Build a cigar box guitar
Three strings, a wooden box and a stick of hardwood. Build it in a weekend, tune it to an open chord and play the blues with a slide by Sunday night. Here's the video that hooks everyone, and everything you need for your first cigar box guitar.
Space neededA table or workbench
First projectA three-string slide guitar
Skill levelBeginner, no music needed
Good forMusic lovers, makers, gifts
The video that hooks everyone
Making a fretted cigar box guitar
A guitar built from a wooden cigar box and a long neck, with three tuners, frets and a round sound hole, then played on the couch. Press play and see why it hooks people.
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Tool list
What you need to start
Everything you need for your first project, and nothing you don't. It's a box, a stick, three tuners and strings.
Starter kit
01Wooden cigar boxAbout 9 x 6 x 2 in., with a solid wood lid. Cigar shops often sell empties.
02Hardwood 1x2, 3 ft.The neck. Maple, oak or poplar, straight and knot-free.
03Guitar tuners, set of 3Machine heads that hold the strings in tune.
043-string set, open GStrings made for cigar box guitars, tuned G D G.
05Bolt + hardwood scrapA short 1/4 in. bolt for the bridge, a hardwood scrap for the nut.
06Drill + bitsTuner holes, string holes, and a 1 in. hole saw for sound holes.
07Hand saw + coping sawCuts the neck and the notches in the box.
08Wood glue + sandpaperHolds the neck and lid. Smooths the neck for your hand.
09Clip-on tuner + slideTunes the strings. A glass or metal slide plays them.
10Safety glassesFor drilling, sawing and stringing up.
The manual tells you what to look for when you buy each one.
- 1Putting the bridge in the wrong placeThe distance from nut to bridge sets every note. Measure it carefully and mark it before you glue anything.
- 2Cutting sound holes over the neckThe neck runs under the lid. Put the holes off to the sides, where the lid can vibrate.
- 3Over-tightening stringsUse a tuner and stop at the right note. Going past it can snap a string.
