Local Artist Makes Cigar Box Guitars

Written by Ginger Lewis | 10 May 2011

Doug Henderson has returned to his roots…or at least his high school roots. When he was in school, he played in a band. His parents always told him to get an education and have something to fall back on…but now he is falling back on his musical dream.

He got a good job in construction and learned a lot about woodworking. But he worked hard doing tough jobs. Two years ago he hurt his back and had to find something else to do.

Being out of work for a while was tough on his finances, too. The financial troubles caused more troubles in his family life.

Finding himself "single" again, he looked up the girl who promoted his band 30 years ago. He said he looked for her online, and expected that "she would be married with eight kids now." But he found out that she was also "single."

Doug and Sutton met again and hit it off, just like in their high school days. She moved to Smyrna and they got married.

Doug’s passion for music never wavered. He uses his woodworking skills and his musician skills in his new business, Sutton Guitars, named after his wife.

"Cigar Box Guitars have been around for 200 years," Doug explained. "If you couldn’t afford a real guitar, you could make one out of whatever you could find." One of his guitars uses a chair leg for a neck. Sometimes he uses a threaded bolt for the bridge. In addition to the Cigar Boxes, Doug has one guitar made from a peppermint tin.

All of his guitars are unique. They are hand-crafted, 3-string guitars, each made from different "found items." One has an antique coffee press handle serving as the bridge. Each one can be played as an acoustic or with an amplifier. Doug made a wine box into an amplifier.

He loves his music and his music making. He’s a guy with a lot of talent and ambition. Need a unique gift for someone special?

You can see Doug play his guitars on YouTube. Just search for "Junkyard Duggy."

Sutton works for Collier Inter-national Commercial Real Estate company, where she also is responsible for their event planning. She has used her contacts to help Doug get a few local gigs.

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