Correspondent photos / Amanda Davis Al Frano of Boardman makes and sells his cigar box guitars throughout the world.

BOARDMAN — By the time Al Frano was 5 years old, he knew he liked working with his hands.

As a young boy, he replaced the screens on windows at his house. By 15, he had built his first kitchen.

These days, the 77-year-old is retired from a long and varied career using his hands and has spent the past eight years making custom cigar box guitars.

He named his company Bluzwater Guitars and uses eBay and word of mouth to advertise. His guitars are designed using the cigar boxes, along with everyday items such as spatulas, cookie trays and steamer pots.

To date, he has sold 253 guitars, with the farthest buyer from Norway. Overseas shipping costs have increased, he said, forcing him to focus on domestic sales.

The average price for one of his creations is $145, he said, but some cost more, depending on materials used and time invested.

Frano, a self-taught guitar player, said he prefers a more freestyle type of playing as opposed to the music his customers enjoy.

“They play Delta Blues on these guitars,” he said. “I’ve never played blues.”

Frano was born in New York City, where his mom, Angie Welsh, worked as a beautician for Broadway shows. They eventually moved back to the Mahoning Valley when Frano was 1, living with a grandmother and aunt in both Campbell and Youngstown.

Frano attended East and Liberty schools before finishing high school at Rayen. He attended a trade school for engineering technology and briefly went to Youngstown State University.

In 1965 and 1966, Frano was in the local rock / pop band, The Squires, with Phil Keaggy, a vocalist and guitarist from Youngstown who went on to find success with the band Glass Harp.

Frano was asked to join another local band, The Human Beinz in 1969 after another member quit. The group traveled the states before Frano left because of personality clashes.

Prior to Frano’s role in the group, it had a hit record, “Nobody But Me,” which peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, he said. The song has been used in TV shows including “Scrubs” and “The Office.”

The group got back together in 1987, but Frano said it was short lived.

His time in bands furthered his interest in guitars, and Frano said the pool of talent in the area inspired him.

“There’s a lot of really talented people in the area,” he said.

Frano met his wife, Darla, 70, while playing pool at a local club. She was engaged at the time, but eventually called it off and gave Frano a shot. The two celebrated 50 years of marriage June 21 and have a son, Sean, who lives in Struthers.

Frano recounted a funny story, saying that years before he met Darla, he and friends were on their way to a birthday party in an old ’56 Chevrolet when he blew out the transmission on the old, beat-up car. He and his friends left the car and hitchhiked to the party.

A man found and kept the car, leaving it on his property for his daughters to play in. One of those daughters was Darla.

“I always knew it was meant to be,” he said.

Frano credits his mom for his creative spirit and said she had an art show at the Butler Institute of American Art when he was a teenager. “I got a lot of my talent from her, I think,” he said.

Frano retired in 2016 after 27 years with Duncan’s Bath and Kitchen Center in Poland, where he helped with construction projects. He also was a set designer with WFMJ TV-21 from the early 1990s until right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S.

Frano and his wife stay busy with hobbies that include sailing and visiting wineries, and he said he spends a few hours each day building instruments.

“By building these, I’ve learned things I never knew,” he said. “It’s my happy place.”

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