2x4 challenge

One of the 3 2x4 ukes in progress has a back made from a 2x4 I found in the basement. That 2x4 back is Douglas Fir (I think). It has been in this basement for years and turned a bit of a reddish color. It is very splintery. I decided to use a rejected bent side and glue a partial back onto it to experiment with trimming it with a router. The pictures below are the result of my experiment. Now I am not sure how I should proceed with the real ukes. It is likely that my routing technique needs help. Maybe I should trim the real uke tops and backs with a razor blade?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Doug

3-UkeCrackRouter.jpg

1-UkeCrackRouter.jpg

2-UkeCrackRouter.jpg
 
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Ouch. Did you use the approach shown below?

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I'd trim it as close as possible before routing, regardless.
 
Ouch. Did you use the approach shown below?

1298_3.gif


I'd trim it as close as possible before routing, regardless.

I did not use that approach. I am gluing up a couple more practice tops/sides and I will try your suggestions tomorrow after things are dry.

Thanks
 
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Hi all. I just read John Calkin's "2x4 Ukulele" article in American Lutherie #129, and followed his reference to this forum topic. All my instruments have incorporated local (Pacific Northwest) woods, often harvested in my immediate neighborhood. As such, I appreciate John's thoughts about "alternative tonewoods".

Related to this thread, I recently made a tenor ukulele from a 100-year-old Douglas Fir 6x6 post, salvaged from a remodel of my son's house. The Douglas Fir was used for everything except the bracing (Sitka), the fingerboard ("Tigerwood" from the Rockler scrap bin), and the bridge and headstock veneer (local Hazelnut, Corylus cornuta). The 6x6 post was basically a squared-off quarter of a log, so by cutting across the diagonal I was able to get bookmatched vertical grain for the top and back.

The Douglas Fir was difficult to work with. I had the same problems that Doug W mentioned above, with chipping and splintering while working across the grain. Even more troubling, I was unable to bend 2mm sides over a hot pipe without breaking; I had to bend and laminate two 1mm pieces (both Douglas Fir). Despite the construction challenges, the result is a very satisfying ukulele.
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The first photo shows the parts loosely assembled; the Spanish heel is still in work. The second photo shows the completed Douglas Fir uke (right) with its mate, constructed of Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii). Both are French polished. The ukes are leaning against a Hawaiian pahu drum, constructed of Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), with a goatskin head.
 
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Wildajo -welcome to the forum. Its always interesting to see what others are making and how they set about doing so. Now that you have discovered this forum, I hope you will post photos of your future builds, (ukes and other instruments) and contribute to our discussions on building techniques etc. I'm assuming you've been making instruments for a while and that these two are not your only builds since it would appear you know what you are doing. If you have browsed the forum you will have seen that we have members of all abilities: those who are building their first instrument, many keen hobby makers and some very skilled pros.
 
Yes - any 2x4 softwood or pine. If you can get it rough sawn it will be 4". A hunt round an old joiner's workshop would definitely yield a gem or two. Get into the spirit of this. Try to be 'honest' with the build - this is no competition and everyone should have a pop at it. The word challenge is to yourself - see what you can do using your imagination and skill. Since I am very pushed for time, I am going to build one of my boat paddle instruments and use a nice bright wood dye to finish it. If you feel intimidated why not mug up a 'cigar box' configuration or get the plans for a Doan style uke. Let's see how we all do :) Good luck everyone :)

It's really interesting reading about what people have done and how they have done it. Gathering knowledge and an appreciation of what's involved has a merit in itself and a start point for some practical work at a later point.

I would feel overwhelmingly challenged by the traditional curved side designs but think the rectangular ('cigar box') and triangular designs more attemptable. A search for the (Triangular Chalmers Doane) Canadian Northern Ukulele didn't produce anything much of use, but they were very popular at one time and I guess that there were good reasons why the design was used. A search for box ukuleles produces pages of stuff some of which will doubtless produce a player of some sort and others that just weren't worth the effort, how do you know before you start?

Might you feel able to point those interested in the straight (three and four) sided builds towards plans that could help them please? A bit of help for those now and in the future who would have a go at the challenge if, with their limited skills, they didn't feel it so intimidating.
 
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Graham---It won't help you right now, but I should have a GAL story later in the year about faceted instrument bodies. The response to the 2x4 uke story has been pretty good, so editor Tim Olsen has given the green light to more Outlaw Lutherie stories. Before moving to Virginia I made a number of guitars, mandolins, and travel guitars with segmented bodies and found them to be quite acceptable instruments. Once you learn how to bend sides the reason for faceted instruments sort of goes away. But like cigar box instruments, once you develop an appreciation for them you might still find you are fond of them. Check my website for pix of these instruments, if you haven't already.
 
John, thanks for your comments. I checked your website and saw a flat sided mandolin but nothing else - perhaps I didn't navigate your site properly.

Side bending and the jigs and patterns required for rounded instruments would put me off of the challenge - too complex, too much too learn and too time consuming - whereas I think there's a group of people that would consider it if flat sided (faceted) build were to be encouraged and supported. For those with little or no previous experience the challenge of building a facet instrument is surely equally if not harder to that faced by an expreriece Luther building a 'proper' rounded Uke. I do see the spirit of the challenge, it's just that the start point for some people is different.

It would be really interesting to hear what faceted designs work and what don't. It would also be a help to consider how those with only hand tools (i.e. no Bandsaw) can manage to saw part of the 4' by 2' thin enough to get the 2mm thick surfaces needed. Just some tips to help raw beginners to get started on their challenge to build an instrument worth playing.
 
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John, thanks for your comments. I checked your website and saw a flat sided mandolin but nothing else - perhaps I didn't navigate your site properly.

