Gurkha Khukri Cigar Box Guitar Build
- Thread starter ndoghouse
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Oh heck yeah RayseM! Thank you sir! This episode dedicated to RayseM. Pls send all donations his way
.
After I loaded the strings and tuned it to open "G" or GDG I plucked some stuff and the sound was even better than I expected from such a small box. YES!!!
It took a while to get the strings to settle and there were a few problems I noticed that were painfully obvious. Painful it was...
I fed the strings through the back of the "instrument" through that brass plate above about XXº then to the neck tuners as usual and crancked them down through their ABC's and noticed some deformation. I kinda half expected it and my suspicions were right. Thats why it wouldnt stay in tune. There was a bit of a space between the lid and the neck buck underneath the cover. I tried to minimize it to zero but didnt work.
You can see how it is jacked up a bit with all the string pressure pulling it over. Im using the lid as a support but theres space between the lid and the body of the box is deforming.
No problem as Bookie would come to save the day! I took a piece of some Christmas brass plate and mule kicked the holy crap out of this prolem. This is when I wished i had some of Bawannas Acraglasstuf! Reglar epox gotta do.
The plan is to fill in the wood at the base of the neck via plywood and wood glue. Then screw and heavily epoxy a thick brass plate to that to make the string feed one with the system. ID have to cut out the lid so the strings could feed through. Note: Brass plate in cover is just hanging out there for now. It wont end up there till after it gets glued and screwed. You'll see. I promise!
Should look this with three 1 1/2" Wood screws to crunch it tight.
I did "pilot-pre-hole it" before I glued it down and don't drill too long on brass cause it gets hot fast and will break the glue down even if it is epoxy ( i knew that already but had to mention it. Better it be oily.
Next clean up all your parts with acetone then you can glue them all together as planned. I added some brass rivets to round out the string feeds kinda like slippery bushings.
NOTE: The Bridge
Zebrawood base and the actual bridge is a broken impeller shaft from my brand new swimmin pool water pump! They didnt make me send it back for warranty replacement and said I could keep it and you can sharpen your knife on it!
Glued and screwed! Muddy Waters gets the maiden voyage on this thing!!! That was worth cutting out the lid some..... I got to electrify this thing so I know I got lots of more holes to cut and such.
I started to play and noticed the toothpick I used for fret markers were not visible enough and had to re-drill them out and mount some of my wifes new "yella diamond" stones on top the toothpicks. I might be in the doghouse again if she finds out? I wonder if they were real diamonds? Nahhh! Surely not?
Oh while im at it I put a screw up top thru them plywood neck supports into the neck. the bottom brass string plate is solid to the neck too. It has them brass rivets as well for the same reason as the top ones. I think thats all the structural support I need? Hope?
Well there's what contained Gurkha Cellar Reserve 15 year old cigars! Some might rather have the cigars
More planned! You think the stock market is volatile? Just try the dumpster diving market!
Oh... I almost forgot..Gotta have a cho! Convex grind btw! Sandpaper on mousepad is fine for extra-fine tuning
.After I loaded the strings and tuned it to open "G" or GDG I plucked some stuff and the sound was even better than I expected from such a small box. YES!!!
It took a while to get the strings to settle and there were a few problems I noticed that were painfully obvious. Painful it was...
I fed the strings through the back of the "instrument" through that brass plate above about XXº then to the neck tuners as usual and crancked them down through their ABC's and noticed some deformation. I kinda half expected it and my suspicions were right. Thats why it wouldnt stay in tune. There was a bit of a space between the lid and the neck buck underneath the cover. I tried to minimize it to zero but didnt work.
You can see how it is jacked up a bit with all the string pressure pulling it over. Im using the lid as a support but theres space between the lid and the body of the box is deforming.
No problem as Bookie would come to save the day! I took a piece of some Christmas brass plate and mule kicked the holy crap out of this prolem
. This is when I wished i had some of Bawannas Acraglasstuf! Reglar epox gotta do.The plan is to fill in the wood at the base of the neck via plywood and wood glue. Then screw and heavily epoxy a thick brass plate to that to make the string feed one with the system. ID have to cut out the lid so the strings could feed through. Note: Brass plate in cover is just hanging out there for now. It wont end up there till after it gets glued and screwed. You'll see. I promise!
Should look this with three 1 1/2" Wood screws to crunch it tight.
I did "pilot-pre-hole it" before I glued it down and don't drill too long on brass cause it gets hot fast and will break the glue down even if it is epoxy ( i knew that already but had to mention it
. Better it be oily.Next clean up all your parts with acetone then you can glue them all together as planned. I added some brass rivets to round out the string feeds kinda like slippery bushings.
