Finished New Cigar Box Ukulele

C

Chinn

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2017
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
I finished this Cigar Box tenor the other day. I'm a waterfowl hunter, so this one is themed for my love of the sport. I love playing it!

I built it with a Don Sixto box. 3/32" Spruce top with spruce bracing and a flying mallard duck soundhole. Comfort edge at the back. I put a curly mahogany veneer on the faceplate along with the 12ga brass headbadge. Tuners are from a long dead vintage guitar. Pau abalone position markers, and added side position markers as well.

I made a bone nut and compensated bridge for it and that may add to the tone (maybe?). Unusual finish of Minwax Polyurethane to add some resilience when I go to hunting camp (have used it before on some other instruments to good effect).

Strung with Aquila Super Nylgut strings, it sounds wonderful.


CBUNeck.jpgCBUBody.jpgCBUHeadstock.jpgCBUFront.jpg
 
Very nicely done. It's far beyond a 'cigar box' ukulele.

8 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video
 
Beautiful job Chinn. The finest cigar box ukulele I have seem yet. :)
Congratulations on a job well done!
You have inspired me as my closest friend is a waterfowler, this would delight him.

Cheers,

Steve.
 
That is a right handsome instrument, Chinn. Congratulations on a great job!

John Colter.
 
I went with a different approach on mine. I found a giant cigar box while on vacation in Memphis this summer and decided to try making a cigar box ukulele out of it. I brought it to a jam and people couldn't believe how big it was, and how good it sounded. It isn't the prettiest thing, but that means I can haul it around without worry. Many cigar box ukuleles don't sound good. This box is big, and laminate...and not exactly thin laminate...and something went right.

Not sure I'll make another.

My writeup on my blog (free):

https://ukestuff.wordpress.com/2018/09/01/the-lunatic-cigar-box-ukulele/

And my video documenting the process and final playing (feel free to skip ahead). No, I didn't know what I was doing. I'm a music teacher, not a carpenter or luthier.

 
Thanks much all! Truly was fun to design and build it. I wanted some strap buttons for it so I tuned some buttons today from African blackwood on my lathe and mounted them with brass screws.

Choirguy, I watched your vid and read your blog post. Yours turned out nicely. I'm from near Memphis myself, though I've not joined in on the Flashmob.
 
Way too pretty and well made to just be called a cigar box uke. I always think of those as made of cast off stuff. This is really lovely and I like the shotgun shell base on your headstock.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
just finished tenor cigar box uke
Replies
5
Views
382
dismount
D
F
Finished my first cigar box uke!!!
Replies
13
Views
2K
acabooe
acabooe
M
Kamaka with finished fretboard
Replies
2
Views
203
MRP!
M
Larry U
Bridges: Finished or Unfinished?
Replies
8
Views
446
jupiteruke
jupiteruke
N
Care for a Natural finished uke
Replies
6
Views
392
bbkobabe
bbkobabe
Top Bottom