If you want to build a cigar box guitar, you’ll need some strings, a stick, and a box. Bill Jehle demonstrates a building project in Songs Inside The Box, and we’ve got some great tips below including how-to videos.
How to Sorta Build Yerself a Basic Cigar Box Guitar by Shane Speal
Ingredients:
One wooden cigar box
A stick (1x2x3 poplar plank bought at hardware store)
Big eye-bolt for bridge (to raise the strings above the cigar box)
Stove bolt for nut (to raise the strings at the upper end of the neck)
Three used guitar tuners
Three guitar strings (acoustic A, D, G strings recommended)
Woodburning pen
Heres How
Shove the stick thru the box by cutting, notching and carving
Cut out sound holes in box
Notch out a groove for stove bolt nut
Carve out headstock
Put in guitar tuners
Woodburn frets on fingerboard
Drill 3 small holes in the butt end of the stick
String her up by threading the strings thru the back of the stick butt and up to the tuners
Wedge bridge and nut in place
Tune to an open A chord (A, E, A)
Place a 3/4 socket on yer finger & grind out some pure Delta boogie
And here’s a video that demonstrates this approach:
Now watch as Julia, age 11, shows off a slightly different method:
Remember, the number one rule of building a cigar box guitar is: “There are no rules!” Just have fun with it, but be careful… Once you’ve built one, you’ll want to build another. It’s addictive!