NOTE: The Bridge
Zebrawood base and the actual bridge is a broken impeller shaft from my brand new swimmin pool water pump! They didnt make me send it back for warranty replacement and said I could keep it and you can sharpen your knife on it!
Glued and screwed! Muddy Waters gets the maiden voyage on this thing!!! That was worth cutting out the lid some..... I got to electrify this thing so I know I got lots of more holes to cut and such.
I started to play and noticed the toothpick I used for fret markers were not visible enough and had to re-drill them out and mount some of my wifes new "yella diamond" stones on top the toothpicks. I might be in the doghouse again if she finds out? I wonder if they were real diamonds? Nahhh! Surely not?
Oh while im at it I put a screw up top thru them plywood neck supports into the neck. the bottom brass string plate is solid to the neck too. It has them brass rivets as well for the same reason as the top ones. I think thats all the structural support I need? Hope?
Well there's what contained Gurkha Cellar Reserve 15 year old cigars! Some might rather have the cigars
More planned! You think the stock market is volatile? Just try the dumpster diving market!
Oh... I almost forgot..Gotta have a cho! Convex grind btw! Sandpaper on mousepad is fine for extra-fine tuning
Last edited:
RayseM
Platinum Member
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You are the Stradivari of CIGAR BOX GUITARS. You got a big WOW and a deep BOW from me (that's not a BOW/WOW but a WOW & then a BOW). 
What a cool project and your figure it out and get er dun process is inspiring.
Of course we now need an audio
Thanks for sharing.
Ray
You got a big WOW and a deep BOW from me (that's not a BOW/WOW but a WOW & then a BOW). What a cool project and your figure it out and get er dun process is inspiring. Of course we now need an audio
Thanks for sharing.
Ray
Last edited:
Bawanna
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My breath is completely taken away. That is incredible.
Hoping Yangdu can send some of them pictures over to Nepal so our kami's can see them too.
As RayseM said you are the Stradivari of Cigar Box Guitars. (and dumpster diving too).
I'm sending a letter to my congressman suggesting that dumpsters up here are made handicap accessible so I can get into them myself, guess a fully functioning brain might help with thinking what I need to dive for.
Hoping Yangdu can send some of them pictures over to Nepal so our kami's can see them too.
As RayseM said you are the Stradivari of Cigar Box Guitars. (and dumpster diving too).
I'm sending a letter to my congressman suggesting that dumpsters up here are made handicap accessible so I can get into them myself, guess a fully functioning brain might help with thinking what I need to dive for.
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OK fellas! About them "F" holes. No im not talking about third world countries either so dont even go there Its a done deal. Now I can say its an acoustic guitar!
Whew! Thats was more tedious than anything else I had to do to this thing so far!
Ha! Well! What did you expect me to carve it with? Just kidding. more like:
Man I was not kidding about tedious tho. One slip of the exacto and that box could have been trash! Bookie and Bawanna I dont envy you doing them engravings and inlays. More power to yall! I had already decided not to do it and instead buy some little screened in brass holes and mount them but it was raining this morning and I didnt have anything else to do but drink coffee and carve some wood. Now its time to switch to beer and practice some Muddy Waters.
Guess I could have wiped the pencil marks and cleaned it up for the pic? oh well. You get the pic.
It does sound a bit louder but it still needs some electrons running through it. Note: Flonase nasal spray stubby slide!
Its a done deal. Now I can say its an acoustic guitar!Whew! Thats was more tedious than anything else I had to do to this thing so far!
Ha! Well! What did you expect me to carve it with? Just kidding. more like:
Man I was not kidding about tedious tho. One slip of the exacto and that box could have been trash! Bookie and Bawanna I dont envy you doing them engravings and inlays. More power to yall! I had already decided not to do it and instead buy some little screened in brass holes and mount them but it was raining this morning and I didnt have anything else to do but drink coffee and carve some wood. Now its time to switch to beer and practice some Muddy Waters.
Guess I could have wiped the pencil marks and cleaned it up for the pic? oh well. You get the pic.
It does sound a bit louder but it still needs some electrons running through it. Note: Flonase nasal spray stubby slide!
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That really is amazing what you did here. I was hoping you would put f-holes in it but I never expected the khuk-holes. This is the perfect. I can't wait to hear it.
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Danny, It looks great. That slide may need to be open at both ends or get thee a piece of copper tubing, If the neck starts to warp on you, groove it lengthwise and epoxy a piece of steel into it. I have drill bits long enough to drill it out for a steel rod. That way it would be hidden from view. The frame and horizontal running cross boards are killing the volume of sound. If you plug'er in, you'll be much happier. You should tape you playing that gem for us to hear'er sing. Good job, bro. My next project us a uke.
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A Uke would be cool to but im still having withdrawals from loosing 3 strings Banjo would be fun to learn.
Yall dont want to hear me sing...trust me!
