Tag Archives: cigar

JSA Cigar Box Guitar S5 – Homemade Coal Heater for Maker’s Mark Branding Iron

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I purchased this custom made branding iron from 4NE1 Craftshop on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/600960918/customized-branding-iron-stamps-custom?ref=shop_home_feat_2

Plate sizes ranged from 1cm x 1cm to 10cm x 10cm and pricing ranged respectively from $25 – $100 plus $8 for a curved or straight screw-on handle. I purchased a 5cm x 5cm block for $50 and asked them to scale it to 3cm x 4.4cm to fit my design—seen below.

The item description stated that designs between 2cm – 5cm transferred to the iron best, so I stuck within those limitations.

Once I received my custom iron, I had to find a way to heat it—options included heating with a branding iron heater, barbecue pit, or blow torch.

Branding iron heaters were too expensive, firing up a large barbecue pit to make one mark was a waste of time and fuel, and it seemed like using a torch might promote uneven heating across the length of the brand.

Through research I discovered an outdoor survival site that offered a tutorial on how to make a small portable stove with two empty can goods cans.

Follow these links for the more information and an instructional video:

https://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/build-ultra-efficient-diy-wood-gasifier-backpacking.html

I modified the design to accommodate my heating needs and therefore used larger cans to hold more charcoal and greater surface area on the outer edge to rest the branding iron handle.

I added a modified eyebolt, attached to the side, to support the iron on the inside and a lid, made from a thick metal cat bowl and a cheap wooden drawer knob, to contain the heat.

Once completed, I added charcoal to the interior can and fired it up. Fifteen to twenty minutes later the thermometer read between 650 and 700 degrees Fahrenheit on the modified eyebolt that would support the iron, which is sufficient to brand maple.

So far, I’ve used this heater twice and I couldn’t be happier with it’s functionality and convenience.

On the second try, I found that allowing the inner can, containing the fuel, to burn on the grill of an open barbecue pit helped heat the coal faster, because it provided better air flow. Once the coals were hot, I placed the inner can back in the outer can and then added the branding iron and lid.

I have found that branding is a game of trial and error—you keep heating the iron and applying it for different amounts of time until you achieve the desired result. Plus, if your mark appears too burnt, you can sometimes remove some of the scorch markings with fine grit sandpaper.

This heater turned out to be a perfect fit for heating my branding iron and at $15 in parts and an hour of work, it was an awesome deal.

Thanks,

Grandma Ruth’s Cedar Bible Box Fretless Guitar

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My grandma, Ruth, turned 92 on August 13th, so I thought I would make her a guitar from this cedar bible box that I found at a local thrift store.

The box had a cool grain, but I wanted to finish it with my usual vinegar and steel wool concoction, so I sanded it down. However, in the process, I lost the script and stamp on the front and back.

I began by cutting a hole in the box, which would fit the 1×2 maple stick and a 1/4×2 oak cover plate perfectly.

Sanding softened the appearance of the grain and added distress to the hardware.

I cut a slot for the tuners and the pickup in the body, then drilled holes for the string fasteners and carved the signature blades into the headstock. An oak fretboard was added, along with an oak electronics cover.

Then, I cut down a 3/8″ carriage bolt and filed a 3/8″ round slot in the fretboard at the nut position.

I Slipped the stick into the box and figured out where the three top holes should be drilled to correspond with the internal tuners.

I checked to see how the 6″ replica Roman crucifixion nail would look relative to the 24-3/4 scale length and everything lined up well.

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New to this build is the official Junk Shop Audio branding iron. I found a branding iron maker that creates custom irons from solid brass. I made this small coal-burning heater based on plans I found on an outdoor survival site—it is comprised of two large can goods cans, a cat bowl, a drawer pull and a handful of nuts and bolts. I needed a rustic maker’s mark for my guitars and this branding iron fit the bill.

I changed the design to accommodate more fuel and higher heat, but the original portable stove can be found here:

https://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/build-ultra-efficient-diy-wood-gasifier-backpacking.html

I installed a Nd144 Electromagnetic Cigar Box Guitar Pickup and a 1/4″ jack.

I secured the oak cover plate to the back and affixed the replica Roman nail card to the interior of the lid.

I measured and filed the fret markers, strung it with 10’s tuned to G-D-G and then made and added an American flag duct tape strap.

I’m really happy with the way this guitar plays. The additional height from the oak fretboard allows the player to fret notes and play slide for an additional range of sounds and playability.

Thanks,

Ripped Baseball Bat “Cigar Box Style” Electric Slide Guitar

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I completed this prototype back in November 2015. It was a really cool project, but I just got around to writing up the build notes. The first thing I had to figure out was how to rip the bat in half. I didn’t have a table saw or bandsaw—just a circular saw and chop saw—so I decided to make a box that would almost perfectly fit the baseball bat. Then, I used a square to center all of the parts of the bat parallel to the sides of the box. To achieve this, I used different thicknesses of scrap wood to shim the bat into a centered position.

