Plan recommendation for ukulele building event ?

Thank you UkulelesRcool,

Do you have samples of the ukulele if you made it ? I'm still looking for "trustable" plans (I mean : plans that I can 'just follow' and get something that would sound better than a $200 plywood ukulele, maybe with a little help from the forum on the first build). I've found samples only from hana lima's plans and the recording was'nt good enough to appreciate.

I'm considering another option : to accept that the ukuleles won't sound that good anyway and that it won't be a big problem, because we will have a fun week and great memories and learn lot of things about working together. Then I might go for the soprano and use local wood and not so expensive tuners. The cost would go down to less than 50€ per Uke and we if they sound like $50 ukes... we would like tem anyway.
But of course, it's only a backup solution.

I still have to build myself a uke but I would guess any plan would work just as well as the other. The thing that may differentiate the sound of a good one from a great one is the thickness of the top and the braces. Until you have made a few you would have to get lucky in knowing where the line is between great sound and longevity of the instrument. Because of the variability in wood this point varies also and plans can only give an average dimension for the parts. That said the maker of the plans probably would have wanted to draw up something that would at least sound decent. I say go the $50 rout and learn the making of an instrument. With the number of them you will be making you will get some sounding better than others, something for you all to debate about. Just have a good time.

I know I said I wanted to make a photo essay on building with limited tooling, changed my mind and wanted to see how far I could get in a weekend. Saturday was not all that productive as I had to do a lot of running around and all I got done was to resaw the wood and sand it down. Sunday I glued the top and back together, braced them and bent the sides. I have not built anything for a while and I spent too much time running around looking for stuff. I expected to have the sides mounted to the body but given the state of my shop right now not too bad. About the size of a baritone uke, the wood for the neck is a little short for what I wanted to do so I can see a uke in its future.

Looks nice What wood is it ? Ash ?

Making 5 ukes at onces and being able to listen to the 5 of them will certainly help me understand. What should I try to evaluate / note when I build them ? Of course I will compare stifness of the top. I've seen a video about voicing guitar tops where the luthier made the table produce a G#, then scaloped / sanded the bracing util he reached G. Is there something like this I should try with the Martin Soprano plans (or the Hana Lima tenor if I can find them in time ?)

About building 5 ukes in a week : you are probably right, I'll need to make a test run previous week and have all the tools properly set and every step clear in mind if we want any success.

Jaunedeau.

Pine. No really. Three to four grain lines per inch, almost no late wood. Must have grown like a weed. Not really sure what it will sound like but had to give it a try. Sort of a test run also for when I make one out of hardwood. Pretty sure they will sound different. The thing to remember is that it is easy to take away wood but harder to put it back. Especially on the braces. Sometimes the instrument needs to be played a few days before it starts sounding good. Yeah, keep not about the difference in stiffness and the thickness of the tops if you have a caliper. If anyone has a gram food scale you could measure the volume of wood and get the density of each top and back. Then see which sounds better. I would go with the tenor if you could. I think the belief that the smaller instruments are harder to get right has some merit.

Thank you UkulelesRcool,

Do you have samples of the ukulele if you made it ? I'm still looking for "trustable" plans (I mean : plans that I can 'just follow' and get something that would sound better than a $200 plywood ukulele, maybe with a little help from the forum on the first build). I've found samples only from hana lima's plans and the recording was'nt good enough to appreciate.

Click to expand...

I made a concert Myrtlewood using the LMII plans.. with some tweaks that lean more toward the martin style..
I used mahogany for the neck with a dovetail connection to the body. Bloodwood fretboard and bridge with an ebony headstock lamination. Friction tuners., ebony bridge pins with abalone dots.
Abalone rosette with black white purfling. abalone position markers and the tiny side dots
Tortoise shell binding top and back.
I dont have any sound clips.. Ive tryed to record using the windows program and it sucks so Id have to find something that is alot better...
The Uke itself has really good sustain... But.. I over braced it and its alot quiter than I had hoped for..
I posted about it when I first noticed how quiet it was, I was a bit disappointed but Im over that now.... especially with Myrtlewood.
I tryed high tension strings as one person suggested and it helped alot... also its opened up alot from when I first strung it up but its still a bit subdued... Live and learn I guess... The plans gave option for 3 fan braces and I should have just done the 2... My mistake... wont happen again... I love the uke though... it turned out really pretty with the Myrtlewood... Dont have any current pics... Ill get out my camera and take a few...