I thought about removing the cross pieces Doc but it would just not be the same recognizable CB. I finally spent some $ and got some pickups and electrical hardware coming on Friday so it should be plugged this weekend. Man! I dont think I could ever try directional drilling that neck. I know you could do it Doc but it would be sticking out the 3rd fret if I tried it! Its still pretty thick so Im hoping it wont warp on me. Im using some pretty stiff strings on it now just to keep from hitting the slide on the frets. CBG's dont have truss rods so necks gotta be tough. Im having to adjust the action tho. The intonation was perfect but when fretted on the 12th fret it was a bit sharp. I removed that wooden piece under the bridge (pump shaft) to lower it and also cut the nut slot (under brass bolt) a bit deeper but still got to do some more adjusting. I still need to lower the pump shaft so I might have to cut into that cross piece anyway.
I do have another stubby slide open on both ends and switched to it last night. It seems more stable. Most are 22mm inside diameter but my sausage fingers barely fit it.
Banjo would be fun to learn. Yall dont want to hear me sing...trust me!
I thought about removing the cross pieces Doc but it would just not be the same recognizable CB. I finally spent some $ and got some pickups and electrical hardware coming on Friday so it should be plugged this weekend. Man! I dont think I could ever try directional drilling that neck. I know you could do it Doc but it would be sticking out the 3rd fret if I tried it! Its still pretty thick so Im hoping it wont warp on me. Im using some pretty stiff strings on it now just to keep from hitting the slide on the frets. CBG's dont have truss rods so necks gotta be tough. Im having to adjust the action tho. The intonation was perfect but when fretted on the 12th fret it was a bit sharp. I removed that wooden piece under the bridge (pump shaft) to lower it and also cut the nut slot (under brass bolt) a bit deeper but still got to do some more adjusting. I still need to lower the pump shaft so I might have to cut into that cross piece anyway.
I do have another stubby slide open on both ends and switched to it last night. It seems more stable. Most are 22mm inside diameter but my sausage fingers barely fit it.
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Yes you will probably have to tune it every time you go to play it but that is the nature of the beast and what a beautiful beast it is. Ill have to show this thread to a good friend of mine who make guitars out of anything re-purposed. He has a few CB guitars but nothing as good looking as that. BTW I love the F holes, Very appropriate shape
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Ha! Thanks Night Rider. Thats funny because I used to have a 1970's Stratocaster and it was really was a crappy guitar because of the design for that time. Three bolt neck mount etc but I hated it with the passion because you couldn't play one song without having to retune it. I finally traded it for a motorcycle and a leather jacket. Good trade it was for the time. I always keep that in mind when it comes to guitars. If it wont stay in tune its trash! PERIOD! Not worth my time. Ive learned a bit since too. This one seems to stay in tune once the strings get settled and i dont screw with anything that dont. Ive about wore out a set of strings so far just because im taking them on and off to get the action I want. I also have a 1957 AVRI Strat made in early 1982 with the original 1957 tooling and some of the parts from the Fullerton plant. It only cost me about half a car Thats about as close as you can get to Pre-CBS guitars without refinancing your house. I been playing for over 40 years and still suck but my guitar gently weeps . But then again disco still sucks too!
Thats about as close as you can get to Pre-CBS guitars without refinancing your house. I been playing for over 40 years and still suck but my guitar gently weeps . But then again disco still sucks too!
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OK Folks! Got my parts in yesterday and managed to get started.
After some soul searching I figured out where to mount the parts so they would be out of the way but also in the way so I could get to them. There werent many options due to all the plywood on the ends of the box but I think I found a home for all the parts.
Volume and Tone buttons will go here. You might notice the volume knob on my strat is missing. I like to play near the bridge so Im always hitting the volume knob when playing so I remove it. This should be out of the way enuff.
Three way switch goes here so I can choose neck pickup, bridge pickup or both.
Holes drilled. I had to go all the way through that plywood transom on the back of the boat for the input jack.
A piece of brass will do. Forget all the polishing and shaping. Im just going to whack off pieces and mount them as they are shaped. I did brush them and round them off a bit. Since the parts wont mount straight to the wood because of thickness issues ill have to make these plates for them and then mount the plates. This one will cover those two neck screws too. I may even be able to mount the strap button there too. I still got to figure out how to hide the other clamp mark on the left. I used cardboard when I clamped the plywood down and should have know better but sometimes one is inclined to do dumb
things anyway.
Now drill out some holes for mounting screws.
I do believe that will work.
Well it aint wired up yet and I havent mounted the pickup yet either so definitely more to come. I did glue them little round piezos to the inside of the lid and connect them to the input jack just so I could have some amplified sound till I figure out the wiring. A buddy invited me over for some burgers and I wanted it to be presentable tonite so there it is.
