Start up costs

What would be the cost of all the equipment needed to build custom ukes....bender, saws, files, chisels, molds etc etc I'm interested in building and want to know what it would cost to equip myself

Go to Stewmac.com and peruse all that stuff on their site. I'm sure it's in thousands of dollars depending on how far you want to go.

It depends very much on how much of the tools you can manufacture yourself and how long starting time you might accept. I am not a luthier.
You´d also need a stock of wood and somewhere to keep it, try to keep that in your mind. Some tools and wood might be found here.

$10,000 -$15,000 ish with second hand drum sanders etc.

Warning, ive seen alot of people get the 'building fever', drop alot of $$$ on a workshop then it never gets used.

People who decide to build instruments usually have some background in woodworking and already have some of the necessary tools and equipment (it’s mostly all the same stuff—chisels band saw drill press, etc.). If you’re not already a woodworker, then the learning curve will be steeper because you have to learn basic techniques before applying the specialized techniques used in building an instrument.

If I did a quick tally of my workshop it would be all of $50,000. You certainly don't need that much, especially if you just want to build casually.

But equipment and tools have a way of sucking up huge sums of cash. Not to mention timber. I've spent close to $5,000 on both in the last couple of weeks alone.

Probably can get going for $1000 or a bit more, and then as you build your first few, figure out what tasks you want to spend money on power tools or expensive hand tools for. Humidity control and dust collection are two major expenses that can be put off until you're sure you want to keep building. Wear a dust mask and put a fan in the window, or just do dusty tasks outside. Manage humidity by waiting for good weather and/or building a hot box. I've also used the kitchen stove oven to dry things, but it's a pain because I have to turn it on for a short time to warm up, and then turn it off before it gets too hot, and repeat several times over the course of a couple hours until the wood acclimates.

Make a wood strip hygrometer. Here's a post I wrote on another forum about it http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=619433#p619433. Bracing is the most important time to make sure that the humidity is low enough. But anything that involves cross grain gluing should ideally be done in controlled humidity. Long grain gluing doesn't matter as long as both pieces are acclimated to the same level, since they'll expand and contract together after that.

A bender can be made from a scrap of exhaust pipe from a muffler shop, a few bolts and L brackets to attach it to a board, and a propane torch, electric charcoal starter, or other electric heating element inside. You may also want to squash the pipe to an oval shape so you can do tighter bends. If your wife has a hair curling iron with enough horsepower, that can work too But she may be angry if you return it with rosewood resin burnt onto it, so stick with clean woods like mahogany/walnut/maple.

The best high dollar tools I've bought are the extra-extra-coarse and extra-extra-fine 8x3" DMT dia-sharp stones. You may eventually need one more grit inbetween when the XXF gets really broken in, but it's pretty aggressive when it's new. Seems much coarser than its rated 3 micron grit. You'll also need something finer for the final polishing. An 8000 grit waterstone is good. The diamond lapping film from Lee Valley works too. Get the pink and/or beige.

Kathy Matsushita has a lot of good info about getting started and tool lists for folks starting out as an amateur/hobby luthier.
http://www.theamateurluthier.com/

This is her 'basic' tool list.
http://www.theamateurluthier.com/amateurluthier/htmlpages/basictools.html

High grit sharpening stones? Only if you are finishing directly from these tools. I know of no part of any instrument that isn't touched with sandpaper thus negating the finish you get from an 8000 grit hone. Also, most tonewoods have interlocking grain and a bookmatched softwood/spruce front has the grain going in two directions...

As to your original question - go see how long your piece of string is...

I used to work as a luthier and I can tell you that one of the first lessons I learned was that I could have bought a really nice guitar for what it cost to build my first one. It seems cool, and it is but I realized that the money was at/in StewMac and Luthiers Merchantile. It has become a "hobby". I had the luxury of working under an established luthier, but I think the "hobby" aspect of it has a negative impact on the people who are working luthiers. There is obviously, (I hope it's obvious) more to my story than this brief mention. I've seen really talented luthiers pack it up because it is so hard to make a living at it. I can and I don't and I hope that me staying out of the business makes life easier for the luthiers that are plugging away every day. I will tell you that the there is plenty of misery to go around during the learning process of any craft. Lutherie tools are not cheap. You will spend a bunch. After all this negativity, I still work on instruments but I work on harps and pianos. Mostly pianos. If lutherie is still calling you then consider the words of bank robber and philosopher Willie Sutton. When asked why he robbed banks, he replied, "Cause that's where they keep the money." Consequently I work on pianos and harps.

Really depends on how many you want to make and how much return you want from it. Trade off time for $$$. Also you need to sell your goodies, a whole different side of the story.

