Finish question for 1915 Tabu ukulele...

Hi everyone, a little story if you care to read...

While taking a walk with my wife and dog the other night, it just happened to be "trash night" in the neighborhood. Now generally I don't mess with the trash cans around here, but someone sold their property on an adjacent street and had moved out that day leaving behind for the trash man the usual move out junk. However, a nice wooden desk was spotted by my wife, so I went to get my truck to pick it up for refinishing. Now here's the great part... after loading the desk I opened up the trash can and amongst other interesting items was a case that looked very much like a very old ukulele case...in great condition! I was so excited that I didn't even open it until I got back to the house hoping for the best but expecting a cheap piece of hawaiian tourist junk. After finishing our walk and returning to the house, I opened the tiny case and, much to my delight, found a Made In Hawaii 1915 Tabu ukulele in great condition! Beautiful honey color, all koa body and neck. Nice hint of full curl front and back. Very light weight. And the tone was balanced and percussive and so vintage hawaiian sounding! If I could capture this response and tone in my tenor ukuleles I build, I would die a happy uke luthier. Wow! wow! Wow!! Too cool. Dumb luck. Great day indeed!

Question:
So I have been doing a lot of research on the instrument and I am pretty clear on it's hawaiian history and the timeframe when it was built. My only question is I can't find any information on the web about what type of finish was used on these ukuleles at that time. Is it a french polish, lacquer, etc???

Chuck, Pete, anyone?... what finish is on my little gem??? Thanks e.lo....

WOW, what a save! It was meant to be with you.....so glad you found it! I bet it was french polish but let's hear from the experts.

What a wonderful find E-lo.
Being almost 100 years old I'm sure some work has been done to it, maybe even refinished, I don't know. It looks too good to be original. I don't believe they took the time to use FP on mass produced ukes in those days. I don't know what it is but I wouldn't touch it. BTW, What's going on with those strings? I believe that back in the 1930s a lot of the Hawaiian ukulele manufacturers came up with the "TABU" badge to distinguish "authentic" ukuleles with those being mass produced mainly in Chicago by Sears--Regal, Harmony, etc.
Nice find. make sure you inspect that desk thoroughly, the backs of the drawers, under the desk top, etc. I once found $900 in an old framed picture that I bought for 25 cents.

Chuck, no. No re-finishing is needed or wanted on this uke. It's the original finish on it. It was almost black with age when I dug it out of the trash can. I very carefully removed the years of grim and whatever else away with some Meguiars Polishing Compound and cotton balls. That's when I found the curl in the koa and the real beauty that lay beneath. Yes, the TABU was used to authentic those ukes made in hawaii at the time. Very cool. The uke is in great condition, considering its age. The top and back are one piece, not book matched. There is a small crack on the back due to drying out which I reinforced with a little hide glue to keep from expanding. The fiction tuners did not hold true due to probably over tightening the screws, heat, or just age. I restored them back with some thick FC and ebony dust. Sanded that out and buffed them back. An absolute perfect fix. The keys now hold the note and I am able to tune it up. BTW the strings are just some old black nylon ones I had lying around. I had to use a wound "C" string to match the intonation of the other strings. I tried a nylon on the C but its was very sharp. Not unusual. The wound string did the trick. Also, the only other markings that I can find on the inside is "256" written on the back bow. I am assuming this was ukulele # 256. Thanks, e.lo...

What an AWESOME find! Imagine if you didn't it very likely would have wound up in a landfill. WOW, I'm too happy for you to be jealous.

WAY COOL!

I LOVE STORIES LIKE THIS! GREAT SCORE....

just a wild guess but given that age, it just might be varnish.

This is a great find and a great story.

Cateye said:

it just might be varnish.

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Cateye, never thought of that, but I bet you are right. I'm surprise that I can't find (as-of-yet) any info on the steps taken by these early hawaiian luthier's to achieve such great little instruments. Surely someone has documented their work. I read that there were only 25 ukulele luthiers on the islands at the time. I believe now there are about 5,500!... thanks, e.lo..

