My New Obsession: Cigar Box Guitars

What do you get when you cross a bored man crafter, a box and a stick? Why a cigar box guitar of course.  I have wanted to build some sort of instrument for years so last year I finally took the plunge. Mrs. Man Krafter wanted to do something special for Christmas that made memories instead of collecting more “stuff”. I suggested that I make instruments for the kids. She, being the concerned wife that she is, didn’t think I would have enough time with all my other responsibilities at work and at home.  I knew I could do it so I set out on a secret mission. I purchased some cigar boxes through the local online classifieds to get started. I made my first guitar as a challenge to myself. I wanted to see if I could make a simple cigar box guitar over lunch time so I gathered my materials and headed to a park near my office. Because of my one hour time constraint I had to do something extremely simple so I chose to make a Diddley Bow.

Originally this instrument was made by running a broom handle through a small box then taking the wire that held the straw onto the broom and stringing it across the instrument. When mama would come home and find her broom torn apart, she would give lickins to the child who made it. Since she had to go and buy a new broom, the child would be allowed to keep the instrument. So it was said that playing the Diddley Bow only hurt the first time. The instrument is played using a slide made from something hard such as a glass bottle or a smooth piece of metal. They you pluck or hit the string. It has an interesting sound and could be considered, in some cases a percussion instrument. Even though I have made several other cigar box guitars since that first one, I still love jamming on it. In fact it is sitting on my desk next to me as I type this.

After my Diddley  Bow experiment, I knew I was up to the task so I turned my car into a mobile workshop and over the next few months, I crafted four new instruments. The first was a traditional three string fretless cigar box guitar. I started with this one so that I could figure out the best ways to make the others. I made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot but it was an amazing journey. Once that was done, I knew what I had to do. Ultimately I made a dulcimer for my son, a smaller diddley bow for my youngest daughter and a tenor ukulele for my 10 year old.

When I presented them to my family, my wife and older daughters were so impressed that they decided they wanted me to make them instruments as well. I am now thoroughly addicted to making these things so making a few more won’t be a problem!!

How about you? Have you ever made your own instrument? Post pics of yours!