YMMV - observations of a build

OK, so here goes. A while back I planned on doing a series of builds to try to find my way around the sound box to help me figure out what makes them tick. This is the first in the series. On the next few builds I will change a parameter or two on each and try to observe how this changes the sound. Bracing, stiffness, size, neck mass, sound hole, etc.

This one is a mahogany tenor with spanish cedar neck, bloodwood fingerboard and bridge, and sitka bracing. Finish is a oil and wax concoction from Lee Valley. Aquila strings, recalcitrant tuning. Tried Worth low G's, but this 'uke did not like the low G, sounded dead.

This mahogany is pretty dense at about 10 gr/cu. in. and very stiff, so the plates are fairly thin. The next ones are thinner still. The body weighed in at 242 grams and it came in at about 18 - 1/2 oz. overall. I tried to do a little volute at the headstock...I think those take practice...like the rest of this.

I'm pretty happy with this one, everything came out clean, tight, straight, centered and it sounds pretty good, too. The day they were handing out internet knowledge I must have been out buying wood, cuz I think it's a lot easier to build an 'uke than to post a picture of one on youtube...but here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnI8XqOpdZk . Sorry about my 'playing' but it gives an idea of how it sounds. I now have an even greater respect for that guy that posts all those how to vids. I need a how to post vids vid.

The next two just need necks and bridges (nuts, saddles, frets, strings, finish, tuners and dots) so it'll be a few days. When they're done i'll TRY to post some more vids and desriptions and maybe we can hear the differences.

thanks for looking, Steve

That looks really nice. and sounds great!

Steve , I like it a lot. I especially like the neck and how nice it is attached to the body. Sounds good too.
What was the hardest thing for ya on this build?
Dan

Sweet. Simple and classy. That's really nice looking mahogany

Very nice. It looks good and sounds good. I hope my first one comes out that well.

Very nice Steve. Clean work. That's quite a volute you got going there!

Steve, this one looks and sounds great. Nice and tight. Look forward to seeing and hearing more.

I am impressed!

T 2

Thanks, everybody for the kind words. Dan, by far the hardest thing was getting the video from the camera to youtube. Besides that maybe hand carving the neck. It's one of my favorite parts of a build, but it is time consuming and difficult to get symmetrical, smooth and good looking. As soon as I've built enough to have a favorite neck, I will build a set of neck jigs. Timbuck did a thread about a year ago on producing necks, I'm going to have to find it again. That and Pete's 5 minute neck carve vid. The heel to body joint is now sooooo easy now, using the crossdowel bolt on method. The Lowes by my house has crossdowels machined from solid steel rod so I don't have to use those cast zinc ones from Home Depot.

So on to tenor #2. This one is from all of the same materials, and has the same neck as the first. The top and back plates are less stiff ( thinner ) and as you can see in the pics, the bracing is less substantial and there is no bridge plate. Also the waist brace on the top is unconnected to the linings. The back is thinner as well and the bracing is much less substantial than #1. The idea was to build a 'more responsive' 'uke and see how that affects the sound. My feeling was that the bracing design might help the bass response of a low G as well. Overall it's about an ounce lighter than #1 at 499 grams, or 17.57 oz.

I spent hours today making a little jig to rout the compensated saddle slot on the bridge. Using a dremel and an 1/8" bit ....I'll just say the Dremel didn't cut it. Wobbled too much. Several bridge blanks flew across the yard. I didn't want to go to the store to get a sharp new 1/8" bit for a real router, so I gave up and used a straight saddled bridge.

I strung it up with Aquila Low wound G's, and it seems that these will work out OK on this 'uke much better than the all plain low g's on #1. I think this one will end up with more volume than the first one, but I've learned to wait at least a day for the strings to settle before critiquing the sound. I set the neck to a very low action to start, now that I found out how much the belly can come up. It started out with a buzzz, but in an hour it was nearly gone. Maybe by tomorrow I won't have to do any adjusting. A little taller saddle wouldn't hurt, though, this one is pretty short as the bridge has a deeper slot than #1, and I'm using the same saddle.

If I can remember how, I will post a vid to youtube tomorrow of tenor # 2. From what I've seen so far, I'm confident we'll be able to hear the difference. In one pic below is a peek at #3. It's a slim body version, otherwise similar to #2. I am amazed at how much the mahogany on #1 has darkened in only a couple of days compared to #2. They are from the same board.

