CBG

I haven't posted pictures of my latest project. I wasn't even sure if I'd write about it. I made a Cigar Box Guitar (CBG). Actually I made the box too, but it is a 3-string guitar with a square box. In my mind it doesn't sound half bad, but I can't carry a tune without a bucket. Is it perfect, heavens no. But it does play and I will probably make another one with a few changes. Note: All pictures in this posting were taken with my phone.

From the pictures you can see that I made the box from 3/8" Myrtle wood with 3/16 ply for the bottom using glued butt joints all the way around. I haven't attached the top yet, so it is currently being held in place by a tight fit and rubber bands. The neck is Myrtle with a rosewood fret board. I used nails for the frets and a cut a small indent at each fret location to help hold the nails in place. I think I used too large a diameter nail. The sound board, or top of the box is a softwood drawer front, re-sawed and thickness sanded to 3/32". I put in a sound hole using a 1.5" bar strainer ($2) fit into the hole. The bolt is 5/16" for the bridge ($.50). The pictures show the nut (top fret) about 3/16" higher than the final one. I put on one string and could barely reach the finger board it was so high.

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Besides the strings ($4), I bought a set of tuners from Guitar Center ($15). All the wood was laying around the house, and except for the piezo pickup ($2)and 1/4" jack ($2) I got from Radio Shaft everything is priced above. Not too expensive, and the strings are far enough apart I can actually hold one down without hitting two others (big fingers).

What would I do different next time? Use frets instead of nails. Fret wire is not expensive, and a fret saw is about $30 bucks, I heard. Make a bridge instead of a bolt, but I may use a bolt as an option. Lower the nut (top fret). The current one was made from aluminum I had laying around. I could use a lighter aluminum, but either way make it closer to the height of the frets.

I haven't plugged the guitar in yet, but I'm kinda excited to hear that too. Once I have verified the piezo pickup works, I'll attach the top and apply a finish.

I tuned the CBG to match the upper 3 strings of a guitar, which may not be the right choice. I'll check a few sites on line and see what is commonly done. There are 16 frets, cut to match a standard scale, with 25" between the nut and the bridge. I tried to video me playing to post but I'm soooo bad I deleted the recording.

Enjoy, and be careful of the splinters.

Router Table Storage

Well, for Christmas I got a router table and and metal stand for it. It works great and sits very solid. I also was given a new power button for the frame outside (from Rockler) and it has a great big OFF button, which I like very well. I couldn't let all of that un-used space go to waste, so I started wrapping the router in to catch saw dust and provide me some additional storage. As you see from the picture of the table I'm using an oak veneer plywood for the main components. The plywood came from the corner cabinet I pulled when redoing my kitchen, so there was no additional cost (yet).

I separated the 2 sections at 10" to give me room to install a pair of drawers. I haven't figured out how to attach a suction device/port yet, so the left side panel has not been installed. Also the front door will go in after I finish the drawers. The middle shelf is not attached at this point so I can move it out of the way. I will probably trim 1/2" off of it before I'm done to make room for a face frame ( to mount the door in ) that will lip the front edge and make a better seal.

The picture of the single board shows where I routed a grove to connect the front and back panels. These were also made from 1/2" ply. The bottom of the drawers is 1/4" ply. The picture of the 2 drawers is after they were assembled with glue and an air-nailer. They are 1" narrower than the opening to leave room for sliders. The final drawer size is 21" by 15" and 4" tall. Once they are mounted I will cut and mount drawer faces from the same wood ( with any luck, oak) that I make the from door and the face frame.

There are no plans for this build, who needs stinkin' plans.

Enjoy, but those splinters hurt.