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If you want to build a cigar box guitar, you'll need some strings, a stick, and a box. Bill Jehle demonstrates a building project in Songs Inside The Box, and we've got some great tips below including how-to videos.

Cigar Box GuitarHow to Sorta Build Yerself a Basic Cigar Box Guitar by Shane Speal

Shane Speal Ingredients:
– One wooden cigar box
– A stick (1x2x3 poplar plank bought at hardware store)
– Big eye-bolt for bridge (to raise the strings above the cigar box)
– Stove bolt for nut (to raise the strings at the upper end of the neck)
– Three used guitar tuners
– Three guitar strings (acoustic A, D, G strings recommended)
– Woodburning pen

Here’s How
– Shove the stick thru the box by cutting, notching and carving
– Cut out sound holes in box
– Notch out a groove for stove bolt ‘nut’
– Carve out headstock
– Put in guitar tuners
– Woodburn frets on fingerboard
– Drill 3 small holes in the butt end of the stick
– String her up by threading the strings thru the back of the stick butt and up to the tuners
– Wedge ‘bridge’ and ‘nut’ in place
– Tune to an open A chord (A, E, A’)
– Place a 3/4” socket on yer finger & grind out some pure Delta boogie

And here's a video that demonstrates this approach:




Now watch as Julia, age 11, shows off a slightly different method:



KCET did a nice GeekDad episode for their Wired Science series on how to build a cigar box guitar:


And here's a set of detailed instructions by Ivan L. Sucharski. Ivan's directions, which have been circulated on the Internet for years, have been the starting point for lots of builders.

Remember, the number one rule of building a cigar box guitar is: "There are no rules!" Just have fun with it, but be careful... Once you've built one, you'll want to build another. It's addictive!

Upcoming Events:

Cigar Box Nation Worldwide Gathering - August 28th
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Handmade Music Clubhouse LaborDay FEST - September 3, 4, & 5
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Cigar Box Guitar


Songs Inside The Box
a documentary by Max Shores

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