Well, that's it for now,
Steve

Interesting without the bridge patch. I know it's only a tenor, but it's still getting 40 pounds of string pull. I'd have concern about distortion especially with a thinner top. The bad thing is that defects won't show up for months or years.......... Are you testing for deflection?
I'm a big fan of Dremel tools but I've never found them satisfactory for cutting saddle slots. With a Dremel you might have your best success using one of the carbide downcut spiral bits, similar to what SteMac sells. I use a full size router for the job fitted with a 3/32" or 1/8" bit. I can't remember but I believe Eagle sells these undersized bits. I personally have never found the need to compensate the slot.
Thanks for the update and keep up the good work. Excellent quality!

T2 vid is up on youtube

Thanks, Chuck for the reply. Yes, distortion, collapse or even catastrophic failure have certainly crossed my mind. There has been some discussion about bridge patches lately, so I thought I'd give one a try sans patch. I am testing deflection rates on all my pieces, as well as density, but my data at this point is slim. At some point I'm hoping the info will help. I use a pretty simple set of measuring tools for all this.

I use the dremels a lot, too, but it just had too much wobble for the saddle slot. I like the look of a routed slot a lot more than the table saw slot variety I've been doing lately, it's easier, but it looks like it. I think I'm using the same bit you mention. I'll get a router bit next time I'm at the store. Glad to hear about the compensated slot, I thought it was kind of expected on a low g tenor. The C string is a tick flat, but the others are pretty close and I didn't do anything yet for intonation.

Tenor #2 vid is viewable here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf-y0JyP9wA. Interesting how well this one took to the low g strings and how different it sounds from #1. I also made a vid of the concert pineapple I made last month, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULiJBGipcFY It now has a new marker dot at the 12th fret and a 1" side sound port near the heel.

I strung up #3 today, it's the same materials as the others (and same neck), but it's a slim body one, pics below. I wanted to see what's up with all this air volume, body cavity resonance vs. soundhole size stuff that I've heard about but don't fully understand. #3 video tomorrow.

see ya then

Steve

T 3 completed

The video of the third and final tenor of this series is now up on youtube, here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOhKXUSMKS0
This one is a slim body with a very thin top, about .056 at the sound hole and thinner towards the rims. This was the 13th 'uke I've built and, go figure, I had lots of problems. To start, my mould is taller than the sides, so when I clamped the top on the whole thing cocked backwards, pushing the waist together. By the time I caught it, it was too late and I thought I solved the problem when I put the back on, but I didn't. Also when I was sanding the rims I must have been leaning to one side because the sides are, too. All of this must have put a lot of extra stress on the already thin top, when I just picked it up I heard it crack, about 2" long between the bridge and the side. Aack, what a day. I turned it over and dribbled in some CA and it sucked into the crack, and seemed to have solidified it for now. I wonder if a wider bridge patch would have helped, or maybe just a more substantial top. The body depth at the heel is 2-1/4", and the back is toward the stiffer variety.

I strung it up first with Aquila low wound g's but was very surprised that the low g actually overwhelmed the rest of the strings. Replaced with a plain high g string and it sounded much better. I really don't know the reason for this, maybe the very thin top gave it too much bass response. After waiting a day to really play it, I really like the sound of this more than the first two, which was another surprise. It's got good volume, nice sustain and better dynamic range. This one's my favorite.

I learned a lot building these three 'ukes and I hope in some small way maybe someone else did, too. I love working with wood and have made a living at it for a lot of years. Last year when my wife was diagnosed with cancer, I had to walk away from a decent career, doing what I love to do, to be available for all the tests and treatments, and my wife. Last week we finished the 8th and final chemo treatment and there are still some tests to go, the treatment was successful and we have a new outlook and a second chance. This is where the 'ukulele comes in. I found myself needing to find some wood to work with and thought building an 'uke would be a fun little weekend project. It was. And then some. After my first few it became a bit of an obsession. It is perfect because I get to be a few steps from the house and get to work with beautiful wood making these little instruments. Hearing each of them make sweet music for the first time ( more of a goal than a reality ) is a thrill for me. I love making 'ukuleles, every step of the way. Sorry for all my droning on.

So now I've got a couple of necks to finish (that's a pic of how far I can get before I have to break out the rasps) and get them on to the neckless bodies. And I've got a huge mess to clean up in the shop. Not sure what's next, but had a ball doing this little thread.

thanks for looking,
Steve