Knowing what I know now I'm pretty sure I could obtain all the necessary tools for easily less than $1000. They may not be the ideal or result in the fastest method, some will be pre owned but the quality of the instrument will only be limited by yourself, not the tools. There are usually cheaper alternatives to things like expensive sharpening media. Scary sharp is expensive in the long run, it's incredibly cheap for building a Uke or two. A soundhole cutter and purfling cutter will cost a packet of scalpel blades ie. very little. A lot is dependent on how many and how fast you want to produce them. Even then there are ways of producing them fast with simple hand tools. That takes much more skill and training though.

Is it the woodworking aspect you are interested in or the idea of building ukuleles ?

If you are the type that likes to build things you will probably be able to make one ukulele for under $150. With minimal tools.

I joined a local guitar building club where many of the member share tools, others there have a membership to the local "maker space". And for a fee of $50 per month people have 24 hour access to every tool you can imagine everything from CNC machines, sanders, Laser cutters, 3-D printers, to sewing machines large format printers. (although they don't have a pre-built side bender or steam box You Tube is full of tutorials on how to make your own. Some can even be made in your kitchen. ) And my maker space has a board of directors that might be convinced to buy one. (they are amazingly well funded and organized)

Only in Texas Brian, only in Texas! After 21 years at it I am starting, this year, to draw a living wage and take out of the business as savings some of the $75K I invested in it... It takes that long - trust me

I think a better question would be "How long will it take to realise a return of investment into the tools, stock, skills, time and effort when starting a uke building business"?

That's the one where rubber hits the road.

The important question isn't "how much will it cost to get started?" But: "What level do I intend to build at?" When I got started, I didn't spend much money, but it ramped up quick. After that, its: "How will I commit myself to the years it will take to convince people that I am worth spending real money on." Then, it's: "How will I keep my personal style and integrity while also satisfying every customer." After that its: "How can I make this sustainable so I can support my family and support my past builds/customers."

Are you willing to ship an instrument to Australia, ship it back for a minor warranty repair, then ship it to the customer again? This costs $700-900 just to "make things right." Will you pull the trigger on that once in a lifetime Koa stash at the cost of $10,000? Are you willing to throw away a body with a flaw instead of shipping it? Can you handle both the praise and the rejection? Can you buckle down in the workshop everyday, even when you are stressed tired or sick?

Or, is it just a hobby?

I think if I started over right now, it would be:
bandsaw
thickness sander
drill press
bending equipment
combo sander
orbital sander
hand drill
fret press
table saw
planer
jointer
routers
benches
huge stewmac, LMII order of random stuff like fretwork equipment
chisels, files, planes, rasps, gouges, knives
lights
dust collection
shop heat
sandpaper, glue, finish, frets, bone, supplies, misc...
cases
wood
parts like tuners, pickups, banjo uke hardware

If I roughly add it all up, it could be $40,000 easily. Depends how much wood you buy and wether you buy used tools.

I could go on, but I don't want to discourage anybody too much...
A

But that $40,000 is not necessary. It's not even remotely necessary but plenty of people seem to assume that it is. Richard Jacob 'Weissgerber' made some 3,500 guitars in his career and he didn't use one single power tool. if he'd stuck to making 4 or 5 different models (instead of dozens) he may have reached 5,000. It's all dependent on your approach, training and skill level. The chances of someone recouping $40,000 through making musical instruments (any instrument) is extremely low. Actually the chances of recouping $4,000 is also extremely low. It's possible of course but the odds are stacked heavily against. There are simply too many makers chasing a very limited number of players. As such anyone new to this is much better served using the low tech/hobby approach, investing minimal amounts of money and seeing whether they really like the profession. You have to really like it to be able to stick it out long enough to show any sort of profit. That's if you show any profit at all.

i moved to the US from Australia and had to set up a workshop.

I learnt (after i did it) that i should have thought about how much of the tools/wood/machinery i could claim back on tax- If you spend $10,000 on stuff but only pay $1000 tax, thats $9000 claimable lost. Depreciation comes into it though but you get my meaning. Spend wisely

I'm a hobbyist builder and I'm guessing my investment at this point is probably in the $4k-5k range. My big ticket items are my 14" bandsaw, 16-32 drum sander, and dust collector, all of which probably account for about $3k. I also have a 6" jointer, a bit of a clunker, but I inherited that for free, as well as assorted other tools that I already owned. Everything else is small stuff, but I'm sure it adds up quickly.

It might seem a bit extravagant for a hobby, but for comparison my brother was into bicycle racing and I think he spent $7k just on his bike. I'm sure there are many other fun things on this planet that cost much more.

Don't overlook the price of small essential tools. If you've ever looked at a StewMac catalog you know they can add up. Tools and equipment are one thing, supplies like tuners, fret wire, wood, cases, etc are another. I run a small, low production shop with the bare minimum of tools. My tools & equipment are probably worth $10,000. My wood stash and supplies are probably worth $40,000. Most builders quickly become wood collectors, buying good wood when they see it as you may never get the chance again. I'm not a tool guy, I'd rather put my money in supplies since those prices seem to escalate the fastest.