My Uke Build #2

I want to try out a tenor, so I decided to build one.

The set is bubinga back and sides and ebony fingerboard and bridge from Hana Lima 'Ia.

The wood is very good quality. I am an amateur, so I don't use fancy wood.

The rosette is paua abalone. If I ever do a shell rosette again, I will get some extra pieces. It took some time to try to match up the grain lines of the shell.
I added black-white-black purfilling to accent the rosette. I actually started with black-white, but I had cut the rosette channel a hair over-sized so I ended up with b-w-b.

This top is from a red cedar shingle that I found in my barn.



Gluing the back braces. You can also see the headplate being glued on the neck. The headplate is a bubinga-curly maple that I glued together.


The sides in a mold that I built.


Now I need to do some research on plate tuning ukulele tops.

Lookin' great, Bob--that rosette is gorgeous. I really like the idea of using the old cedar shingle for the top, too. Ever since I started building, I can't so much as look at a fallen log in the woods without wondering whether a nice set of back/top/sides is just waiting in there to be set free.

Beautiful rosette Bob!
An old shingle ...I love it! Nice piece of wood.

Thanks.

My house was sided with cedar shingles around 1963. There was a bundle of leftovers in my barn.

I'll post more pictures when I get something more done on it.

Plate tuning Bob? Never done it in my entire career and they still turn out good... try David Hurd's site. Plenty of technical stuff there.

Looks good Bob.
Matching the pearl grain? Who does that? I try to get the colors to match pretty well but beyond that, there is so much going on with paua, I don't bother.
One tip to prevent glue bleed into the end grain of the rosette is to give the channel a couple of coats of finish before inlaying.
And yes, you should know something about sound board adjustment. Unfortunately the best way to learn (even with David Hurd's method) is to try to duplicate a successful result you've had in the past. William Cumpiano's web site has some good information and well as some myth busting on the topic.

Moore Bettah Ukuleles said:

One tip to prevent glue bleed into the end grain of the rosette is to give the channel a couple of coats of finish before inlaying.

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Thanks. It is the first thing I saw when I scraped down the purfilling. I hope the CA glue stain doesn't show up too much when I have a finish on it. I plan on doing a French polish finish. I don't have good results using brushes.

The 2 guitars that I built did not have a problem with glue bleed, but the tops were spruce and had I used hot hide glue. Cedar seems to be a bit more delicate.

Pete Howlett said:

Plate tuning Bob? Never done it in my entire career and they still turn out good...

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Yes, but you know so much more than I do about the difference between an OK sounding ukulele and a exceptional one. I'm just building one tenor and I want to make an attempt at building one that is better than OK.

Moore Bettah Ukuleles said:

And yes, you should know something about sound board adjustment. Unfortunately the best way to learn (even with David Hurd's method) is to try to duplicate a successful result you've had in the past.

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My teacher is Al Carruth. He has had students building everything from violins, hammered dulcimers, hurdy gurdies, cellos, harps, and 100s of guitars. Al has volumes of notes on guitars and violins, but I am his 1st student building a ukulele.

BTW, there is almost no sawdust in Al's shop. Lots of shavings, but almost no sawdust. Most of the work in his shop is done with hand planes and scrapers.

IMO, The big advantage to hand tools for a novice is being able to make mistakes at a slower rate. I make plenty of mistakes!

Thanks

-Bob

Pete Howlett said:

.. try David Hurd's site. Plenty of technical stuff there.

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Thanks. I read part of his book until my brain started to ache. The 5% I understand was interesting.

Update:
(I am working on this ukulele 1x per week or less and this is 90% hand tools)
This week, I thicknessed the top and glued the rough braces to the top. I shaped the back braces that I glued on the back last week. I finished carving the ebony bridge and made a bone tie-block. I roughed out a saddle and nut from a cow bone using a hacksaw, wood rasp and files. Installed 2 brass locating pins between the unshaped neck and fretboard. I cut the taper on the sides of the fretboard.

When something more interesting happens, I will post more pictures.