August 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
Yep. Got a 20 thousand dollar shop and 20 years woodworking experience? A pile of nice scrap wood and a nice wooden cigar box from a box of good cigars? Build a twenty dollar cigar box guitar!
More realistically for most people, you can buy a kit and build it with simple tools.
posted by pracowity at 3:15 AM on August 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
More realistically for most people, you can buy a kit and build it with simple tools.
posted by pracowity at 3:15 AM on August 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
He glosses over the most painstaking part: measuring and installing frets. Not trivial.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:52 AM on August 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:52 AM on August 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
"This is tuned to open E"
No. No it is not.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:02 AM on August 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
No. No it is not.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:02 AM on August 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
He glosses over the most painstaking part: measuring and installing frets. Not trivial.
When I did mine, I built it to be played with a slide or fretless. I didn't use a kit and as far as I remember the only tools I used were a drill, a file, a wrench, a screwdriver and scrollsaw (the scrollsaw wouldn't be necessary if you're halfway decent with a coping saw or fret saw. )
My guitar definitely wasn't perfect, but it was playable and fun to make.
posted by drezdn at 8:50 AM on August 9, 2015
When I did mine, I built it to be played with a slide or fretless. I didn't use a kit and as far as I remember the only tools I used were a drill, a file, a wrench, a screwdriver and scrollsaw (the scrollsaw wouldn't be necessary if you're halfway decent with a coping saw or fret saw. )
My guitar definitely wasn't perfect, but it was playable and fun to make.
posted by drezdn at 8:50 AM on August 9, 2015
He glosses over the most painstaking part: measuring and installing frets. Not trivial.
Several years ago, my daughter and I made a three stringed instrument similar to a cigar box guitar. Some differences: I used a Tupperware-like tub for the soundbox, with a soundboard of that foam core poster board, hot glued together. The neck was attached on top of the soundboard, mountain dulcimer style. And we used frets tied onto the neck made of fishing line, sort of like the gut frets old stringed instruments used to use. Incidentally, I only used enough frets to make a diatonic scale.
An interesting side effect of tied-on frets is that the intonation can be tweaked more than metal frets. If you looked at the instrument, you might think the frets were pretty wrong, as some of them look "crooked", not perpendicular to the neck. I actually set them that way when fine tuning the instrument, even though they look wrong.
One thing about nylon fishing line: Our instrument had a flat fingerboard. Fishing line doesn't like making such a hard right angle bend, so it had a tendency to sort of lift up above the fingerboard rather than make a clean, hard bend. Eventually, after being tightened enough and settling in, they came to rest more or less on the fingerboard to my satisfaction. A radiused fingerboard, or even just radiused edges might have made this a non issue. I've been contemplating another instrument using a round piece of wood for the neck, which would also eliminate this problem.
Woodworking on our instrument wasn't very sophisticated. I used a hand held drill for the tuner holes, and a router to radius the back of the neck. It could have been made simpler and still be satisfactory. The neck was attached to the posterboard soundboard with two screws and t-nuts underneath the soundboard. This allowed the neck/string assembly to be removed easily, still playable but unattached to a soundbox, which was a feature used to demonstrate sound/vibration transfer for my daughter's class for which the instrument was made.
After the class demonstration, it sat in the garage for a few years, until I pulled it out and started noodling on it. Turns out to be a pretty viable instrument in its own right. I tune it DAD, and it functions like a mountain dulcimer/guitar hybrid, and sounds better than some commercial instruments configured the same way that have since popped up on the market.
posted by 2N2222 at 2:49 PM on August 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Several years ago, my daughter and I made a three stringed instrument similar to a cigar box guitar. Some differences: I used a Tupperware-like tub for the soundbox, with a soundboard of that foam core poster board, hot glued together. The neck was attached on top of the soundboard, mountain dulcimer style. And we used frets tied onto the neck made of fishing line, sort of like the gut frets old stringed instruments used to use. Incidentally, I only used enough frets to make a diatonic scale.
An interesting side effect of tied-on frets is that the intonation can be tweaked more than metal frets. If you looked at the instrument, you might think the frets were pretty wrong, as some of them look "crooked", not perpendicular to the neck. I actually set them that way when fine tuning the instrument, even though they look wrong.
One thing about nylon fishing line: Our instrument had a flat fingerboard. Fishing line doesn't like making such a hard right angle bend, so it had a tendency to sort of lift up above the fingerboard rather than make a clean, hard bend. Eventually, after being tightened enough and settling in, they came to rest more or less on the fingerboard to my satisfaction. A radiused fingerboard, or even just radiused edges might have made this a non issue. I've been contemplating another instrument using a round piece of wood for the neck, which would also eliminate this problem.
Woodworking on our instrument wasn't very sophisticated. I used a hand held drill for the tuner holes, and a router to radius the back of the neck. It could have been made simpler and still be satisfactory. The neck was attached to the posterboard soundboard with two screws and t-nuts underneath the soundboard. This allowed the neck/string assembly to be removed easily, still playable but unattached to a soundbox, which was a feature used to demonstrate sound/vibration transfer for my daughter's class for which the instrument was made.
After the class demonstration, it sat in the garage for a few years, until I pulled it out and started noodling on it. Turns out to be a pretty viable instrument in its own right. I tune it DAD, and it functions like a mountain dulcimer/guitar hybrid, and sounds better than some commercial instruments configured the same way that have since popped up on the market.
posted by 2N2222 at 2:49 PM on August 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
pracowity: "Yep. Got a 20 thousand dollar shop and 20 years woodworking experience? A pile of nice scrap wood and a nice wooden cigar box from a box of good cigars? Build a twenty dollar cigar box guitar!"
