Sept 2018

My New Project .

This is my new project for the the winter months its a guitar kit from Chickenbone john follow link below.
It a make your own Cigar Box Guitar Kit.



Chicken Bone John The Godfather of the cigar box guitar

 Taken From Chicken Bone John,s Web Page

Product Description

My best selling kit...now offered with a beautiful traditional genuine Nicaraguan cigar box. Everything you need to make your own 3 string cigar box guitar. All you need to add is some wood glue and materials for putting a finish on the neck. Everything else is included, and you only need a few basic tools to make your very own instrument. Comes with clear and simple step by step illustrated instructions.
This is the deluxe model - it comes with a slotted fretboard, frets and a single coil electric pickup.
Included in the kit are: Mahogany or cherrywood (subject to availability) neck blank and heel lamination blank - the headstock is already shaped to take the tuners. Open back machineheads, bushings and screws.
Blackwood Tek fingerboard, already pre-slotted. Fretwire (high quality Van Gent, made in the EU)
Internal fixing blocks. Walnut floating bridge with fretwire saddle and string spacing slots. Machine screw nut. Aluminium rivet string ferrules. Retaining screw and bushing. Screws for neck fixing and string guide.
Single coil electric pickup, "Alpha" volume and tone controls, tone capacitor, cream or black (subject to availability) Chickenhead control knobs. 1/4" Neutrik jack socket. Set of Zilpha Newtone hexcore custom gauge nickle strings and illustrated instructions.
The parts are the same top-notch quality as I use on my regular cigar box guitars.  The fretboard is pre-slotted, so your first venture into making a fretted guitar is made easy - all the hard work of measuring and slotting the fretboard is done for you (I slot my fretboards on a custom table saw rig using a CNC cut fret template for superb accuracy).
(Please note despite the name "Aroma de Cuba", the boxes are NOT Cuban, but are made in Nicaragua)


I will be looking forward to starting this and I will keep you posted with some Videos of my work in- progress.
This will be an interesting project for me especially with the lack of workspace and the lack of tools 
available I will not be able to sit outside as much in the winter months. The dust from sanding down the neck indoors would get everywhere that's enough to drive anyone mad.

Video Part 01 Opening the box.

 

Making my  Cigar Box Guitar Part 2

                                  

I meet up with a friend of mine Chris and his wife Trica, Chris has been following me on my blog for a few years now and they spend their holidays in Devon/Cornwall
I meet up with them last year at Davidstow Air Field, This year I drove down onto the Lizard to the Holiday park where they are spending three weeks on.
The Holaday Park Is Silver Sands and is found at Gwendreath.Ruan Minor. Helston Cornwall TR12 7LZ  ( www.silversandsholidaypark.co.uk).
As you know if you follow me on the blog am not really into campsites but I was really surprised with this one and really enjoyed my short stay.
Taking a short walk along a nice tree-lined path through a wooded area which ended at Kennack Sands  which was one of the cleanest beaches I've have seen, The aroma of bacon cooking tempted me over to a small tea bar on the beachfront where a bacon, egg and sausage butty along with a cup of tea was my second breakfast of the morning.
walking back the same route to the holiday park  I meet up with Chris and Trica and spent the next few hours chatting and putting the world to rights.
Chris spends his days when not holidaying in his workshop where he makes valve amps and cabinets and turns his hand to anything.
I noticed a  Boss sj music processor on the table and asked what you doing with this thinking it was a repair job he brought along with him.
It turns out he plays the guitar (in his words badly) bringing out a Squire Stratocaster and plugging into the Boss which is a bit like a teacher/trainer that has a load of preset effects and each style is attached to more than enough pre-loaded backing tracks he just blew me away with his playing.
Considering he like a lot of others cannot read music and knows nothing about what key he is playing in god it was good just watch the video to be added into Oct 2018 page and you will see.
Also turns out to be a good cook as well I was treated to a very good freshly made stirfry and a few nice bottles of beer along with a good few tunes this made my visit a wonderful few days.
I could Big this most unassuming man up all day about his abilities and talents one last thing Chris thank you for that Lipstick Guitar Pickup you gave me that will take pride and place on  one of my next Cigar Box Guitar project.
 Look out for the video in next months blog where you will see chris playing some mind blowing stuff.