Once the bat was centered, I used a square to mark the cutline, which was slightly off center to allow for the best bat depth to fretboard width ratio—I wanted to retain as much material as possible to add strength, but I still needed enough fretboard width for three strings. I found my measurement and then set the circular saw guide relative to one side of the box.

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I placed the box on the ground and up against the sidewalk. The box is much longer than the bat to allow extra room for the circular saw to drop in and begin a straight run toward the end of the bat. The saw must run through at a slow even pace, straight through the end block to complete the cut. The bat moved a bit, as the saw cut through its length. This resulted in a less than flat surface that required a bit of planing. I placed the surface with a hand planer until a level sat flat against the surface. I sanded the cut surface with sandpaper, but left the outer part of the bat untouched.

I filed a 3/8″ groove 24-3/4″ from the nut location and then cut two brass bolts, placing one in the bridge position and filing the other down to half thickness for the nut.

Pickup and 1/4″ Jack:

I purchased a second 1-1/4″ spade bit and sawed off the center point tip, so that the bottom would be flat and less likely to penetrate the back side of the bat. The pickup hole was started with the old bit with the tip and completed with the new bit without the tip. I installed a JSA Nd144 Electromagnetic Cigar Box Guitar Pickup and planned to wire it straight to the jack. My biggest concern was that I would drill through the back of the bat, so I was careful to measure and drill small bits at a time.

The endpin jack was too big to fit at the end of the bat as a circle, so I ground it down to more of a triangle, leaving the holes. The hole for the jack and wire was drill straight through to the pickup hole with a long 1/2″ bit. The jack fit well, but had to be bent a bit on the bottom to conform to the curve of the bat—a few brass screws held it in place nicely.

Tuners:

This was the first application of my Simple Tuners, as I created them for this particular project. Given that I wanted to keep a clean baseball bat profile at the back of the guitar, standard tuners would not work, so I came up with these tuners that attached to the front surface.

Headstock:

I found this old bottle opener and it fit perfectly on the headstock, so I fastened it down and then installed two more screws to set the height. I filed three notches to hold the strings and then added a string tensioner, made of a brass bolt and two small eye-screws and it was ready to go.

Check out this quick and dirty video:

Thanks,

uW5Z0b

“Crude Theremin” – Tube Oscillator and Homemade Electromagnetic Guitar Pickup

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I was making an extra three-string removable pickup from my JSA Nd144 Electromagnetic Cigar Box Guitar Pickup and started thinking about some of its other features.

I recently found an old tube oscillator at the antique mall and thought I might be able to do something interesting with it. So I hooked up the removable pickup to my amp and powered on the oscillator. With one hand on the frequency knob and the other manipulating the volume via pickup proximity, you can get some pretty cool brassy synth tones.

The removable pickup is made of a 9v adapter coil and a homemade 1/4″ jack.

Follow this link to view step-by-step build instructions for the 9v adapter pickup:

9 Volt Power Adapter Guitar Pickup

Follow this link to view the homemade 1/4″ jack build instructions:

JSA Cigar Box Guitar S3 – Homemade, Space-saving 1/4″ Output Jack for Guitar

The wiring is simple—two terminals on the pickup: one attached to the hot on the jack and the other to the ground on the jack. Then, I just taped them together.

I need a bit more practice, but here is a quick and dirty video for now:

Thanks,

“Road Ready Polymer” – All-Plastic, First Act Electro-Acoustic Modification

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I found this plastic First Act acoustic for six dollars at Goodwill—why not…everyone has to get their hands dirty at some point.

Here are the before pictures:

Body and Finish:

The body and “finish” were in fairly good shape, but I had to do something the change it’s appearance. I decided to leave the back, sides, and neck alone, so I painted only the top of the body and front of the head.

I wanted to make the deterioration on the finish more interesting so first I painted the top and head Safety Red then I painted Hammered, Burnished Amber. The thinking is that the amber will first wear down to red, then to the original “burst” finish.

Another interesting aspect of this guitar is the inner structure. The guitar seems rather sound, so I’m confident that it should holdup to 11’s.

Tuners:

I changed out the tuners—the replacements were second-hand, crappy yes, but not as bad as the originals. The classical acoustic tuners fit perfectly without modification and the addition of brass screws finished off the abomination perfectly.

Pickup and Bridge:

Of course for the pickup, I taped together two Nd144 Electromagnetic Cigar Box Guitar Pickups. I drilled and installed a 1/4″ jack in the lower-right and wired it straight to the pickup.

For pickup installation, I taped two washers in the bridge position with Command Strips—the magnets on the pickups attached to the washers for easy installation.

