Attracto Cigar Box Guitar

A 2 Dollar Junk Shop Find Turns into a Joy-Maker

Attracto Cigar Box Guitar

#006 - 2020

Attracto CBG Audio

I bought this old box at a local junk shop, in Sattler, TX, for 2 dollars. The paper was mostly brittle and moth eaten, so I removed most of it, but left the main artwork (I think this may have been the inside of the box lid) The neck is a simple piece of poplar, without a separate fretboard (I didn't start doing that til later). The frets are placed in a pentatonic scale, just like a dulcimer, but you play it like a guitar. The box is pretty small, so it doesn't produce much volume, but the tone and sustain are surprisingly nice. If I use all metal strings on it, it really has a nice ring to it, which is pleasant to sit and strum, while sitting in my recliner. Though it was my 6th project, I just went back and re-inforced the neck some and added a piezo pickup, so it can be played through an amp or connected to your computer.

This is a cigar box guitar I made from a 2 dollar find at a local junk shop.	I removed most of the original paper, which was mostly rotted, but kept this nice artwork, which was more intact because it was on the underside of the lid.	I kept the paper on the end, here. It's worn and has moth holes, but it has character.
Back side of the guitar. So far, this is the only build I've run the strings directly through the box. There are recesses, so the ball ends don't stick out. The string bushing are made from pop rivets.	I'd been wanting to use this piece of brass off an old door latch. A trick I learned from Shane Speal is making the bridge wider than needed for the strings, which helps distribute the sound to more of the box lid.	The head-stock is basically just cut out slightly with a band saw. Because there is no back-angle and not much height difference between the pegs and the nut, (the small brass rod) I made string retainer out of a larger brass rod.
I braced the corners using old trim I pulled out of a bathroom remodel. The through-neck is recessed just enough to leave a little gap between the neck and the box lid, which allows more of it to resonate.	Being such a small cigar box, it doesn't produce much volume, so I added an internal piezo pickup. The output is shown here.

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A 2 Dollar Junk Shop Find Turns into a Joy-Maker

Attracto Cigar Box Guitar

#006 - 2020

This is a cigar box guitar I made from a 2 dollar find at a local junk shop.

I removed most of the original paper, which was mostly rotted, but kept this nice artwork, which was more intact because it was on the underside of the lid.

I kept the paper on the end, here. It's worn and has moth holes, but it has character.

Back side of the guitar. So far, this is the only build I've run the strings directly through the box. There are recesses, so the ball ends don't stick out. The string bushing are made from pop rivets.

I'd been wanting to use this piece of brass off an old door latch. A trick I learned from Shane Speal is making the bridge wider than needed for the strings, which helps distribute the sound to more of the box lid.

The head-stock is basically just cut out slightly with a band saw. Because there is no back-angle and not much height difference between the pegs and the nut, (the small brass rod) I made string retainer out of a larger brass rod.

I braced the corners using old trim I pulled out of a bathroom remodel. The through-neck is recessed just enough to leave a little gap between the neck and the box lid, which allows more of it to resonate.

Being such a small cigar box, it doesn't produce much volume, so I added an internal piezo pickup. The output is shown here.