Make: Easy 1+2+3 Projects

Boing Box

By Mark Frauenfelder

You will need

A cigar box

6' length of ½"×¾" wood

8' of 20-gauge wire

Eye screws (2)

Wood screws

L-bracket

Scraps of wood

Drill, saw, and screwdriver

Build a fun, one-stringed instrument that packs a mighty twang.

A 1951 book called Radio and Television Sound Effects, by Robert B. Turnbull, shows how to make a “boing box.” (It’s reprinted at bizarrelabs.com/boing2.htm.) I made a modified boing box using a wooden cigar box and some scraps I had around the house.

1. Drill resonator holes in the cigar box as shown. Screw an L-bracket to the neck, then screw the neck to the cigar box. To prevent structural failure, ...