are available for purchase at BluesBoyRoy.Etsy.com.
Rescued Artistic Treasures by Roy Cox
RAT ukes are constructed to make the best use of old, distinctive, sometimes broken, ukuleles. Wooden cigar boxes are employed to become uke bodies as they are generally well constructed of fine solid woods.
All RAT Ukes are one of a kind. They are assembled when the salvageable uke parts (neck, bridge, etc.) are found that match a particular cigar box in color and size.
Established instrument building methods are used along with techniques that are developed as the need arises. Parts are obtained from various sources; catalogs, on-line suppliers and best of all, the local hardware store.
The result is a unique and playable ukulele.
Rat Ukes ~ From The Beginning
CBU-#001 Completed 5/7/12 ~The first Cigar Box Uke. A local music store provided the neck and bridge. A new Hilo ukulele arrived damaged and the music store owner knew I was looking for a uke neck and was able to help.
A vintage PLEIADES cigar box marked Paris, with label intact, and without health warnings; paired nicely. A hand carved brace was added to the sturdy build. Tone is warm and it stays in tune. This uke has travelled to concerts, uke circles and festivals. Del Rey played it “backstage” at Jamey’s House of Music and Lindsey Young and Chaz Justice from the Red Stick Ramblers signed inside at the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival.
Privately owned – NFS
CBU-#002 ~ This Ukulele was custom built for a 9 yr. old boy . There are fanciful touches such as a bright yellow felt lining and colored tuners. The neck is from an unnamed ukulele.
The cigar box is from a Wall Street cigar club.
Prominently shown is the sticker given out by Fleamarket Music. These folks are great suppliers and instrument makers. When their parts are used, I try to attach their sticker to the Rat Uke. You can easily talk to staff at Fleamarket and they have been helpful with advice and encouragement.This Rat Uke is privately owned and NFS
Cigar Box Ukulele Hand Made with Wendell Hall Red Head Neck
CBU #003 ~ The Wendell Hall Red Head neck came first. This Is a rare piece and needed to be fitted correctly. The cedar box used held 15¢ cigars from Pennsylvania, House of Windsor Palmas. The inside label is red in theme and red felt lines the box where the lid joins.
There are Grover “stay tight” friction tuners installed, instead of the violin tuners sometimes used. The bridge is secured with screws. I have found too often, the glue joint needs support to keep in place.
To allow the box to be opened there is the added feature of “lid creaks”. You could secure the lid and lose the “creak” but do you really want to do that?
How about the finish ? The surface is cleaned and a mild furniture oil is applied .
Hilo black strings from Flea market music were used. These are good and broken in. With metal frets, you can safely use wound strings also.
CBU # 004 ( Blues , Resonator ) Built in June of 2013, this is a first resonator build. In true Ratuke fashion, it took a variety of techniques to assemble a new internet resonator, a 14″ scale ukulele neck from somewhere, and a Punch Gran Puro cigar box !
Specifics:
- The resonator is biscuit bridge style 6 1/2 ” diameter at bridge . The supporting mechanics are hidden and my secret.
- The neck is from ?. 7″ from nut to 12th fret and same to bridge. An odd shape to the fret board says, homemade or modified. Position dots are inlaid.
- There are friction tuners in place that came with the neck. Aquila concert strings (all nylon) were installed.
- The finish is rough and free of glossy touches.The biscuit bridge is easily adjusted, which helps. It is otherwise tight and holds GCEA tuning well.
This Ratuke is currently NFS, at the builders request. Will accept assignment to build similar RatUke.
Regal Tenor Cigar Box Guitar
CBU #005 – What do you do with a very old tenor guitar that has a useless body but a fine neck with a classic Regal decal? Get a great old cigar box, some store bought parts, and put together a classic RAT* instrument.
* Radical Artistic Treasure
This RAT tenor guitar is fitted with new Grover ” stay tight ” friction tuners. The bridge was made by a U.S. A. manufacturer and styled after Regal ukulele bridges. It was adjusted to fit the cigar box better and allow playable string action. The strings are attached at the lower bout by guitar pins . I used classical guitar strings with ball ends . You could try extra light steel strings if you need that sound. It’s tuned D , G , B , E like the bottom four strings on a guitar.
Update: A reset of the neck angle was required to improve playability. Improvement noted. (much lower action). The volume needed a boost, so a K&K contact pickup from Fleamarket Music was installed. This is now an electric/acoustic RatUke – Yoohoo! Appearance needed some work. Some stain and two coats of polyurethane spruced this baby up. It is fitted with a guitar strap attached on the lower neck and bottom of cigar box.
