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Reclaiming wood from old pallets to build cigar box guitars can be a satisfying endeavor. Giving new life to those cast-off hunks of wood is fun, but also involves some safety concerns. In this post, I will address things to beware of before dismantling an old pallet and repurposing its parts for your next build.Builder Beware In all of the reading I've done about using pallet wood, I haven't come across any reports of people getting sick from it. But it's good to be at least aware of w …

In this surprise birthday episode celebrating Ben "Gitty" Baker, the Gang shares several old-time train and folk songs along with Gitty Gangster-submitted performances and an original tuner bushing-countersinking how-to video.Every Friday afternoon at 2 PM (US Eastern), the Gang goes live with the Gitty Gang Show, a grab-bag variety production full of cigar box guitars and other homemade instruments, how-to's, songs, stories, jokes, and more.Below is the video from the most recent Gitty Gang …

In this post, you'll learn how to quickly and accurately drill for cigar box guitar tuning pegs using C. B. Gitty headstock drilling templates for both 3 and 4-string CBGs. We're going to go out onto a limb here and say that you don't like making mistakes on a cigar box guitar build. Moreover, you probably don't like the tedious parts of building, such as measuring for tuning peg locations on headstocks. What if you could free up more time for creativity by quickly and accuratel …

Join Shane Speal as he explores burning cigar box guitar topics such as scarf joints, new 3-string lessons, different types of slides, string tension, distortion, a brand-new monthly newsletter, and so much more!Video Last week, Shane took the reins of the Gitty Gang Show and hosted a doozy of an episode.  Aired live from his home studio, Shane did a 45-minute deep-dive on more cigar box guitar topics than you can shake a stick at. And if you don't have the time to watch the enti …

In 117th episode of the Gitty Gang Show, the Gang prepares you for Christmas with vintage holiday performances, old train songs, Watt Corner, and a host of Christmas cheer.Timestamps6:21 The Gang shares an extra special performance from the 2017 Gitty Gang Christmas Concert. In this clip, Gitty Gangster Tyler leads the gang in a beautiful rendition of Garth Brook's What I'm Thankful For.11:47 Ben talks about two new C. B. Gitty books. First, the brand-new Old-Time and Bluegrass Favorit …