Cigar Box Ukulele Directions? I have a neck.

So the poorly reglued bridge on the hand-me-down Hilo from my cousin which she got from someone else as a hand-me-down popped off yesterday.

*feels sad*

And whoever glued it used something that deteriorated the laminate, so pieces of the top are still stuck in the splat of glue which is still stuck to the bottom of the bridge.

Although the friction tuners are kind of sucky, I thought I might try to make a cigar box uke so at least the neck could be useful.

Any advice for a total noob with no tools to speak of?

Get a good box, one with a thin WOOD top and bottom, the shallow boxes suck for sound so get one that is as deep as a uke or as close as you can find. Bolt on the neck, you might have to add a extra piece to the inside of the box if the side is thin. Add on your salvaged bridge or attach the strings to the back end of the box if needed adjust bridge height and you will be done before dinner, just joking, but not all that hard. Remember to put it all together with the box label in mind so it is not upside down although the sound is the same. Or use the back of the box if the wood is better, good luck.
Cheers Ron.

Maiyah888 said:

So the poorly reglued bridge on the hand-me-down Hilo from my cousin which she got from someone else as a hand-me-down popped off yesterday.

*feels sad*


And whoever glued it used something that deteriorated the laminate, so pieces of the top are still stuck in the splat of glue which is still stuck to the bottom of the bridge.

Although the friction tuners are kind of sucky, I thought I might try to make a cigar box uke so at least the neck could be useful.

Any advice for a total noob with no tools to speak of?

Click to expand...

If you wanna PM me your email address, I have several links in my favorite places of just about every decent site out there on the subject>

Thanks guys!

Phil, will PM you now!

Very easy, drill a hole in the neck heal for a 1/4-20 bolt, find a good box, I like punch, padron or brick house. figure out where your bridge will land, scale length and height. lay a straight edge to check out your action, spot the hole for the bolt, drill and assemble! Your done! Ok, perhaps not that easy, but should only take you a couple of hours to do.

I have some pictures of uke construction at my website and facebook pages.
http://www.cigarguitar.com
http://www.facebook.com/cigarguitar
and on youTube at "theCigarguitar" you can see builds and see video clips. Email me for any questions also
herb@cigarguitar.com

sopranos don't need a bolt just glue it on, waaay easier. and if you use a banjo bridge its even easier, glue a block in the "but" end of the cigar box drill the holes in that and string up the uke, I'll make a picture of the cigar uke I made when I get home to give you an idea

should be a fun project--You might want to consider adding a heel block. That's the small piece of wood on the inside of your instrument opposite the base of the neck. This adds to the strength of where the neck joins the body. You could literally glue a small piece in( add a screw if you like) ----http://www.wix.com/cigars/2ukes--I'd glad to help in any I can

G