Cigar box guitars are not new. However, there has been a renaissance in the art of making and playing them. Since the ancient days, cigar boxes and homemade guitars made through budding musicians who, in general, came from impoverished countryside regions. The blues are related to these fascinating instruments. So, here is how you can build one:
Decide If You Want to Create a Left Handed or Right Handed Guitar
A right handed guitar includes the neck slanted towards the left. The tuning pegs on the left and the tail is on the right. A left handed guitar is an opposite. Do the measurement and mark accordingly!
Decide the Instrument Scale
The scale is the space between the nut (head or turning peg) end of the bridge and the strings. There are no instructions as to actual length although 24 inches is a good beginning so use that. Put the neck stock inside the box with approximately 1 ½ inches sticking outside and do the measurement of about 3/4 the way inside the box from wherever the end of the tail meets the box.
Mark the Neck
Do away with the neck stock, and do the measurement from the bridge mark out around 24 inches along the neck. This mark is where the nut is placed. Put in mind that the nut is the point where the strings end at the end of the head.
Mark the Position of the Bridge
Place the neck inside the box where you measured the outsides on the neck. Do the measurement from the edge of the box to where the mark of the bridge is. Put on the lid and lay a portion of the tape the painters where the bridge has to be using the similar space you just measured.
Make Holes at the Tail End
Take out the neck and at the end of the tail in the region that twigs out, drill three about 1/8-inch holes roughly about 3/8 inch apart. They can be further or closer but ensure the center one is placed in the neck. Drill in any shape or spot you want.
Assemble the Parts and Screw or Glue Them Down
Put the neck back inside the box and substitute the lid. You can fasten the lid close if you want. Apply painters tape or rubber bands for holding the lid shut.
Finally, Assemble the CBG
Once all the gum is dry, take away the tape out of the lid and the rubber bands out of the neck. Attach the tunes of the guitar using the screws given. Gum the nut in place utilizing a small amount of adhesive and the bridge.