E-Lo, my man, right now you're the luckiest guy I know. Good on ya!

Matt, thanks. As I said, sheer dumb luck finding that thing in a trash can. A very beautiful instrument indeed. BTW, speaking of luck or unluck...sorry to hear about your finger accident. Hopefully you get a bit more movement and control with it in the next couple of years. It reminds me of when I put a drill bit through my right hand thumb nail while building my patio deck. The nail eventually grew back but it now has a permanent split that running down the middle of the nail. Of course, this is my thumb nail that I use for speed picking (like Jake) with on the uke. I can no longer grow the nail out to a decent length before it starts to split in two. Very frustrating dealing with that all the time. Good luck with your finger dude.... thanks, e.lo...

E-Lo Roberts said:

Matt, thanks. As I said, sheer dumb luck finding that thing in a trash can. A very beautiful instrument indeed. BTW, speaking of luck or unluck...sorry to hear about your finger accident. Hopefully you get a bit more movement and control with it in the next couple of years. It reminds me of when I put a drill bit through my right hand thumb nail while building my patio deck. The nail eventually grew back but it now has a permanent split that running down the middle of the nail. Of course, this is my thumb nail that I use for speed picking (like Jake) with on the uke. I can no longer grow the nail out to a decent length before it starts to split in two. Very frustrating dealing with that all the time. Good luck with your finger dude.... thanks, e.lo...

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Thanks man--I'm gonna be as good as new (or close enough) in no time. If several months to a year = no time. Have you tried using a little superglue to hold the split together while it grows out? Perhaps even gluing a fake nail over top of it while it grows out...just some ideas. You've probably tried them all and them some by now.

Matt, yep. the super glue works somewhat. But a pain to maintain and tends to break free after a few days. Don't care for the fake nail trick. I'm getting by. But I wished I could take back that moment when I did it. Should have been more careful I guess. Check it out.

I used to have a Wurlitzer electric piano like that years and years ago. It brings back memories. Do you break a lot of reeds? I play quite hard sometimes and I was always breaking them. I remember horrible moments on gigs where a note would go horribly flat - like a semitone or more - as a prelude to the reed breaking. It was so embarassing! Are replacements still available?

Dibblet, I've been lucky with this Wurly. It's in great shape and I can't find a bum note on the whole keyboard. Of course, I'm not a banger either. Just play some laid-back blues, etc. It's a model 200A. I believe 1969 circa. Parts are still available for these classic pianos due to their high demand and their great voodoo vibe. I love playing it. Any song sound good on a wurly IMHO. You should get your old one back. Hell, this might even be it! hahaha... thanks, e.lo..

Man...I can just see hundreds off UUers dumpster diving right now...feverishly looking for one of these "forgotten pearls"!

E-Lo Roberts said:

Dibblet, I've been lucky with this Wurly. It's in great shape and I can't find a bum note on the whole keyboard. Of course, I'm not a banger either. Just play some laid-back blues, etc. It's a model 200A. I believe 1969 circa. Parts are still available for these classic pianos due to their high demand and their great voodoo vibe. I love playing it. Any song sound good on a wurly IMHO. You should get your old one back. Hell, this might even be it! hahaha... thanks, e.lo..

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They ae nice but I have a Nord Stage now that does a fine Wurly impression. Close enough that I wouldn't be able to tell it from a real one by sound. It even has an onboard simulation of the Wurly's built in amp and speakers.

Ukeffect, I wish I could give everyone here on UU the same experience. It felt really goooooooood!....

They have a uke marked Tabu up at Elderly right now. A soprano they're asking $800 for:
http://elderly.com/vintage/items/180U-927.htm

Matt, yeah I've seen that one. Exact same case as mine. The uke is almost identical. Mine has black fiction tuners though and no rope binding... still can't believe it was considered useless trash and put on the curb... crazy....e.lo...