Cigar Boxes

[MissQueenie]

This is one for those cigar smoking fellas out there...

Where in L.A. can a person find a cigar box? I don't want the cigars, just the box. My boyfriend is dying to make an electric guitar out of one. (Don't ask -- every month it's some insane new mad-scientist project. I should get some kind of honorary medal for my patience with the random pointy things from radio shack I am constantly fishing out of our sofa cushions...)

Can anyone recommend a cigar shop in the L.A. area that might have empty boxes for sale?

Thanks!

~ Queenie

 

[Rigby Reardon]

Woof. I'd think ANY. Whenever I've gone to buy, they are usually piling up empty boxes somewhere in the corner of the store, in the humidor, wherever. When I'm buying the last few in a box, I just pick up the whole box, give them an inquisitive look, and they wave me on to say 'take it'.

And would you believe I don't have any left at this point? I assume you are looking for the old cardboard/plaster board types...all I've kept are a couple of wooden ones...and I can't for the life of me figure out where they went in the last move.

If either of you do go to a cigar shop, just ask if they have empties. Of course, they might not like the thought of just giving them up, so pick up a cigar or two, and they'll get friendly in a hurry. If your boyfriend doesn't smoke, I'd suggest you pick up a thin vanilla for yourself.

 

[scotrace]

Right

Any tobacconist will have plenty.
You can get some of the nicer ones (if they insist on charging for them, pay no more than $2-3) that are all wood and fancy, and you'll find uses for them around the house. Open them up to air for awhile, and you have a very nice cedar box in which to stash small things you want to keep in cedar. Maybe handkerchiefs, or small leather items (watch bands) that can benefit from the cedar fragrance.
Mind you, it'll take some time to air the cigar smell out of them.

 

[Bebop]

I would suggest looking in the phone book for a cigar store near your home. I used to frequent Whites Cigar store on Fairfax and Third across from the Farmers Market but that was back in the mid to late eighties. I don't really know if they are still there. They used to just give away their boxes but I think that boxes are sold now. Most boxes are made of cedar. I can't imagine being able to make a guitar out of such wood. But then again, I don't leave pointy things in my sofa cushions either.

 

[MissQueenie]

Thanks for the leads, boys! I'm going to see if the shop on fairfax is still around, since I do my grocery shopping at the Farmer's Market there anyway. I know for sure there's one on Broadway between second and third in Santa Monica, but I've never been inclined to go in, not being a smoker myself.

A thin vanilla, eh? It'd be like in those silly old 50s movies, where the girl takes a drag on someone's cigarette trying to look cool and ends up coughing and turning green. Cigars *look* cool, but man, the smoke!

Thanks a bunch -- I'll send along pictures of the franken-guitar if/when he finishes it!

 

[Rigby Reardon]

hahaha, that's be great! (the ciguitar pics, not you turning green and hacking and coughing:cool2: )

I've seen the cigar box guitar (ciguitar?), and it always seemed to be made from the cardboard/plaster board kind. The cedar ones which are more popular now are not as deep, so they won't have a real sound chamber, and they are also relatively thick wood relative to the internal space, so it's a lot of cutting and not much room to move around in. (For building it, I mean, I assume he won't be storing mice in it.)

Unless he just needs room for electrical pickups, that is...hadn't thought of a 'electric cigar box guitar', but I guess you could make one. If he's going for the same look, though, it'd still be the cardboard type of boxes.

The good news is people are more likely to part w/ the cardboard ones...it's the nice cedar ones folks wrestle over. (I was lucky enough to get a clerk who didn't know the difference one day, and let me walk out w/ a cedar signature Playboy Don Diego box...whee!)

Heck, for that matter, if you are getting completely snubbed, some of the cheapest brands sell a box's worth in the drugstore. Still put down some change for an entire box, and you shouldn't have to do this to buy what others could easily be discarding, but if he's hot to get one now and doesn't mind buying his supplies that might be an option as well. But I'd go look for the discards first.

Good luck, and let us know how you do.:cool2:

J

 

[Bebop]

Thanks for the leads, boys! I'm going to see if the shop on fairfax is still around, since I do my grocery shopping at the Farmer's Market there anyway. I know for sure there's one on Broadway between second and third in Santa Monica, but I've never been inclined to go in, not being a smoker myself.

A thin vanilla, eh? It'd be like in those silly old 50s movies, where the girl takes a drag on someone's cigarette trying to look cool and ends up coughing and turning green. Cigars *look* cool, but man, the smoke!

Thanks a bunch -- I'll send along pictures of the franken-guitar if/when he finishes it!

Come to think of it, there is a Tinder Box tobacco store on Wilshire in Santa Monica. They always had empty cigar boxes.

 

[Rigby Reardon]

Just a quick note (wife is cueing up a DVD she bought me!) - I swung by the tobbaconist's around the corner, and sure enough, they had a stack of empties. Which the clerk said they are SUPPOSED to sell, but once I told him it was for a cigar box guitar, he let me have my pick - no charge.