CBU #006 – A friend brought me a Uke that was previously restored, but continued to have problems. A cigar box Uke transformation was suggested and luckily, I had a matching cigar box.
The neck was glued to the troublesome body. It was sawed off with the determination of a Rat. Then It was attached nicely to the cigar box . The frets, nut and tuners are original. A set of Hilo black strings from Fleamarket music are in place and stay in tune. The bridge was made by a craftsman in the southern United States.
This Ratuke is owned by a fellow Uke player, and featured here as a courtesy to the builder.
Thank You,
Bluesboyroy
Cigar Box Ukulele With Vintage Harmony Neck
CBU #007 – Harmony instruments made ukulele manufacturing and playing available to the masses. I consider the plastic molded fret board to the ukulele equivalent to the what the model T Ford was to automobiles. My opinion.
This rat uke was my first plastic fret board build. The neck, tuners and bridge are original to the instrument, salvaged from an early 50’s soprano Uke. It is paired with a light weight cigar box. I believe, that the wood is cedar laminated. The box measures 7 1/2″ by 8 1/2″ and 2 1/4″ deep. Some bracing was installed at pressure points, especially near the bridge. The finish is rough. I like to leave everything as original as possible as long as it plays well.
The markings read. TE-AMO. Churchill natural. Labels on the inside are intact. Two hinges and an opposite end latch are original to the box. There is a little chipping of laminate on the back and inside. The top and sides are clean, other than manufactures and builders marks.
WTTW: Never install metal or wound strings on plastic fret boards.
This fabulous cigar box ukulele comes with its own handmade lightly padded and reversible gig bag.
Peter Pan Rat Uke Cigar Box Ukulele and Handmade Gig Bag
CBU #008 – The neck is an original soprano, measuring 6 1/2 inches at the 12th fret. It has numerous inlays, that are intact and original. The fretboard is old and has a split in it but the frets are even with some rough spots on the edges due to shrinking wood. The nut, tuners and label are original and intact.
The original label was cut from the uke body (which was damaged beyond repair) and glued to the inside, along with other identifying info. Peter Pan ukuleles were made by Regal in the 40’s and were distributed by the Progressive Musical instrument Co., New York.
Gaucho Rat Uke Cigar Box Soprano Ukulele
CBU #011 – This cigar box ukulele stands on its own, literally, made from a thick cigar box with side hinges. The neck comes from an old Chicago instruments ukulele sporting the Gaucho logo (partial decal) in place. The plastic fret board was broken at the bottom, but fit adequately. A new American made bridge was used and had to be shimmed to prevent fret buzzes. The Gaucho logo was cut into the top to stay with the theme and a provide a sound hole. Gold strings matched nicely with the black and gold color scheme of the cigar box.
CBU #015
Today I completed CBU #015. The production includes more new parts than regularly used. This is a concert sized instrument, with neck, tuners and bridge bought new on line .
The cigar box was bought at the cigar store in the Berlin farmers market. The wood is probably clear pine. The top is laminated. It is hinged at the neck placement end , with a nice working latch at the bottom of the body. The top, (now the back), is nicely decorated . The instrument is stained a smokey pine color with two coats of polyurethane applied.
The internet supplied a concert neck, fret-board, nut, bridge, and tuners. These parts all came separate and required shaping, sanding and finishing, along with the matching of strings (thanks Magic Fluke), finding and painting washers to fill unsightly gaps, and turning all that into a playable ukulele. Whew!
This a hand crafted, one of a kind, ukulele. I’m still at my little work-bench, gluing and screwing, and solving problems as they present themselves. I hope someone takes this instrument to play and enjoy as much as I have enjoyed building it.
The Builder: Roy Cox a.k.a. Blues Boy Roy
Armed with one semester of wood shop class in high school, a short stint as a bowling alley mechanic in the 70’s and a love for acoustic stringed instruments, the builder has arrived.
There are dozens of repairs and restorations completed in guitars, mandolins, ukuleles, banjos, etc. Many successful and failed projects have given the builder a knowledge of how stringed instruments come together and make sounds.
The modest workshop (in the corner of the family room) contains most tools required for Rat Uke assembly, a collection of parts (new and used) and associated literature. The completed Rat Uke is a player. G C E A tuning is used unless the size goes up to baritone.
Rat Ukes have been played in our local ukulele circle, by a friend during a camping trip and recently CBU-001 was played “backstage” by Del Ray at Jamey’s House of Music in Philadelphia, PA.
Builder Update:
The Builder has retired.
In March 2017, I retired from a long career in the health field. I am free to do other things now. Improving Rat Uke skills, teaching beginning ukulele players and playing music with friends are my current jobs.
Thank you,
Roy