The bridge is a 3/16 brass bar that helps enhance the steel strings, serves as a grounding point and adds a focal point.

Final thoughts:

Otherwise, it works—it cost $22, plus scrap parts, and took a few hours to enhance. Plus, the top will look pretty cool once it acquires some genuine wear and tear.

Check out this quick and dirty video, which offers some haphazard slide work:

Thanks,

“Slice of Deliverance” – Steel-String Resonator Banjolele w/ Removable Pickup

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I chanced upon this banjo uke for a steal at the local antique mall and couldn’t pass up a new project. From what I’ve read, this style of banjo ukulele was produced through the 20’s and 30’s and it’s in really great shape compared to some I have seen for sale online.

This instrument came with a traditional drumhead, but no bridge. Against the advice of most ukulele enthusiast sites my plan was to string it up with steel strings, so that I could add a removable pickup, which is apparently I’ll advised because the neck could succumb to the pressure.

The Before Pictures:

Finish:

The finished was scratched, but was otherwise in fine shape; however, I wanted to add my own style, so I sanded off the finish and stained it with a vinegar and steel wool concoction.

I started with the white vinegar mix that adds a rusty, yellow hue while darkening deep spots. Then, I finished with an apple cider mix that adds a bit more color, grain depth and shine. The mix results in a distressed look that enhances the natural grain, while adding subtle nuances as well as dramatic extremes.

Drumhead and Bridge:

I began by cutting a piece of brass rod for the bridge and then strung it with the top four strings from a pack of DR Pure Blues 9’s.

The uke tuned up, but the drumhead was strained, which lowered the action to the point of rubbing on the rim. So I had to find a new material for the head that would be thin enough to offer as good of a voice as the drumhead.

I had a paint can lid laying on the bench and it appeared to be the right size, so I cut off the rim and it was a perfect fit to replace the drumhead.

Tuners and Tailpiece:

The tuners weren’t complete trash, but I didn’t like the look of them and since I was going to use steel strings, it seemed like a good idea to install decent tuners. I found a set of Grovers that worked great and had a lower profile.

The tailpiece was meant for holding strings with smaller balls ends, so I had to drill small holes in the body to accommodate the steel string balls and allow the tailpiece to sit flat against the body.

Pickup:

Since the paint can worked out so well, it created a perfect opportunity for using a removable pickup made from two of my Nd144 Electromagnetic Cigar Box Guitar Pickups. I had originally built a similar pickup for the “Teeth for Days” build, which had a body that was to thin to house a permanently installed pickup.

Therefore, I created a compact pickup and 1/4″ jack combination that could be easily installed and removed. Since the paint can lid is made of magnetically sensitive material, the pickup can be installed at a whim.

This solves two problems—first, placing the pickup directly on the paint can lid stifles the resonating effect to some degree, so easy installation and removable allows the user to play acoustically without compromise. Second, installation via the inherent magnets keeps me from having to drill extra holes and add unsightly hardware for both the pickup and the output jack. In short, the pickup is fully functionally electric without radically changing the acoustic nature of the instrument.

The most interesting and functional aspect of this pickup is its ability to be removed and potentially used to electrify/amplify another guitar with a body made from magnetically sensitive material, such as a lunch box or cookie tin. The pickup and output jack is wired up and taped together as one unit to simplify this process.

A second feature is the exposed, copper ground wire that makes contact with the paint can lid upon installation. This signal travels through the all magnetically sensitive materials that come in contact with the chain, so the paint can lid, bridge (if changed to steel), strings, and tailpiece all become a place to ground the signal, thus reducing amplifier noise/hum.

Accessories:

I added a strap button comprised of a security bolt and a brass knurled nut. I simply drilled a larger hole in the body and tailpiece to accommodate the larger bolt.

The strap was made from duct tape printed with an American flag design and the headstock strap tie was made of black duct tape with a brass binding screw to hold everything together.

Final Word…

This was a cool project and I developed and appreciation for the ukulele and the benefits of its small size, along with this instrument’s marriage with the banjo.

Check out this quick video that offers this instrument’s amplified and acoustic tones:

Thanks,

“His Dudeness” – Electro-Acoustic Resonator Guitar Modification

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Follow this link for additional photos and build notes:

“His Dudeness” – Electro-Acoustic Resonator Guitar Modification

Call it The Dude, His Dudeness, Duder, or even El Duderino, but don’t call it Mr. Lebowski.

I received a request to modify this old classical, parlor acoustic. The gentleman had seen a few of my other acoustic modifications and wanted something similar for his acoustic. He gave me full artistic control, so I added materials based on the guitar’s size, shape and the condition of the neck.

