1886 Brand Cigar Box Guitar

My First Build From an Antique 1886 Brand Cigar Box

1886 CBG: $195 / free shipping
(secure payment through Square)

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I found this old cigar box at a yard sale, many years ago. It was aged even then and now over 50 years old. However, this build went through many experimental phases, from a single stringed canjo, to a small CBG with a box that broke in the making and, finally, into it's current form. It's fretless and intended to be played as a slide bass guitar. You can use just your fingers or a glass slide to play it. It also has a piezo pickup, so you can plug it into an amplifier. This was my first build. 2020

My first CBG build	Originally started out as a single string "canjo" style diddley-bow.	I removed the bowl and added an old box. I think it was probably a box used for some kind of cologne. It was very fragile and split a few times. I pieced it together anyway, just to see if it would work.
	The original tuner was made from a "hook and eye turnbuckle" and a drawer knob. It actually worked fairly well, but it was very large and a bit unwieldy.	This is the antique cigar box I picked up at a yard sale probably at least 15 years ago. Inside the lid it shows the original price of the cigars as 3 for 15 cents. I looked up the tax stamp info and it's over 50 years old.
	I ended up with extra holes from various experiments and needed a bit more thickness to install the tuners so I used pieces of another old cigar box.	I had altered it to a 3 string guitar, at one point, but the neck was a bit narrow to play well, so I reduced it back to 2 strings.
This was a variation using a spark plug as a bridge/saddle. It actually works fairly well. I'm always experimenting with different bridges, so the spark plug may make a come-back.	I braced the corners, because it's so fragile. Here you can see the piezo pickup and I added a spring, which adds a unique resonance to the instrument.	As you can see, I was quite proud of my first guitar. This is the pic I sent to my wife, to show off my new creation.

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My First Build From an Antique 1886 Brand Cigar Box

1886 CBG: $195 / free shipping
(secure payment through Square)

My first CBG build

Originally started out as a single string "canjo" style diddley-bow.

I removed the bowl and added an old box. I think it was probably a box used for some kind of cologne. It was very fragile and split a few times. I pieced it together anyway, just to see if it would work.

The original tuner was made from a "hook and eye turnbuckle" and a drawer knob. It actually worked fairly well, but it was very large and a bit unwieldy.

This is the antique cigar box I picked up at a yard sale probably at least 15 years ago. Inside the lid it shows the original price of the cigars as 3 for 15 cents. I looked up the tax stamp info and it's over 50 years old.

I ended up with extra holes from various experiments and needed a bit more thickness to install the tuners so I used pieces of another old cigar box.

I had altered it to a 3 string guitar, at one point, but the neck was a bit narrow to play well, so I reduced it back to 2 strings.

This was a variation using a spark plug as a bridge/saddle. It actually works fairly well. I'm always experimenting with different bridges, so the spark plug may make a come-back.

I braced the corners, because it's so fragile. Here you can see the piezo pickup and I added a spring, which adds a unique resonance to the instrument.

As you can see, I was quite proud of my first guitar. This is the pic I sent to my wife, to show off my new creation.

My First Build From an Antique 1886 Brand Cigar Box

1886 CBG: $195 / free shipping (secure payment through Square)

My first CBG build

Originally started out as a single string "canjo" style diddley-bow.

I removed the bowl and added an old box. I think it was probably a box used for some kind of cologne. It was very fragile and split a few times. I pieced it together anyway, just to see if it would work.

The original tuner was made from a "hook and eye turnbuckle" and a drawer knob. It actually worked fairly well, but it was very large and a bit unwieldy.

This is the antique cigar box I picked up at a yard sale probably at least 15 years ago. Inside the lid it shows the original price of the cigars as 3 for 15 cents. I looked up the tax stamp info and it's over 50 years old.

I ended up with extra holes from various experiments and needed a bit more thickness to install the tuners so I used pieces of another old cigar box.

I had altered it to a 3 string guitar, at one point, but the neck was a bit narrow to play well, so I reduced it back to 2 strings.

This was a variation using a spark plug as a bridge/saddle. It actually works fairly well. I'm always experimenting with different bridges, so the spark plug may make a come-back.

I braced the corners, because it's so fragile. Here you can see the piezo pickup and I added a spring, which adds a unique resonance to the instrument.

As you can see, I was quite proud of my first guitar. This is the pic I sent to my wife, to show off my new creation.

1886 CBG: $195 / free shipping
(secure payment through Square)