How to Make an Electric Cigar Box Guitar for $25

Total build (not including glue dry time) took about 3 hours for this guitar. I did my best to use the most inexpensive parts possible. The only tools I use to carve the neck are a knife, hand saw, and a sharp hatchet. Green wood is the easiest to carve, but you risk it splitting as it dries. I used a green piece of maple cut off the tree only hours before and had no problems.

The cigar box should be as strong as possible, made of solid wood, not cardboard or particle board. Java by Drew Estate uses an excellent box for this, and makes for a very nice looking instrument. The one I came across I have already used to make a stomp box, but if I find another it will become a guitar.

Parts list:
Tuning Heads - $18
Cigar Box - $2
1/4" Jack - $2
Bolts (bridge/nut) - $1
Neck - Free
Microphone (speaker harvested from any outdated electronics) - Free
Finishing Nails - Pennies...Free enough

Certainly there are ways to make a nicer instrument. The point of this video is to show how quickly and cheaply a guitar can be made, not how to make a masterpiece. Depending on the feedback I get from this video I may make another showing how to build a nicer fretted guitar.