NUD: Baritone CBU

The baritone cigar box uke is finished. I just installed the strings this morning, so they are definitely not holding tune yet. It has been an interesting experiment, and most likely the only one like it in the world. This particular Don Tomas cigar box seems to be uncommon. I'll know more how it sounds after the strings have stretched and settled for a week or two. Strings are Aquila Sugar DGBE.

Specs for the box: the Spanish Cedar body is 12" x 8" x 3.75". It had a thick embossed plywood back, so I carefully removed it and replaced it with Western Red cedar, which became the soundboard, allowing me to keep the lid and box graphics. Finish is Tru-Oil over orange shellac. The neck, tuners, and bridge are from mgbguitars.com. I carved my last initial as a headstock logo, and filled the cavity with a mixture of Ebony dust, Walnut dust, and epoxy.

Well done, it looks fantastic!

Wow, that's pretty cool.

Thanks for the kind comments.

Thanks for that link. They have some nice parts - and free shipping. One thing I find odd is the bridge placement template. It measures the distance from the end of the fretboard to the bridge. What about the twelfth fret? How would that work with a fretboard that doesn't have a square end?

Jerryc41 said:

Thanks for that link. They have some nice parts - and free shipping. One thing I find odd is the bridge placement template. It measures the distance from the end of the fretboard to the bridge. What about the twelfth fret? How would that work with a fretboard that doesn't have a square end?

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I haven't used one of their templates. I always do it the old fashioned way, just with a ruler and measuring from the nut.

Jerryc41 said:

Thanks for that link. They have some nice parts - and free shipping. One thing I find odd is the bridge placement template. It measures the distance from the end of the fretboard to the bridge. What about the twelfth fret? How would that work with a fretboard that doesn't have a square end?

Click to expand...

Looks to me like the bridge placement template is designed to work only with the MGB necks.

Wow, that is beautiful. I admire your skills. Also, how were the cigars?

John boy said:

Wow, that is beautiful. I admire your skills. Also, how were the cigars?

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Thanks. I just bought an old cigar box. Didn't smoke any cigars.

Really nicely done. Just beautiful. Congrats.

John boy said:

Really nicely done. Just beautiful. Congrats.

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Thanks John