This guy does not have a 20K shop, at least from the tools you can see. The most expensive tool in there is the roller cabinet base. Even his table saw (usually the best tool in any shop that has one in the centre) is just a job site saw (I Think) that probably cost less than $400 brand new.
I bet a couple weeks on craigslist would get you everything you need and more for well under $500 even if you wanted to use nothing but power tools. Using nothing but hand tools and an electric drill you could buy all the (homeowner grade) tools needed for well under $200. Drill, rasp (4-in-1), drill bits, coping saw, exacto knife, sandpaper, handsaw, hammer, masking tape (to use instead of clamps when gluing). Maybe a $100 at harbour freight.
And you get experience by doing things, no one is born with it. This is a very basic project as shown that would be forgiving of practically any lack of precision caused by lack of experience.
Johnny Wallflower: "He glosses over the most painstaking part: measuring and installing frets. Not trivial."
His instructions are for a fretless.
posted by Mitheral at 3:35 PM on August 9, 2015
This guy does not have a 20K shop, at least from the tools you can see. The most expensive tool in there is the roller cabinet base. Even his table saw (usually the best tool in any shop that has one in the centre) is just a job site saw (I Think) that probably cost less than $400 brand new.
I bet a couple weeks on craigslist would get you everything you need and more for well under $500 even if you wanted to use nothing but power tools. Using nothing but hand tools and an electric drill you could buy all the (homeowner grade) tools needed for well under $200. Drill, rasp (4-in-1), drill bits, coping saw, exacto knife, sandpaper, handsaw, hammer, masking tape (to use instead of clamps when gluing). Maybe a $100 at harbour freight.
And you get experience by doing things, no one is born with it. This is a very basic project as shown that would be forgiving of practically any lack of precision caused by lack of experience.
Johnny Wallflower: "He glosses over the most painstaking part: measuring and installing frets. Not trivial."
His instructions are for a fretless.
posted by Mitheral at 3:35 PM on August 9, 2015
I bet a couple weeks on craigslist would get you everything you need and more for well under $500
...or, you know, a guitar.
posted by Sys Rq at 3:47 PM on August 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
...or, you know, a guitar.
posted by Sys Rq at 3:47 PM on August 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yes, you can just buy better. I can grill a steak on my back porch, or I can go in to Applebee's for an adequate steak (well ...) with less effort, or downtown there are some places that will consistently shame my efforts, with outstanding sides and better beer than I can serve from my fridge. Shamed, I can buy a better grill or charcoal, make my own marinade. In any case, I can sneer at the other choices. That is what is important.
posted by lesChaps at 3:57 PM on August 9, 2015
posted by lesChaps at 3:57 PM on August 9, 2015
Sys Rq: "or, you know, a guitar."
Where the heck is the fun in that? Ok, playing a guitar is fun I suppose But I always find the feeling of using something I made in the first place to be more deeply satisfying.
posted by Mitheral at 4:51 PM on August 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Where the heck is the fun in that? Ok, playing a guitar is fun I suppose But I always find the feeling of using something I made in the first place to be more deeply satisfying.
posted by Mitheral at 4:51 PM on August 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Besides it's not like the tools are consumed by the creation of the instrument. This week: cigar box guitar; next month a drum; next year a grand piano. Along the way maybe even make a knick knack shelf for the den.
posted by Mitheral at 4:54 PM on August 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 4:54 PM on August 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
The "20 dollar" figure for these sorts of things never includes the cost of an entire woodworking shop.
Yep. Got a 20 thousand dollar shop and 20 years woodworking experience? A pile of nice scrap wood and a nice wooden cigar box from a box of good cigars? Build a twenty dollar cigar box guitar!
Eh? Here's how I built a cigar box guitar from scratch:
Cigar box - free, from a national liquor chain that cells cigars (just walked in, 'Hey, do you keep the boxes for those cigars?', 'Umm, we have a few', 'I'll have the Partagas - how much?', 'Oh just take it')
Neck - Tasmanian oak off cut from national hardware chain - a few bucks
Strings - the most expensive part - $10 at a local music store
Those twisty key string winder things - ripped 'em off an old ukulele picked up from national op shop chain for a buck
Couple of threaded bolts
Tools - small drill, Dremel knock-off.
I don't have anything remotely resembling a workshop. It's fretless / slide, but I can wail out 'House of the Rising Sun' with it, and that's good enough for me.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:02 AM on August 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yep. Got a 20 thousand dollar shop and 20 years woodworking experience? A pile of nice scrap wood and a nice wooden cigar box from a box of good cigars? Build a twenty dollar cigar box guitar!
Eh? Here's how I built a cigar box guitar from scratch:
Cigar box - free, from a national liquor chain that cells cigars (just walked in, 'Hey, do you keep the boxes for those cigars?', 'Umm, we have a few', 'I'll have the Partagas - how much?', 'Oh just take it')
Neck - Tasmanian oak off cut from national hardware chain - a few bucks
Strings - the most expensive part - $10 at a local music store
Those twisty key string winder things - ripped 'em off an old ukulele picked up from national op shop chain for a buck
Couple of threaded bolts
Tools - small drill, Dremel knock-off.
I don't have anything remotely resembling a workshop. It's fretless / slide, but I can wail out 'House of the Rising Sun' with it, and that's good enough for me.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:02 AM on August 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
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posted by shockingbluamp at 6:59 PM on August 8, 2015