Junk Box Instruments

I use the term "junk box instruments" to describe a variety of musical instruments made using parts fashioned from items which would otherwise be junk. I've begun building these things partly out of inquisitiveness, partly as experiments, and partly for pure fun. These pages are a temporary arrangement until I can incorporate this content into a rebuilt version of my main website.

So far my efforts have focused on improvised stringed instruments such as guitars and banjos. Guitars built from cigar boxes can be traced back at least as far as the late nineteenth century and were popular among impoverished musicians in America during the depression years of the early twentieth century. It is possible these instruments share a common heritage with traditional instruments from Africa, which date back much further. For more information see the links at the bottom of this page.

My aim has been to adhere to an ethos of elegant simplicity - I try to stay true to the very basic nature of the instruments that have inspired me but I also feel free to improvise and experiment. I'm not making authentic replicas, I'm exploring what I can do with simple materials and tools...and most of all I'm trying to make things Ill enjoy. I work mostly with handtools, although I do have an electric drill and a small electric sander. I like to use materials that would otherwise be thrown away, however I have no qualms about buying certain items that I have no other way of obtaining (for example, I'll buy electrical components and tuning heads if I don't have suitable salvaged components to hand. I've also bought offcuts of timber for use as guitar necks).

The fruits of my labours include the following: