Building the "JAVA" Cigar Box Guitar | The Java Series, Part 1

This is part 1 of 2 of building the Java Cigar Box Guitar and Guitar Amp. In this episode, I'll build the 3 string cigar box guitar. This guitar has a cool 3 string humbucker that we'll get to crank up in part 2.
Building the Cigar Box Amplifier - The link will be right here when the video comes out 11/7/20
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#guitarbuilding #hayleyguitars #cigarboxguitars

[@edwardmccarthy7877]

As a left-handed guitar builder myself, I've ended up with a nice collection of lefty guitars myself! That's an upside!😉

[@jydymyyyr9630]

This is like "high quality" CBG building. Since I have some classical guitar building experience, I really like how you incorporate many quality building methods although the time to build has got to be greater than a slap-together CBG. Thanks for sharing!!!

Hello my friend. I didn't know it was that hard to build a cigar box guitar. Congratulations. Go on. See you. Stay healthy and happy. Big greetings.

[@homebuiltshop]

Thank You! You can definitely build them a bit simpler. I like to combine a Cigar Box Guitar with a regular Electric Guitar. I hope you are all well.

@@homebuiltshop Man everything is fine. I'm doing something too. Ll see. 👏 🙏

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

Nicely, nicely done!! And I love the outtakes at the end!! BAM!

[@homebuiltshop]

Thanks. Outtakes are one of my favorite parts.

[@jimorth3023]

wow i appreciate all that you do, its been a while. i just learned a few things thank you

[@fubarcomm]

awesome build and video! I build cigar box guitars myself, and run into the neck issue often. I usually put a piece of wood as a center block/brace inside the box, so that the neck can have something to attach to as well as for support. The pickup route adds to the challenge too.

[@homebuiltshop]

I've tried some other bracing before, but this way has worked the best of all the ways I've tried so far. There's more than one way to skin a cat. Lol.

[@SteveArvey]

Thank you for sharing this!! Great Job!!

[@homebuiltshop]

Thanks!

[@MrDoeboy356]

Awesome.

[@homebuiltshop]

Thank You!

[@kk-om5zm]

amazing build Jeff...!!

[@homebuiltshop]

Thanks my friend.

[@TonyBrown-lf5nj]

Well Done Sir .

[@homebuiltshop]

Thanks!

[@Heather22056]

Great 👍

[@homebuiltshop]

Thank you 👍

[@adamfox4765]

Awesome video. So what kind of radius did you put in your neck? And how does that affect play ability? I have a hard time getting the top string down when I bar the frets. The top string always gets caught in the bottom joint of my finger and buzzes

[@crossgrainwoodproductsltd9230]

Love this! I had a cigar box guitar as a kid but it was nothing like this. This one is much, much nicer. Jeff, have you tried using a sandpaper eraser? They start at around $8.00 and last forever.

[@homebuiltshop]

Thank you! I have gotten some of those erasers. They do seem to help.

[@michaelrobitaille890]

Where do you get all the pre wired guitar pickups, tuners, frets, nut and bridge. That cigar box guitar looks awesome

[@homebuiltshop]

Thanks. A lot of the parts you can order from CB Gitty. They have tons of supplies for Cigar Box Guitars. The fretwire I buy in bulk from StewMac. You can get it from other places as well, but I like theirs.

[@rparker120]

Love your videos! I have a question, did you make the “Hayley“ burning iron?

[@homebuiltshop]

I had it made by Budget Branding Irons. I wish I had the machinery to make them. That would be awesome.

[@andyfarmer759]

I don't understand the technical side of guitars but from a woodwork point of view looks great. I was really interested in some of the woodworking methods you used i.e. planing down with the router. The guitar sounded real good at the end.

[@homebuiltshop]

Thanks Andy, You can watch this old video of me making the router sled. I'm still using that same one for now. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYu4dalpgrxne7c

[@andyfarmer759]

@@homebuiltshop Thank you Jeff. I will certainly watch it. Hope you are all keeping well.

[@homebuiltshop]

We're doing good. I hope the same for you.

[@andyfarmer759]

@@homebuiltshop yes thanks doing well

[@MrJwsjohn]

Beautiful guitar!! I am working on my second CBG. Seems like the hardest job is sanding the down neck. What do you think about using a router bit to do the bulk of the shaping for the neck?

[@homebuiltshop]

Thanks. A router is a great way to quickly remove material. I'm all for it. I just made a jig to do this on the router. The video is on may channel. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpawdHdspd6dj9E

[@tennesseemusicworks]

@@homebuiltshop , I am a CBG builder, and I find the best way to make a neck is to get the 1.5" thick, 8' boards from Lowes or Home Depot. Try a scarf joint sometime.

[@tomdenny8507]

It sounds great as an acoustic but I noticed that you didn't put any sound holes in this guitar. Do you feel they are not needed or are you only planning on using it as an electric?

[@homebuiltshop]

I honestly went back and forth on the sound hole. As is, its got a nice bit of volume, but my intention is to have this plugged in to the matching amp that I'm currently working on.

[@davidholmes3776]

Do you ever scarf joint your headstock? I’m in the middle of my first CBG build at the moment.

