What Do You Guys Do With Empty Tins?

[loborx]

I'm restarting this thread because ichbinmuede asked a question regarding the cigar box guitar and I never answered it.
I routed a soundhole out of the top of the box to snug fit the lower part of the Dunhill tin. The lip of the upper tin rests against the box top. The bridge floats on top of the tin. I then drilled out two smaller sound holes to add more volume. I can use the tin two ways: without the bottom tin which gives a more open banjo like effect or with the bottom tin which gives a tighter more resonator guitar effect.
The neck is kind of a hybrid in the sense that it doesn't go thru the body and string up along the same stick of wood like most traditional CBG's. I went more with a bolt on style, which I regret. The tailpiece is an old hinge I modified. I built another CBG sans tin in a more traditional way and I like it quite a bit more. I'm planning another tin style CBG with a better neck design this time.

 

[ichbinmuede]

Excellent basic design right there! I was thinking about the same for my next CBG (after this one I'm working on now) except I was thinking of gluing some wood on to make a heel and doing the Martin thing and dove tailing the heel in to a support in the body and bracing inside as well as reinforcing the tail. I may be accused of over-engineering the CBG but gosh darn it mine will last!
I had the same instability issue (I assume that's what your problem was) with the neck on my other so I'm going to rout a 1/4" channel down the middle and put a piece of square aluminum stock to really make that thing stable.
Okay so maybe a little over-engineered... :laughat:
Also sorry for the little thread-jacking there. Well I guess it's a little related but it takes a bit of stretching to call it that.

 

[dajibash]

Collect it and some used as ashtray.

 

[jlee]

loborx - your work is awesome! CBG hero below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYRggv-OGSI

 

[loborx]

J Lee: That's what I'm talkin'bout! :worship:

 

[aussielass]

Wow, it warms the wee cockles of my heart to see so many wonderful ideas come out in this thread to save tins from ending up as landfill.
The guitar & Cyndi's & Bootleg's clocks are amazing, even things like turning them into target practice, whoever would've thought!
I'm no-where near as "green" as I should be, but have just given myself a hell of a shock - in 5 years I've thrown away an absolute minimum of 3,650 Cafe Creme cigarello tins - I cannot imagine what they would look like piled up at a rubbish dump.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I save my empty tins. Might try and do some collage of them or get a table with a glass top and put them in the bottom for decoration in the man cave.