Here are some before pictures:

Check out these quick and dirty demonstration videos—one is amplified with distortion the other is unplugged and ends with a little Nuge, but hey, it’s a free for all:

Thanks,

“TSA Certified” SlipStick Carry-on Electric Steel Guitar

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Well…this steel guitar is not actually TSA Certified, but at a length of 20-3/4 inches it does fit diagonally in a carry-on suitcase. I had built the first incarnation of this steel guitar a few years back when I had to go on a business trip and wanted an instrument to take along. I was only taking a carry-on so it had to be small enough to fit inside—it turned out to be a perfect fit.

Follow this link to the official project page for additional photos and build notes:

“TSA Certified” SlipStick Carry-on Electric Steel Guitar

Thanks,

Better Bolt Bridges – Left-handed Thread Rod

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Better Bolt Bridges – Left-handed Thread Rod

I had been struggling with keeping my floating bolt bridges in place for proper intonation. I would set the bridge perfectly, as pictured below:

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However, over time, the vibration of the strings would eventually turn the bolt, thus throwing my guitar out of tune, as pictured below:

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If you look at the first picture, you can see that the orientation of the string is strained as it fights to stay in one of the thread slots. The force that the string places on the bolt naturally moves the bolt into a position where the string sits comfortably within a thread slot.

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Even bolt bridges that are mounted into a slot suffer difficulties. However, since the bolt can not turn to orientate the threads with the strings, they are more prone to slipping into another thread slot, which leads to intonation and string spacing problems. Plus, a string sitting on top of threads allows less usable surface area than a string seated within a thread slot.

The solution showed up on my doorstep yesterday morning. I had been trying the figure this out when I recalled that, in my warehouse days, contractors would request left-handed thread rod for certain jobs. I looked around and found 3/8 left-handed steel rod at Fastenal for $26.87, plus shipping, which seems pricey, but I can cut about 36 2″ floating/fixed bridges for $1.08 each.

This is the direct link to the rod that I purchased:   https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/47304

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Here is the result. As you can see in the image below, the floating bolt bridge is once again in tune; however, this time the strings will not cause the bolt to turn because the strings are now seated comfortably within the thread slots.

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Tragedy averted—now I just have to find some left-handed brass rod.

Thanks,

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https://www.junkshopaudio.com

 

Bennet’s Bamboom Stick

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Bennet’s Bamboom Stick

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“Bamboom” was how Bennet used to pronounce “bamboo” when he was younger. In Army of Darkness, Ash called his shotgun a “boom stick”—no real correlation, just a fun fact.

This instrument was commissioned by Bennet. I can’t remember what it is really called, but Bennet fell in love after playing one at the St. Louis Cigar Box Guitar Club. Both the frame and handle are constructed entirely of bamboo. The one that he saw included a cigar box and piezo pickup, but I wanted to streamline the design, so I cut a hole and installed a JSC Nd144 electromagnetic pickup. 

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Bamboo is incredibly strong for its thickness and weight, but it is easy to manipulate once a hole is created. I made horizontal cuts with a hacksaw and then drilled a couple of holes, where I wanted to cut vertically, and sawed a half inch strip out of the center. After that, a sharp chisel cut the rest relatively easy, with a surprising amount of control over how much material was removed.

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I cut a handle from a smaller diameter piece of bamboo; it fit snug within the opening. Build note: if you are thinking about constructing a similar instrument and use a bamboo handle, consider reinforcing the handle with a piece of dowel rod. The handle on this instrument cracked during its first use. I’ll just remove the twine and then glue and clamp the handle on Bennet’s, but it’s better to reinforce the handle from the start.

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From the pickup hole, I had limited range to place the piece of angle that would hold the tuner and the 1/4″ jack, but that was the only access that I had without creating more holes. It was tight, but it all fit without interfering with the connections. IMG_1642IMG_1643IMG_1645

I filed a large rectangular notch into the top of the handle and use a 1/4″ bolt and rod coupling to tighten the string down. A couple of brass pieces and binding screw worked well to allow the handle to pivot. I also rounded out the back of the frame to allow the handle more range and added an eye bolt, bent to an angle, to act as a bridge and set a consistent action.

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Because of the limited space, I had to set the piece of angle, then install and solder the jack to the pickup, then install the bent eye bolt, and finally seat the pickup. I was extremely happy that it all worked the first time. After that, I added the usual simple machine to set the open note/octave.

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For the bottom, I added a screw-on rubber bumper so that it doesn’t slide on the floor. I fit perfectly, with a little persuasion.

There is only one E string, but the instrument has a lot of range. I added the simple tuner so that the player can set the open note/octave. The player controls the pitch by tightening and slacking the string with the handle and there is definitely a learning curve, as the player has to listen for the note correct pitch—I place the difficulty level somewhere between playing slide guitar and trombone. Good times.

Thanks,

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