Partigas and Cuesta Rey cigar box guitars
Here's my latest CBG - it's a Partigas box. It's got the new experimental bamboo slice bridge which I like the look of and sounds good too. Probably make some more. The slotted headstock was tricky and this was the one that got the end of my finger sliced off when making it! The neck is the first I've made using pitch pine - a hard species of pine with a lovely grain pattern, and finished with tung oil. The fret marks are burnt in. I've used the three soundhole configuration like the last one too. You can see it played with the CB amp at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oajIBEUfHQU
The previous new guitar was another Cuesta Rey box. I used the slotted headstock type and painted it yellow on the front to match the box. The neck is oak and stained dark brown and finished off with tung oil to feed the wood and give it a nice sheen. The strap was made from a nice old wooden bead belt. I particularly liked this guitar and it now has a new home in Ireland.
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3 comments:
The dark stain on the fretboard looks very cool.
Jeff.
David is pitchwood pine a native wood of the UK? I like the way the 3 sound holes present.
I have CBG's on the brain. I answered the phone at work and said, "Cigar Box Gui..." The guy said, "Huh?"
Guess I'd better focus.
Norm, here's a cut n paste on pitch pine. Pitch Pine
A small-to-medium sized (6-30 m) tree, The Pitch Pine is found mainly in the northeastern coastal United States, from Maine to northern Georgia. A few stands occur in southern Quebec and Ontario and is the main tree of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The look of pitch pine is orange to reddish-brown, which create a sharp contrast grain from the annual growth rings. Pitch pine's history stems from the trade with America, where it was used as ballast on trading ships. The wood was then used in Europe to build furniture and used in public buildings and schools. Today, reclaimed Pitch Pine is a tough durable flooring material. The slow growth of the tree and its high resin content make this timber equally suitable for domestic and commercial applications.
I wasn't sure where it came from either. I know it was often used in church pews etc and old fashioned bed rails. Unusually It is very hard for a coniferous tree and has a lovely orangey red grain. Very resinous so smells good too.
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