You might notice I had to change out the zebrawood/impeller shaft out for an allen wrench. That lowered the action so it would stay in tune when fretting on the higher frets. I also replaced the strings for some fresh ones since i just about wore the others out taking them on and off for adjustments. Sure glad I cut out the K-holes. I put some rings on the Khuk handles too. OK all for now! Thanks for hanging in there folks!
After some soul searching I figured out where to mount the parts so they would be out of the way but also in the way so I could get to them. There werent many options due to all the plywood on the ends of the box but I think I found a home for all the parts.
Volume and Tone buttons will go here. You might notice the volume knob on my strat is missing. I like to play near the bridge so Im always hitting the volume knob when playing so I remove it. This should be out of the way enuff.
Three way switch goes here so I can choose neck pickup, bridge pickup or both.
Holes drilled. I had to go all the way through that plywood transom on the back of the boat for the input jack.
A piece of brass will do. Forget all the polishing and shaping. Im just going to whack off pieces and mount them as they are shaped. I did brush them and round them off a bit. Since the parts wont mount straight to the wood because of thickness issues ill have to make these plates for them and then mount the plates. This one will cover those two neck screws too. I may even be able to mount the strap button there too. I still got to figure out how to hide the other clamp mark on the left. I used cardboard when I clamped the plywood down and should have know better but sometimes one is inclined to do dumb
things anyway.Now drill out some holes for mounting screws.
I do believe that will work.
Well it aint wired up yet and I havent mounted the pickup yet either so definitely more to come. I did glue them little round piezos to the inside of the lid and connect them to the input jack just so I could have some amplified sound till I figure out the wiring. A buddy invited me over for some burgers and I wanted it to be presentable tonite so there it is.
You might notice I had to change out the zebrawood/impeller shaft out for an allen wrench. That lowered the action so it would stay in tune when fretting on the higher frets. I also replaced the strings for some fresh ones since i just about wore the others out taking them on and off for adjustments. Sure glad I cut out the K-holes. I put some rings on the Khuk handles too. OK all for now! Thanks for hanging in there folks!
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I have seen my friend build a lot of CB guitars and a ton of electric guitars but never an electric CB. It could be a first. If you got time check out Fireseed Arts on the interweb and scroll through the pics. should be a couple of CB's he made. I hope you can post a link to an audio file when finished.
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I’ve been following this ever since you started. I’m pulling for you my friend and can’t wait to hear it’s output. You’re very talented for sure!
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Once a fellow brandished such a guitar at me, as if he would strike me with the neck.
I looked him directly in the eye, and asked, “Is that a fret?”
I looked him directly in the eye, and asked, “Is that a fret?”
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Ha! Good one Howard! Almost flushed my sinuses with coffee
Thanks for waiting patiently folks!
Here's whats left of that old TV and some phone cord. I think this will be plenty enough to wire one guitar.
This neck pick up is pretty simple. Its a humbucker which means it has two coils in there somewhere. This thing cost more than the whole guitar X4 but it's the Cadillac of CBG's they say. So much for the budget
After hogging out the cover a bit on the sides it fit pretty nicely.
These are piezo pickups. They pick up mechanical vibrations from the box but not the string vibrations themselves like the magnetic humbuckers do. They get hot glued inside a few bottle caps first then get glued inside the cover.
Pretty much everything wired in now.
Time to buzz it out.
All parts are in and everybody's happy now!
I also added strap buttons in case i want to stand and play! Ya never know? I think next time I change the strings ill glue them wires off to the side so you cant see them through the K-holes. I might even paint the inside of the box black. Im calling this done at least for now. Hope I didnt bore yall too much but this was really a fun project. I know I still owe yall a video. I havent forgot. Ill add it in later! Thanks everybody for the interest. ENJOY!
Thanks for waiting patiently folks!
Here's whats left of that old TV and some phone cord. I think this will be plenty enough to wire one guitar.
This neck pick up is pretty simple. Its a humbucker which means it has two coils in there somewhere. This thing cost more than the whole guitar X4 but it's the Cadillac of CBG's they say. So much for the budget
After hogging out the cover a bit on the sides it fit pretty nicely.
These are piezo pickups. They pick up mechanical vibrations from the box but not the string vibrations themselves like the magnetic humbuckers do. They get hot glued inside a few bottle caps first then get glued inside the cover.
Pretty much everything wired in now.
Time to buzz it out.
All parts are in and everybody's happy now!
I also added strap buttons in case i want to stand and play! Ya never know? I think next time I change the strings ill glue them wires off to the side so you cant see them through the K-holes. I might even paint the inside of the box black. Im calling this done at least for now. Hope I didnt bore yall too much but this was really a fun project. I know I still owe yall a video. I havent forgot. Ill add it in later! Thanks everybody for the interest. ENJOY!