One hot August morning, Ben Gitty decided to head out to the workshop and build something. He'd been spending too much time at his desk, you see, and while the air conditioning is nice, he needed an inspiration break.
There's nothing like making some sawdust, and turning a crazy idea (and a pile of unlikely sticks) into an amazing instrument, to re-stoke the creative fires.
Once out there, he found the most unlikely assemblage of parts: a bundle of old wooden yardsticks, a few pieces of scrap reclaimed hardwood, a handful of hardware and parts.
Diy Cigar Box Guitar
From this ragtag collection, the Yankee Yardstick guitar was born - a beautifully rustic and unique instrument creation that sounds even better than it looks. With three nylon strings, a rich, warm tone and beautiful rustic looks, this is a true one-of-a-kind heirloom instrument built to be played and enjoyed. All of the antique yardsticks Ben used used hale from New England, and all of the ones used for the soundboard are local to the area of New Hampshire that C. B. Gitty calls home.
A note from Ben Gitty:It is hard for me to let any of these instruments I build go. So much time and feeling goes into each one, and the end result is so meaningful to me, that selling one feels somehow sacrilegious. But, I can't hold onto them all and I want to have a reason to keep building them, so I must let one go once in a while. This is not an instrument for a person who wants a shiny, new, perfect guitar. Go to Guitar Center and by a factory-made strat if that's what you want. This is also not an instrument for someone who just wants a cheap, basic cigar box guitar. These are hand-crafted and hand-decorated one-of-a-kind works of art that I pour my heart and soul into, something that I think is truly unique. I build rustic instruments, and by design they are not meant to be perfect, smooth and shiny. I try to build the sorts of instruments that actual hoboes might have built for themselves out on the train tracks. I know there are folks out there who will see the value of that, and who won't balk at the price I have chosen to put on my work. Please, don't buy this instrument if the words above don't resonate with you - I want these instruments to belong to folks who really get it. I know that's not the sort of sales pitch that will win any awards, but I'm OK with that.
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Cigar Box Guitar With Hidden Whiskey Mini Bar
There's nothing like making some sawdust, and turning a crazy idea (and a pile of unlikely sticks) into an amazing instrument, to re-stoke the creative fires.
This builder's photo diary is meant to guide you through the steps (and mistakes) I made while building this little instrument, in the hopes of inspiring you on your own DIY journey. If you ARE inspired by this and create your own amazing build, please share it with us!
When I headed out to the bench that day, I really didn't know what I was going to build... but almost immediately my gaze fell on a bundle of old wooden yardsticks I had stuck in a metal bucket next to my bench.
The Yankee Yardstick Guitar
Suddenly I had my inspiration - instead of just using a yardstick for the fretboard (as many have done) - why not build a guitar ENTIRELY from yardsticks?
This photo shows my collection of yardsticks that I've accumulated over the years at junk shops and flea markets. They are pretty easy to find, and usually pretty cheap.
Step one was to make the frame of the box that would be my guitar's body. I chose one of the larger/wider yardsticks that has a nice look, and used a miter box to cut my side panels.
Hobo Fiddle Fretboard
I chose a size of 9 inches by 12 inches for my box. The panels were about 1/4 thick, so the final outside dimensions of my box/instrument body will be about 9.5 inches by 12 inches.
I tried to retain the naturally darkened/worn edges of the yardsticks wherever possible, but I knew I could darken any fresh-cut edges with stain to make them blend in.
You can make a 90-degree gluing jig pretty easily out of scrap wood, and use blue painter's tape to help keep the glue from binding the jig to your box panels.
Yardstick Cigar Box Build
I decided to build this box in a butt joint style, rather than trying to miter the ends to 45 degrees. I wanted this guitar to have a rustic, rough-cut style.
Two vises are better than one. Having specialty tools can certainly speed up some parts of a build, but they definitely aren't required.
Some of the best joys of a build can be found in discovering ways to get a job done using what you already have.
Cigar Box Guitar “gerhardt” Cedro
In hindsight, I would have skipped this step and just glued in corner braces instead - it is way easy to blow a nail out the side of such thin panels.
With the box sides frame fully assembled, now it is time to start working on what will be the top panel/soundboard of the instrument.
To do this, I select three of my yardsticks that have the best weathering and printing, and begin cutting them to 12-inch lengths. Because yardsticks are 3 feet long, I get three lengths from each. I discover it will take three yardsticks to create a panel large enough to cover my box (and there will be a bit left over that will have to be trimmed away).
String Cigar Box Guitar: Free Standing Box
I used the standard 1-inch wide yardsticks for this, which were about 1/8-inch thick, and made from softwoods. I wanted a nice thin softwood top for my box for best acoustic sound.
Once I have enough lengths cut, I lay them out in the order I want, trying to get as much of the distinctive printing facing upwards.
This will be the sound board of my instrument, so I want it to be the most visually appealing aspect of the whole instrument.
The Yankee Yardstick
Because my intent is to glue all of these thin strips together into a single panel, I lightly sand all of the edges. This exposes some of the bare wood, and will make for a stronger glue joint.
An edge sander makes this a snap, but of course you can get good results by hand as well. Just be careful not to sand any dips or divots into the gluing edge if you can help it.
Now I take four straight pieces of wood (I'm actually using 1x2 neck stock here), and line the surface with painter's tape.
Kirk Fry Guitars
These will be my clamping rails, which will hold all of the thin strips flat and keep them from buckling as I apply pressure with clamps to squeeze them tightly together.
In hindsight, it would have worked even better to use the narrower edge for this, to reduce
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