I think you'll find this is the biggest rabbit hole you've ever encountered
If you are building an Ukulele to:
• See if you can do it
• See if you enjoy it
• Want to save money
• Just want to experiment
• Fancy being a builder
• Just want a uke built the way you want it
• Have lost your mind
• Think you can make a great use your first time
Just buy a good kit and give it a try. Otherwise you are in for some real frustration and expense. After you build a kit, then determine if you want to build more ukes! For many, that kit build will get the urge right out of your system. I say this because if you have to ask the question about what you need and how much you'll have to spend, then you likely don't have enough understanding of woodworking to start a scratch build yet. A few very industrious types out there have been successful with their first uke and continued to build, but I'd wager they were the ones that knew what they had already and how they would use it to accomplish what needed to be done.
So even with a kit you'll have to have sufficient clamps, drills, forms, measuring tools, possibly fretting tools, finishing tools, and glueing skills just to make the kit. If you go from scratch you'll need much more in the way of dimensioning, bending, forming, and processing the materials.
I certainly encourage building, it's a joy. But don't kid yourself about what it takes to make a box of wood that makes music.
