Update on Cuesta Rey Cigar Box Guitar Build

I had hoped to have pictures of my latest Cigar Box Guitar build the Cuesta Rey to post on this weeks blog, but alas two things happened that prevented that:

1) the fret nut did not turn out the way I wanted it at all, so I am retooling it
2) my wife was at a travel conference and had the “good” camera with her

Here's a picture of a bit of the Cuesta Rey art

Overall I am very pleased with the way the Cuesta Rey turned out. What first caught my eye was the amount of artwork on the box and the vivid colors. What I really like is how the colors came even more alive once I applied a protective top coat.

As I progress in my enjoyment of building CBG’s I find it is a journey of discovery. Discovering the history of the instrument, new sounds, new like minded people, new enjoyment in my own life and different techniques for building and finishing these fantastic instruments.

As an example, CBG’s started becoming popular around 1840 simply because that is when the small cigar box was first manufactured. Before that cigars were shipped in large crates. For a more detailed history visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigar_box_guitar

You will discover just how versatile this fine little instrument really is, from a gutsy blues to country to mellow ballad to rock. You can play it all on a Cigar Box Guitar. Shane Speal is bringing to light some of the old one string techniques and something he calls the “stubby slide”. Very cool stuff!

I have found so many like minded people across the globe that are building and playing CBG’s. A good place to meet Cigar Box Guitar folks is at http://www.cigarboxnation.com/

One thing I have always enjoyed is music, I love it! Another is working with wood. Building CBG’s gives me great enjoyment and a feeling of accomplishment. 1) I built an instrument and 2) it makes great sounding music

I don’t know about you but I find that when I’m interested in something my creative side comes alive and questions I may have about something seemed to get answered as I work.

Since I have been building CBG’s I have discovered I like to sand the plain wooden boxes down (being careful not to disturb the lettering), use varying coats of stain rubbed into the wood and natural oil or paste to finish it. While on the papered wooden cigar boxes with the beautiful artwork I prefer to use a spray poly as a top coat to protect that artwork.

One more discovery that ties it all together for me was with the need to retool the nut. After work I dropped by our local hardware store. Mind you it is not one of the big box stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot. Family owned since tools were invented. I’m telling the guy I need a large brass bolt for the nut.

He’s showing me what they have and not coming up with anything big enough. I asked what he would suggest. He yells over to the boss and the boss says sounds like you need a brass toilet bolt. Perfect and just the right size!

As I’m checking out I see the boss sorting through a box of old brass knobs and drawer pull handles. I mention how great those would look on my Cigar Box Guitars. One thing leads to another and he tells me how he used to collect old wooden cigar boxes from garage sales. They were closing so I said I would be back.

The CBG discovery trail has opened up a whole new source for friends at the local hardware store, antique brass parts and potentially a source for some antique cigar boxes!