Side bending and the jigs and patterns required for rounded instruments would put me off of the challenge - too complex, too much too learn and too time consuming - whereas I think there's a group of people that would consider it if flat sided (faceted) build were to be encouraged and supported. For those with little or no previous experience the challenge of building a facet instrument is surely equally if not harder to that faced by an expreriece Luther building a 'proper' rounded Uke. I do see the spirit of the challenge, it's just that the start point for some people is different.

It would be really interesting to hear what faceted designs work and what don't. It would also be a help to consider how those with only hand tools (i.e. no Bandsaw) can manage to saw part of the 4' by 2' thin enough to get the 2mm thick surfaces needed. Just some tips to help raw beginners to get started on their challenge to build an instrument worth playing.

The whole point of Outlaw Lutherie is to make instrument building accessible to those with no skills and few tools. What it does require is a spirit of adventure and a wide-open mind. It also requires a place to work and a small investment in tools and wood. Its like any hobby. If your desire is only to read books from a free library your hobby is cheap indeed. If golf is the hobby you wish to pursue you'll need a deeper purse for a set of clubs, lessons, course fees, proper foot wear, and lots of spare time. Lutherie is a lot more like golf than reading. Without a certain investment in equipment you will be too frustrated to see it through. Without the gumption to push through some difficult parts of the process your investments will be wasted. Its not a hobby for those who are lazy or who demand instant gratification.

casket1.jpg mandofamily.jpg all front2 2x4 3.20.16.jpg

Here are pix of a faceted guitar and mandolin family, as well as my 2x4 ukulele. They are all instruments worth playing. Whether or not you can see yourself playing them is up to you.
 
I'm a bit puzzled by parts of the above but have noticed that the translation between both spoken and written U.K. and USA English can lead to misunderstandings. Outlaw Lutherie seems fine to me; I've been using hand tools for decades and at one time I earnt my living by using hammers, files and spanners. I have a place to work and practical projects on the go, and yes sometimes they take a while and you have to keep plugging on at them - as and when your other tasks allow.

The photos of your work show some fine instruments, I'd be glad to produce something a fraction as good and proud to play it too. My concern, which maybe didn't come across correctly, is in being careful in the selection of designs and plans for a faceted (and indeed any other) instrument. Someone who takes the time and trouble to build an instrument would, IMHO, want it to sound good and play easily. Readers might recall that my request for information (a few posts above) wasn't specifically for myself too, but rather for those with some basic hand skills and equipment who might be interested in the challenge but not able, for whatever reason, to build anything more complex than a faceted instrument.

I wouldn't set off on a journey to a place new to me without a map - who knows where I'd end up or how much time and effort I'd waste - and similarly I would think it unwise to start any practical build project without a well informed idea of: what your aiming to end up with; why you selected that target and how you are going to achieve it. As they say: 'fail to plan, plan to fail'. I hope that that clarifys my reservations and doesn't come across as argumentative.
 
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I'm a bit puzzled by parts of the above but have noticed that the translation between both spoken and written U.K. and USA English can lead to misunderstandings. Outlaw Lutherie seems fine to me; I've been using hand tools for decades and at one time I earnt my living by using hammers, files and spanners. I have a place to work and practical projects on the go, and yes sometimes they take a while and you have to keep plugging on at them - as and when your other tasks allow.

The photos of your work show some fine instruments, I'd be glad to produce something a fraction as good and proud to play it too. My concern, which maybe didn't come across correctly, is in being careful in the selection of designs and plans for a faceted (and indeed any other) instrument. Someone who takes the time and trouble to build an instrument would, IMHO, want it to sound good and play easily. Readers might recall that my request for information (a few posts above) wasn't specifically for myself too, but rather for those with some basic hand skills and equipment who might be interested in the challenge but not able, for whatever reason, to build anything more complex than a faceted instrument.

I wouldn't set off on a journey to a place new to me without a map - who knows where I'd end up or how much time and effort I'd waste - and similarly I would think it unwise to start any practical build project without a well informed idea of: what your aiming to end up with; why you selected that target and how you are going to achieve it. As they say: 'fail to plan, plan to fail'. I hope that that clarifys my reservations and doesn't come across as argumentative.

Not argumentative at all. We are two different people. I studied lutherie texts and plans (such as they were) for a long time before starting anything, but eventually decided that if I couldn't build according to plan, at least I could build something. I decided that dulcimers and electric guitars were my safest first bets.

But I was never afraid of failure. If asked how many of each kind of instrument I attempted went into the dumpster I'd have to admit to at least one of each. I was schooling myself, and learning a great deal from each failure. A bunch of instruments were given away. Infrequently one was kept. Occasionally one was sold. Many on this forum started the same way.

The odds of succeeding as a beginning luthier today are astronomically better than they were 40 years ago. The odds of building a useable first instrument are pretty fair. Outlaw Lutherie can make the odds even better, though you might end up with an instrument that looks pretty odd itself.
 
Lovely meticulous work..marvellous attention to detail.. I'm in the wood game myself and one of favourite woods is Scots pine followed closely by British Colombian pine! Very cool a uke made from Scots 🌲 pine! Ps I just bought this from John Croft and all the money to charity! Good stuff..kindest regards..
 
It was a lot of fun to make, and I hope it will put a smile on your face every time you play it. :music:

Many thanks on behalf of The Christie Charitable Fund. Thanks also to John for waiving his fees and Pete for the challenge!
 
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Here's a thought that might be useful? I use waterbased woodworm emulsion at work when I come across infestation problems on the floors I refurbish.. Anyway what this stuff does is to really open the wood up! It takes three times the lacquer to get a good finish! If one soaked a fretboard or saddle in this stuff then put on the ca..or possibly a hard varnish? (they now make lacquer with ceramic in it!) one might end up with a rock hard fretboard? Just a thought ��
 
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