One for me

Bradford

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One of the obvious perks of being a luthier is the ability of making yourself an instrument when the mood overtakes you. Here is the start of a present to myself. I am curious, what have some of you built for yourself that you play?

Brad
 

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Wow, good for you Brad. That's some nice koa.

I've had an uke in mind for a couple of years to build for myself. I've got the koa chosen and set aside, the inlay patterns drawn up, etc. It'll probably be the last uke I ever build though, just haven't gotten around to it. I envy you, it's a luxury to build one for yourself. You planning on anything special?
I few months ago I had small pinhole in the finish of one of my ukes. Despite several attempts to fix it I was never able to to my satisfaction. It was like a zit you keep playing around with. So I kept it. Now I finally have a good uke for myself, one I don't have to make excuses for. (The ones I've had previously were many years old.)
 

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Thanks Chuck, I was hoping you would reply. That is an incredible uke of yours, thank God for small pinholes, eh. I do not have anything planned yet, it will be a concert size, how elaborate I get will depend on how good I think it will sound after I get into the building process.

Brad
 
I have one I built for my self hanging waiting for the lacquer to cure. Its master grade Claro Walnut back and sides and a sitka top. Its my best work yet for what thats worth. I hope it sounds as good as it looks I will post pics when its finished
 
I've got six that ended up being kept..1 Banjo Uke (never gets played co's it's too loud).... 1 soprano the (1st I ever made)....2 Sopranos with faults (a slighty twisted neck on one & the other a small repaired split in soundboard).....1 Mahogany Tenor prototype (now bagged by Mrs Timbuck)...and 1 Koa Tenor prototype which I now play all the time...All of these play great...maybe I should get rid of some.:confused:
 
This is funny. I just pulled a Koa set out to build me a nice concert uke this spring . I’ve been playing the soprano kit uke I built in 2005 and Tenors #1 and #3. Since they don’t really represent what I’m building now, I figured it was time to reward myself for all my hard work!
 
I start all my instruments for myself. Usually, some other use comes up during the build....friends or family members that could use a nice uke for Christmas or a special event.
I've only managed to keep one for myself, my all-walnut concert made from wood given to me. I damaged the finish last summer with some bug-spray and haven't gotten around to fixing it yet so its not presentable as a gift.
Of course I do play all the ones I've built for a while...you know, just to make sure it stays glued together, see how it plays in, etc ;)
 
I made one just for me back in October! It's very similar to this one: http://www.wsukes.com/132/u132.html (except cherry instead of walnut). No pictures, but Pippin (aka Mickey) saw it when he was in the hospital. This is the first uke I consider really nice that I've kept for myself. All the others I've kept were sort of cosmetically challenged, if you know what I mean :)

It's nice to have a nice one :)
 
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