Copper top was as much an experiment in aesthetics as it was an experiment with pushing what I was previously capable of doing. Up until this point I had been focusing on 3 string Slide Guitars, and while that was in line with the traditional concept of Cigar Box Guitars, I was wanting to branch out. It was a little bit of running before I could walk, but in all honestly that is a character trait that I wrestle with still to this day. 

So “Copper Top” started life looking like this. 

I was not very taken with the look of the label, nevermind the health warning sticker, there was and still is something about the graphics of these boxes that doesn’t sit right with me, the whole faux marble look. So instead of just sanding it off and perhaps gluing a new label on or something along those lines I bought a sheet of copper and went about gluing that on to the surface. What I love about copper is the way it ages and, if I didn’t have to pay the bills, I would have kept this one for myself to see what happens to it over time. 

The build was also my first fretted model, I think it ran at 16 frets(?) on a 25.5 inch scale. The neck was Tasmanian Oak, not an overly rare nor attractive timber, but as it was still early days for me, finding supplies of exotic timber was not at the forefront of my mind. 

In the end, it came out looking like this -

I decided to scuff the copper with some 800 grit sandpaper at one stage to advance the possibility of a patina occurring…

If you missed the video search the Archive with - Copper Top