1917 film - The Making of an Ukulele

The other thread here mentioning a Cigar Box Nation article reminded of another article/video they have posted over there that's pretty neat. I guess there's a chance this has been posted on here before, but I doubt everyone has seen it even if it has.

Check it out at:
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/1917-making-ukulele

....and another one:
38 Crazy Ukuleles:
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/video-a-tour-of-daniel-hulbert-s-ukulele

The guy building the instrument should be on double time. And the player shows what's wrong with my playing (apart from the less than optimal practice), I'm not wearing a cummerbund.

But seriously, that was brilliant. Thanks.

Here are the videos, 1st one:

Second one:

kohanmike said:

Here are the videos, 1st one:

Click to expand...

It has been posted before, but it's nice to see it again. So thank you!

Some notes:
- The building is done the hawaiian way, 'face down', contrary to most modern methods. First the top is fitted, with a one piece neck block and neck ('Spanish heel') protruding inside. Only later the sides and the back are added. This more or less requires the fretboard to be flush with the top. And yes, a lot of those ukuleles have slightly arched backs which improves projection, and is easier to do when building this way.
- The guy with the moustache near the end is Manuel Nunes, one of the pioneer-builders, self-proclaimed 'inventor of the ukulele' and the person who gave both his son Leonardo and Samuel Kamaka a start.
- The player at the end is virtuoso Henry Kailimai, who played with Ford's Hawaiians and also composed a lot of instrumental tunes.