Hardware Store Fretted Cigar Box Guitar

A cigar box guitar tutorial was the first project video of this kind I ever filmed. That was 4 years ago. I've always wanted to build a fretted version from the ground up, and for this video I finally got around to it. I hope you enjoy! The goal I set for the design was to use only tools and materials that can be purchased at a local hardware store, other than a cigar box and guitar strings.

Below are the parts and tools used for this project. I occasionally overlook an item in a video this long so let me know if you notice anything missing from the lists. If you try this project be sure to let me know! I would love to see a video of your own cigar box guitars.

Tools:

• Tape Measure
• Pen/Pencil
• Hand Saw
• Hammer(Mallet)/Chisel
• Drill w/Bits
• Sand Paper/Sanding Block
• Fine Grain File
• Gel Super Glue
• Tape
• Razor
• Paste Wax (optional)

Materials:

• 1” x 3” Maple Plank (must not be warped)
• Wood Cigar Box
• 1 1/2” Inside Corner Brace (x3)
• 4” Eye Bolts/Nuts (x3)
• Door Hinge Pin
• Fencing Staples
• 1 1/2” Finish Nails (x12)
• #18 x 5/8” Pins (x4)
• Acoustic Guitar Strings

Total build time should be around 8 hours, so the project can fit comfortably into a weekend. The cost of the materials not including any of the tools is about $35. Not bad for a guitar! I suspect I am going to receive quite a few comments saying I should have used wing nuts on the tuners so a wrench wouldn't be required, and that was initially my plan. The bolts are a little too close together on my model for wing nuts to spin without hitting each other, but feel free to try it yourself.

If you would like to build a guitar with a different scale length than 24" you can use this website to calculate fret measurements: http://www.harpkit.com/category/fretcalc.html