A uke neck for a good price

BluesPreacher

BluesPreacher

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Can anyone guide me to where I can find/buy a uke neck--soprano, tenor, concert, doesn't much matter--for a reasonable price?

I would also need to find a dowel for the inside on the body.

Let me 'splain:
Years ago, I had a luthier friend attach a tenor banjo neck to a cookie tin (Danish--butter cookies). I have tenor guitar strings on it and I tune it like a mandola/tenor guitar--C-G-D-A. It has a funky, metallic sound that I love.

From Christmas, I have a few more cookie tins. I want to make a uke out of one of them. (And a 5-string banjo out of another, and maybe a diddly-bow out of yet another, but I digress).

I would need a dowel for the inside of the cookie tin/banjo-ish body, like a banjo uke.

I've looked online on eBay and StewMac, and their necks are, well, really pricey.

Can anyone lead me to more reasonably-priced necks/dowels?

Thanks.
 
BluesPreacher said:
Can anyone guide me to where I can find/buy a uke neck--soprano, tenor, concert, doesn't much matter--for a reasonable price?

I would also need to find a dowel for the inside on the body.

Let me 'splain:
Years ago, I had a luthier friend attach a tenor banjo neck to a cookie tin (Danish--butter cookies). I have tenor guitar strings on it and I tune it like a mandola/tenor guitar--C-G-D-A. It has a funky, metallic sound that I love.

From Christmas, I have a few more cookie tins. I want to make a uke out of one of them. (And a 5-string banjo out of another, and maybe a diddly-bow out of yet another, but I digress).

I would need a dowel for the inside of the cookie tin/banjo-ish body, like a banjo uke.

I've looked online on eBay and StewMac, and their necks are, well, really pricey.

Can anyone lead me to more reasonably-priced necks/dowels?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I have found necks and fret boards on Etsy.com and cigar box nation.
 
Mainland as linked above is a great supplier of parts, and in fact the luthier Bonanza Ukuleles, uses the MAINLAND NECKS on all of their ukes.

Also, CB Gitty sells concert uke necks, as well as fully fretted guitar necks that you can cut down from the 1st fret 25.5" scale to whatever shorter scale you want, and can even have a zero fret if you want. These CB Gitty necks are ~$46 for fully fretted quarter-sawn oak, and have a 1.5" nut width like most baritones...

Any necks you get of Amazon, eBay, Aliexpress are coming via the slow boat from China and likely will take at LEAST 45 days from Shenzen to the USA as per my past experience in getting parts from Asia.

If I had a table saw and a table router, I'd get some nice quartersawn oak 1"x2" boards from Home Depot or Lowes and make my own necks, as most of my tools are for electronics and I have zero space for any kind of wood shop and/or tools right now.

Some day, but now I am relegated to maybe a hacksaw, spokeshave a few chisels and sandpaper, Welcome to woodworking from medieval times ca. 1359...:)
 
Last edited:
BluesPreacher said:
Can anyone guide me to where I can find/buy a uke neck--soprano, tenor, concert, doesn't much matter--for a reasonable price?

I would also need to find a dowel for the inside on the body.

Let me 'splain:
Years ago, I had a luthier friend attach a tenor banjo neck to a cookie tin (Danish--butter cookies). I have tenor guitar strings on it and I tune it like a mandola/tenor guitar--C-G-D-A. It has a funky, metallic sound that I love.

From Christmas, I have a few more cookie tins. I want to make a uke out of one of them. (And a 5-string banjo out of another, and maybe a diddly-bow out of yet another, but I digress).

I would need a dowel for the inside of the cookie tin/banjo-ish body, like a banjo uke.

I've looked online on eBay and StewMac, and their necks are, well, really pricey.

