I'm David Spenhoff. I make cigar box guitars in my garage workshop in Northern California - San Francisco Bay Area. After retiring from my Silicon Valley career, I made my first cigar box guitar in 2015 and started selling them online in 2016. Since then I've made more than 500 handmade, one-of-a-kind cigar box guitars (and a few ukuleles) and I've sold them to customers all across the US and around the world.
Here's how I make a cigar box guitar
In addition to the hundreds of cigar box guitars I've sold online, I've also made custom guitars for people who come to me with a special idea for a unique cigar box guitar. I can do the same for you. You can reach me on the Contact page.
Visit my store on Etsy
My cigar box guitar workshop in a corner of my garage
Making the angled headstock for a new neck. A cigar box guitar that plays and sounds great starts with a well-made neck
Cutting frets using a fretting saw with a depth stop to cut all slots to the correct depth for the fret wire
Empty boxes for future cigar box guitars. I get my boxes at nearby cigar shops
Leveling frets on a cigar box ukulele while camping in Yosemite. I forgot to pack my fret hammer so I'm using a hatchet instead