So if you still need one, and don't have time this week, I'll bring you one or two at the QM. If you are staying aboard, I'll bring them Saturday so you can tuck them away, rather than have them on your dinner plate all Friday night.

Still figuring your boyfriend needs a bigger one, I grabbed the largest ones I could find...got a nice red Romeo & Julieta that sounds perfectly baroque when you rap on the back!

(I either misremembered the boxes my grandfather gave me, or they've changed over time - these really are cedar - thin cedar - and they are papered over. No cardboard! )

When I get on again I'll take a couple pics, or measure them, just ask him what he'd rather - a shallow rectangular one or a taller squarer one. Or fahgettaboutit, have two.

J

 

[Rigby Reardon]

My wife can fall asleep in under a minute if I leave her alone...*sigh*...poor sweetheart, she's been feeling sick today. I'll let her sleep...

Here's a quick pic:

Click for the closeup.

The Romeo & Julieta box is 8" long x 6.5" wide x 3" high. The Macanudo box is 9.5" long x 7" wide x 1.75" high (yeah, not even 2 inches high...not much clearance in there - but a broader, flatter face if he doesn't need the depth). Assuming he's using them as the soundbox, and not just putting an electric pickup on it, tone matters...the red R&J has a deeper sound when you rap on it.

 

[MissQueenie]

J: I adore you! We went to the tabbaconist's today and got a longish box made from thin cedar (I thought it looked like the old pasteboard/cardboard ones, too, and was surprised) for 2 dollars. I aaaaalmost bought a vanilla cigar, but chickened out as I would not have the faintest idea what to do with one. If I brought one to the QM, would you fellas show me what to do with it?

Anyway, you are just too sweet for picking up those boxes! Once again, a fine testament to the kind-heartedness of all the 'loungers.

Fred says he's using a piezo-electric buzzer as a pick up, inside the box. I have no idea what the heck that means -- I understood "using" and "inside the box." I would really like to turn the "ciguitar" (Jerry, I love that!) into a really cool piece of art for the dining room wall, just above the piano! It'd make good use of the thing, since no one in our house plays guitar...But, no one plays piano either

~ Queenie

 

[ITG]

Jerry, how funny. I went last night to buy some flavored cigars for the trip. I asked if they had a box I could buy to put my cigars in for the trip. The clerk said to just pick one from the stack on the floor. I picked out a nice Macanudo box (Maduro), as it seemed pretty sturdy.

Queenie, you bet they'll show you how to smoke a cigar. I learned on the Queen Mary thanks to this group. I myself prefer the flavored cigars too. I'd recommend CAO's Gold Honey. I actually ended up buying a couple of Tatiana's. I can't wait to try the Chocolate flavored one and the Cinnamon one. I'm not sure how good Tatiana's are, but I sure look forward to trying them out. The good thing about cigar smoking is you don't inhale the smoke. So it makes me feel like my lungs are bit more clearer than if I were to smoke a cigarette. For some reason 2nd hand cigarette smoke bothers me, but 2nd hand cigar and pipe smoke doesn't.

 

[MissQueenie]

Hi Holly!

I'm looking forward to my cigar education next weekend, then! Now, here's an odd question -- where do they let you smoke on the QM? Surely not in the bar or restaurant. The open decks, maybe?

 

[Rigby Reardon]

We typically gather at the OB (Observation Bar, as if you didn't know ), and they have 'outdoor table service', which is basically their smoking area. We dominated it for the most part last year...and we probably will again this year. I'd worry about splitting the group (some inside the OB proper, some outside), but the Elvis impersonator will probably drive us all to enjoy the night air anyway.

Other than that, the QM really is like an open air park for the most part, and I've lit a cigar in other areas - out on deck, that is. So long as there aren't a crowd of other folks directly nearby, it shouldn't be a problem. Following that rule, I've never gotten any complaints.

MissQ, I actually understood some of what Fred said. The upshot is he doesn't need a squarish box for better internal sound, so a nice long flat box ought to work great. Basically, he can pick ANY box based on the artwork now. I'll stick these away in case they are needed, but it sounds like you have a reliable source now.

Holly, I haven't had the CAO Vanilla...I've still been working off my store of Don Guillermo since I really only smoke cigars once or twice a year. (The different flavored ones you tried last year were all Don Guillermo's.)

But I'm finally bottoming out, and didn't realize it till yesterday...and DG's are really only internet-orders-only - I can't find anyone who carries them here, durnit. So I had to break down and get what I could...some Havana Honies, in Vanilla and Blackberry. (Yes, the sweet tooth kicked in BIG TIME.) I'll peel off the cartoony band so I feel a wee bit more manly... ) I'll bring a few extra flavors for bartering w/.

MissQ, you are very welcome to try anything out that I bring...mostly vanillas, but I think I still have a cinnamon left as well...and why is the mint one always the last to get picked?

J

P.S. You have to get us a picture when he's done w/ the ciguitar!