Can anyone lead me to more reasonably-priced necks/dowels?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Here's an option I found just earlier today http://www.frettedfiddle.com/ whilst looking for something totally different (fretted cello, would you believe - found out what I was actually looking at was a viola da gamba :confused:

Hope this helps - a fiddle is about the same scale-length as a soprano ukulele, you'll have to figure out your dowel requirements ;)
 
Try CBgitty.
They sell concert necks.
They are a source for parts mainly for Cigar Box guitar builders but I know they sell ukulele parts as well.
 
Rob Uker said:
Try CBgitty.
They sell concert necks.
They are a source for parts mainly for Cigar Box guitar builders but I know they sell ukulele parts as well.
Click to expand...

Yes, I checked them out and there are necks and other uke parts. Not cheap, but I'm sure good quality. I put in to join the CBG community on the Cigar Box Nation website. I'm hoping they'll give me guidance on the building ideas I have.
 
id be very cautious about buying cheap chinese ebay neck/fret boards.
I bought a tenor set on the cheap trying to make a shoenhut into a tenor.... and
what I got did not line up with the fret spacing on my other tenors, meaning they won't tune right.

Today if I was going to do it again.. I'd get the one from mainland.
 
spookelele said:
id be very cautious about buying cheap chinese ebay neck/fret boards.
I bought a tenor set on the cheap trying to make a shoenhut into a tenor.... and
what I got did not line up with the fret spacing on my other tenors, meaning they won't tune right.

Today if I was going to do it again.. I'd get the one from mainland.
Click to expand...
The thing with buying from Mainland, is that if there is anything that you think isn't right, or if you have a question about it, you can call them up or send and email and get an answer.
 
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There's a lot on ebay.
 
Rob Uker said:
Try making your own.
It's really not that difficult.
Click to expand...

I read somewhere, probably somewhere on cigarboxnation.com, about carving your own neck. They made it look relatively easy. OTOH, I've never been any good at anything that requires that kind of skill. Maybe a guy could practice on scrap wood, I don't know. I'm thinking about it.
 
BluesPreacher said:
I read somewhere, probably somewhere on cigarboxnation.com, about carving your own neck. They made it look relatively easy. OTOH, I've never been any good at anything that requires that kind of skill. Maybe a guy could practice on scrap wood, I don't know. I'm thinking about it.
Click to expand...
The folks on Cigarbox Nation would take a one by two piece of pine to make a neck, and plastic zip ties for frets. Going anywhere a beyond that is considered lutherie.
 
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Try to think of it this way, when your carving a neck (I use a table top belt sander I bought at harbor freight for $50) the process takes about 30 minutes to roughly shape the back of the neck. As long as you work slowly your not going to mess it up and you can make the from scrap that doesn't really cost anything.
 
Rob Uker said:
Try to think of it this way, when your carving a neck (I use a table top belt sander I bought at harbor freight for $50) the process takes about 30 minutes to roughly shape the back of the neck. As long as you work slowly your not going to mess it up and you can make the from scrap that doesn't really cost anything.
Click to expand...

Since I have no room for any workbench or tool-setup, one time I clamped a 1x2 to my desk and used a spokeshave
to try and 'carve a neck'.

It took A LOT of effort at the time, but got an almost nice neck in the end. I'd almost think that if you could get a piece of half-round molding, like a 'chair rail' made from quarter-sawn oak, that you'd be most of the way there...

However, for the time, energy and mess it makes, for ~$46 you can get very nice necks from Mainland Ukuleles, all ready to bolt-on, WITH the neck block and some other bits, in all ukulele scale lengths.

How much is your time worth? If you pay yourself $46/hr, then you just saved an HOUR and have a nice neck to start with.

If I had space for a tool setup, I'd try to make one from scratch, but for me, Mainland would be a painless answer, without waiting 45 days for parts from eBay (China) or Amazon (also China) unless you want to pay $50 for DHL Express and wait only 2 weeks...

Mainland is in Indiana, USA and usually you can get orders delivered from them in a week or less most parts of CONUS, and Mike is great with his excellent customer support. :)

see here for Mainland's necks: http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/ca...57DA490339F7B869.p3plqscsfapp003?categoryId=8
 
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