Cigar Box Guitar

As promised, here is the story of my first homemade guitar!

It started with Chabota, a student at Chodort, asking me if I could teach him to play guitar. He came over to our house on a few Sunday afternoons and played the one that MCC had in storage, which I've been using. It's a decent guitar, it looks nice, the intonation is okay, etc. I think a SALTer had left it here after a previous term. Because it is MCC property I didn't feel right about loaning it out, but Chabota really needed something to practice on. While there is an Academy of Music right here in Choma which he is a member of, his schedule doesn't allow him to go there to practice. And so was born the idea of making my own (for him to borrow).

Another spark was the visit of the parents of one of our colleagues from USA. Jan's father works with hardwood and came to Chodort to buy some rosewood for a guitar. I realized I had a treasure trove of guitar wood right under my nose! So I planed down some old window frames and made a couple of necks. They were a bargain at 15 kwacha each! ($3). I made them quite thick because I didn't want them to bend, being a six-string guitar with no truss rod.

I should also note that I don't have the patience to build a good guitar. It simply takes too much time and there are too many things that can go wrong. I found out about "cigar box" guitars online--a cheap alternative in the Bluesy Southern USA. Basically they are a neck and a cigar box. I don't have access to cigar boxes here but I knew I could make something similar. The main difference is that CGBs usually have only 3 or 4 strings, and I wanted six.

So, I chiseled out a space for the box, glued on some toothpicks for frets (using a fret calculator for spacing), and attached two metal pieces from a doorknob for nut and bridge. My parents sent me some tuning hardware and nylon strings via my brother-in-law who visited us in August. I put the strings on before I had built the box, and it sounded okay (though very quiet)! There were a few problems with fret noise and a string that kept breaking, but overall I was happy with my first attempt.

I kept waiting for plywood offcuts at work, but having found none, I bought a sheet of 6mm ply for 110 kwacha ($20) and cut it with a handsaw. It was quite rough but I wasn't going for beauty here. I attached it with screws, glue, and nails. Some watercolor paints gave it character and some sanding sealer finished it off. Tonight I re-tuned it and played some songs! It was the coolest feeling to hear the strings resonating against the box--they are now audible! It will definitely work for a learning guitar! But before I give it away...I'll have to make a music video. (coming soon) I will also have to start on guitar #2. Then, I think my career in guitar building can wait...until I retire.