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I have been an electronics hobbiest for several years, and there is something special about making musical toys. The most fun that I have is making Cigar Box Amps to sell locally, on Etsy.com, and sometimes eBay. I also run a website, tech-tut.com, that I try my best to describe what I'm doing and building. I'm finally attempting a highly detailed process that I can't exactly publish on my site, so here I am on Instructables. This is my first Instructable ever, and I value any feedback to make it the best it can be.
Building a Cigar Box Guitar Amp is not difficult, but it can be time consuming, especially if you want it to be near-perfect. Some things that don't always work out for me are the hole diameters and the occasional scratch in the soft wood of the cigar boxes. Even some of the nicer, tougher cigar boxes give way easily if your fingernail slides across the grains.
The time frame to complete a Cigar Box Amp ranges from a little over an hour to four hours depending on whether you have an assembly line or not. It also depends on the cigar box. If you have a thin box, it won't take you as long. Thick wooden boxes take longer to file the holes (unless you have potentiometers and jacks with long threads).
Overall, you will enjoy your Cigar Box Amp. Whether you buy one pre-assembled or built it from scratch in your favorite cigar box, you can expect that people will be impressed.
Building a Cigar Box Guitar Amp is not difficult, but it can be time consuming, especially if you want it to be near-perfect. Some things that don't always work out for me are the hole diameters and the occasional scratch in the soft wood of the cigar boxes. Even some of the nicer, tougher cigar boxes give way easily if your fingernail slides across the grains.
The time frame to complete a Cigar Box Amp ranges from a little over an hour to four hours depending on whether you have an assembly line or not. It also depends on the cigar box. If you have a thin box, it won't take you as long. Thick wooden boxes take longer to file the holes (unless you have potentiometers and jacks with long threads).
Overall, you will enjoy your Cigar Box Amp. Whether you buy one pre-assembled or built it from scratch in your favorite cigar box, you can expect that people will be impressed.
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Signing UpStep 1Gather the Necessary Parts
This is the toughest part. You need to decide what you want to install your amplifier in. The easy choice for me is to use a cigar box, but Make magazine ran an article that used cracker boxes.
Next, you need to go shopping for parts. There are kits that you can buy with nice printed circuit boards out there. I've never used one because I like the "from scratch" method.
These are the parts from my latest Jameco.com order:
Quantitiy---Part Number----------Description
1-------------24133-------------------LM386-3 700mw opamp
1-------------140514-----------------100 ohm pot
1-------------29197-------------------5k ohm pot
1-------------281746-----------------stereo Switchcraft 1/4" jack
2-------------102788-----------------chickenhead knobs
1-------------2006764----------------5mm blue LED (Everyone likes blue, right?)
1-------------23077--------------------5mm LED holder
1-------------216452------------------Battery snap
1-------------1954818----------------speaker, 4-inch, 5w
1-------------690380------------------10ohm resistor (has to be bought in qty 100)
1-------------690865------------------1k ohm resistor for LED
1-------------1947351----------------.047uF capacitor
1-------------15229--------------------.01uF capacitor
1-------------30496--------------------220uF Electrolytic capacitor
1-------------93761--------------------100uF Electrolytic capacitor
1-------------151590-------------------voltage jack
1-------------43140---------------------perfboard or other circuit board
Grill cloth (Optional...find scraps of fabric locally)
Wire, solder, soldering iron, wire strippers, wet sponge, spray glue, hot glue gun, hot glue sticks, sand paper (220 grit works fine), rotary cutoff tool, drill and bits, hole saw (3-3.5"), drill press (optional), files, pliers, tape measure, calipers (optional), pencil.
The original circuit was labeled the "$5 Crackerbox Amp" in Make Magazine volume 9, but the parts order above is just under $30 buying the minimum quantities. You still have to find a cigar box and pay for shipping. :)
You may be able to find some of the above parts cheaper locally. Half the fun is shopping around for parts.
Next, you need to go shopping for parts. There are kits that you can buy with nice printed circuit boards out there. I've never used one because I like the "from scratch" method.
These are the parts from my latest Jameco.com order:
Quantitiy---Part Number----------Description
1-------------24133-------------------LM386-3 700mw opamp
1-------------140514-----------------100 ohm pot
1-------------29197-------------------5k ohm pot
1-------------281746-----------------stereo Switchcraft 1/4" jack
2-------------102788-----------------chickenhead knobs
1-------------2006764----------------5mm blue LED (Everyone likes blue, right?)
1-------------23077--------------------5mm LED holder
1-------------216452------------------Battery snap
1-------------1954818----------------speaker, 4-inch, 5w
1-------------690380------------------10ohm resistor (has to be bought in qty 100)
1-------------690865------------------1k ohm resistor for LED
1-------------1947351----------------.047uF capacitor
1-------------15229--------------------.01uF capacitor
1-------------30496--------------------220uF Electrolytic capacitor
1-------------93761--------------------100uF Electrolytic capacitor
1-------------151590-------------------voltage jack
1-------------43140---------------------perfboard or other circuit board
Grill cloth (Optional...find scraps of fabric locally)
Wire, solder, soldering iron, wire strippers, wet sponge, spray glue, hot glue gun, hot glue sticks, sand paper (220 grit works fine), rotary cutoff tool, drill and bits, hole saw (3-3.5"), drill press (optional), files, pliers, tape measure, calipers (optional), pencil.
The original circuit was labeled the "$5 Crackerbox Amp" in Make Magazine volume 9, but the parts order above is just under $30 buying the minimum quantities. You still have to find a cigar box and pay for shipping. :)
You may be able to find some of the above parts cheaper locally. Half the fun is shopping around for parts.
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If you run into issues I can be contacted at 'robbie [ at ] tech-tut.com'. I usually answer back quickly (within 2 hours) if it is a question I can answer.
Only thing, I think your hand drawn schematic might be wrong--specifically the input section. I did it completely to the schematic, and the unit worked but the speaker (a decent one) sounded awful. So I desoldered everything and went by your picture instead (really just switched the position of a few wires on the input) and it works perfectly now.
Anyway, thanks again. My build came out great and I'd have never figured this stuff out myself.
It was fun and easy to build. I have no electonics expirence. This was a great instructable.
I've started a blog for my first CBG build here dirtyguitarguide.com