Where can I get ukulele body molds and cooling forms?

is that about all you need to make the body?

assuming I got the wood, glue and clamps...are there bending tools etc that would be needed, cuz shoot, if all i gotta do is drop $55 easy bucks...I'll save up

There are different ways to approach bending the sides. Here is one way which incorporates a silicone heating blanket in a shop made bender. The blanket will set you back about $90 and the Screw Press about $25 (LMI is way overpriced on this item at $45).

P9041694.JPG
 
There are different ways to approach bending the sides. Here is one way which incorporates a silicone heating blanket in a shop made bender. The blanket will set you back about $90 and the Screw Press about $25 (LMI is way overpriced on this item at $45).

P9041694.JPG


is the screw press the shop made bender ? if not what is it ? and where can i get one of the shop made benders ? also.. is there anywhere that would sell a concert mold ?
 
supposing you didnt have room or money for a tool like that...money comes and goes, but space becomes a significant issue

how would you go about bending w/o the fancy stuff.
 
Thanks a lot Dominator but where do I get the wood mold so I can the wood on to get the shape using the heatblanket?
 
Where can I get a bending jig?

I don't know of anyone selling a bending jig but I suppose if one searches long enough via google etc. one might turn up.

But here's the thing which I believe has been mentioned in other threads here is that a big part of the building process is actually making all the jigs that you use to build the ukes. For those just starting out it gives them experience working with the tools etc. prior to actually working on the uke itself.

My first bending jig was from the Hanalima plan link above. Then I modified the concept to have a frame that could accept a soprano, concert or tenor size mold.

I would give you my first one for the price of boxing it up and shipping it but it wouldn't do you any good because the mold needs to match it perfectly (or reasonably close). So the process would be to make or buy a mold (See pic) and then use the mold to make the bender form so it all matches good.

P9041697.JPG


If I had time and knew the shape you were after I would offer to build a mold for you. Unfortunately, I don't have much spare time at present.
 
is the screw press the shop made bender ? if not what is it ? and where can i get one of the shop made benders ? also.. is there anywhere that would sell a concert mold ?

The screw press is the screw you see at the top of the bender.
 
There are a few luthiers that build guitars that use 3 150w light bulbs as a heat source in their bending jig. (They also say a heat blanket is better.)

With a uke 3 bulbs might be to many.
 
There are a few luthiers that build guitars that use 3 150w light bulbs as a heat source in their bending jig. (They also say a heat blanket is better.)

With a uke 3 bulbs might be to many.

3 bulbs is way too much. I use 2 bulbs on my tenor uke jig and I think that they are no more than 100 watts. The pre-heating of the jig gets pretty toasty in about 20 minutes. Oh yeah...e.lo...
 
Dave Gill cold molds his uke sides. The only heat he uses is when he puts the bending jig in front of a small space heater to expedite the drying process. He uses a bending jig fashioned after a Fox bender but no heat source. He soaks his wood for an hour or so before he starts the bending process.
 
3 bulbs is way too much. I use 2 bulbs on my tenor uke jig and I think that they are no more than 100 watts. The pre-heating of the jig gets pretty toasty in about 20 minutes. Oh yeah...e.lo...


Thanks, I thought as much.

My uke build doesn't require bending, but I'll keep this in mind if/when I do
 
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