[@homebuiltshop]

I have seen scarf joint CBG's but I haven't done them myself. There's no reason you cant though.

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

Scarf joints rule!!! I built a 15 degree jig for my bandsaw, works like charm!! Also consider a slight back angle cut on the box thru portion of the neck, it increases the adjustability of the string height.. check out Del Puckett's videos on neck back angles...

[@maerck3]

What is CA glue?

[@homebuiltshop]

That's a great question. CA stands for cyanoacrylate. I think I spelled that wrong. Its another name for Super Glue.

[@therickashesoloband]

hey Jeff!!!! whats up!!!!!!

[@homebuiltshop]

Whats Up Rick!

[@scottb.2022]

Shows you how much I know about cigar box guitars. I always wondered how you made a guitar out of a cardboard box. Did you get to smoke the cigars?

[@homebuiltshop]

This ones not cardboard. I believe its cedar. No cigars for me, just Java. Lol.

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

Ha! There is a contingent of cbg builders that say never use a cardboard box.. if you're building an acoustic cbg you will want to use solid or plywood boxes, but for an electric cbg a cardboard (properly reinforced) box will work fine, plus the older cardboard cigar boxes have great art!!

[@frankschrodinger1424]

Is your nut width the same as the string spacing at the bridge or is the neck tapered?

[@frankschrodinger1424]

I meant string spacing at the nut. Incidentally how much fretboard overhang is there on each side?

[@homebuiltshop]

I usually shoot for 1/8" at each edge. This neck isn't tapered.

[@bigrussell100]

Awesome build jeff my son is wanting to build one

[@homebuiltshop]

Sweet, go for it man. Its super fun.

[@bobjeaniejoey]

Very nice work. JAVA boxes are certainly attractive, but in my possibly not so humble opinion, their extremely heavy construction make them suitable only for use as magnetic-pickup'd electric CBGs. With a magnetic pickup, it barely matters if you use a pine 2 x 8 for a body. The sound is pretty much coming from the pickup and the amp. I've built one thick-lidded CBG (Romeo y Julieta) piezo pickup'd CBG and am disappointed with its sound, both acoustically and piezo amplified. JAVA boxes and other brands that have relatively thick lids (Arturo Fuente, La Aroma De Cuba, San Cristobal, Romeo y Julieta, Perdomo, et al) all suffer from that same problem. JAVA and Perdomo even more so with the overall robustness of their box construction. I have tons of thick-lidded, heavily constructed boxes that I'll probably never use to build with as I'm pretty much solely a player of acoustics. I have considered thinning the insides of the lids on some of these boxes to see if they sound any better but have yet to do so. Some of these boxes are visually very attractive to me (La Aroma De Cuba and San Cristobal, especially), so I may give the technique of thinning the lids a try one day. On the other end of the spectrum, I've built a number of CBGs using vintage all-cardboard and partial-cardboard boxes. When I built my first CBG using an all-cardboard box, I prepared myself to be disappointed in its sound quality. I was very pleased to find that it as well as subsequent cardboard boxed CBGs have a unique "thumpy" sound quality to them that I did not expect to hear. They sound super "bluesy" to me. That's my two cents worth. I still give mad props to your fine craftsmanship, though. Cheers!

[@homebuiltshop]

Thanks, I built one from a Camacho box. Looks great but has a very thick cardboard like lid. That one never really sounded great to me. I've been thinking about redoing it, and may still.

[@bobjeaniejoey]

@@homebuiltshop Hi, Thanks for replying. The Camacho boxes are really cool looking. Really cool looking. I don't have any, though, because they have the thick lids. As I recall, I think they might be a high-density fiberboard as thick as maybe even 7/16". I'd love to incorporate a Camacho box into a CBG build, but even though I install at least some sort of pickup in all my builds, my first love in playing them is unplugged, amping them infrequently. I think I'll take another look at a Camacho box. It might be possible to router the interior of the lid to a thickness of something like 3/32", leaving the outside edges intact. That probably wouldn't be easy to do without damaging the box in some way, although, as "they" say, where there's a will, there's a way. I don't know if I have that much "will", though, when there are literally tons of other attractive boxes available to use. Food for thought. You know, I'd love to see you do a video where you thin the top of your existing Camacho CBG, if it were to be feasible to do so. Or, alternatively, make another Camacho CBG from scratch, employing a thinned-out top. I'll be watching your channel to see if that may come to pass. The vintage cardboard-topped boxes that I like from the mid-20th century have thin construction, White Owl being an example. They really do have a distinctive "thump" that is attractive to my ears. When demonstrating them to some other folks, I've seen a few people turn their noses up in the air. Maybe it's just snobbery or maybe the cardboard sound just isn't their "thing". I like them. I love the format of your videos, your very clear enunciation when speaking, and your upbeat attitude. Success to you. Cheers!

[@misterx8592]

I get the idea you dont care for CA glue….lol

[@BIGBUDDY291]

Jeff that is awesome. I would like a little pepper on mine. lol Great job. What is your P.O. Box number , I lost it.

[@homebuiltshop]

Lol Buddy, Maybe some garlic powder too. Its PO box 84. Peyton, CO 80831