Wildestcat
Well-known member
I have been asked by a friend if i could build her a soprano ukulele using locally sourced (UK) beech for top, back & sides and as much of the rest of the instrument as possible. There are personal reasons for the request which are not relevant here, suffice to say this is non-negotiable. It is beech or nothing!
My experience is limited to using it to line the jaws of my woodworking vice, so all I know is it is hard and featureless.
The wood database yields the following: "Overall good workability; it machines well, and glues, finishes, and turns well. Beech also responds superbly to steam-bending. It does, however, have a large amount of movement in service, so movement and wood stability must be taken into account."
So ... on the face of it not really a suitable material due to the movement in service, which is probably why I have never heard of it being used.
However, before I break the bad news I thought I would ask has anyone ever tried it, and is there any way it could be made to work?
My experience is limited to using it to line the jaws of my woodworking vice, so all I know is it is hard and featureless.
The wood database yields the following: "Overall good workability; it machines well, and glues, finishes, and turns well. Beech also responds superbly to steam-bending. It does, however, have a large amount of movement in service, so movement and wood stability must be taken into account."
So ... on the face of it not really a suitable material due to the movement in service, which is probably why I have never heard of it being used.
However, before I break the bad news I thought I would ask has anyone ever tried it, and is there any way it could be made to work?