Rental friendly ukulele hanger (at least for Japanese style rooms)

redBee · Jul 3, 2011

Hi everybody.

I came up with a simple solution to hang ukuleles without needing to drill a hole in the wall. Also they are movable and re-usable.

In Japanese styled rooms, there is usually a piece of wood embedded on the walls, called Kamoi (鴨居), which is carved on the top(like a ditch), so you can hang stuff on it. I didn't want to damage it, so a to drill the uke hanger on it was out of the question. I had to improvise.

First I bought a few Mahalo uke hangers (like these http://ec3.images-amazon.com/images/I/21C0i6elvML._SL500_AA280_.jpg)

Then got a few two "L" shaped metal arms and 4 sets of nuts and bolts. I attached them to the uke hanger like this :

Then I only had to adjust the depth of the screw position in order to fit it inside the "ditch" and that's it.

If you don't have a room with a "Kamoi", I guess you could use the same principle to have a movable uke hanger panel. So when you have to create more or less space, it is very easy.

redBee · Jul 3, 2011

Additional pics so that you have an idea of what a "Kamoi" looks like

NOTE : I didn't screw it on the wood itself. It is free hanging, only in place by gravity and the "L" shaped metal thing.

joeybug · Jul 3, 2011

That's really cool! I'm running out of space, and when my new one comes I'm not sure where she'll go..they're kept in the space between my desk and my oxygen machine, and it's getting smaller, just a mass of gig bags!

redBee · Jul 3, 2011

joeybug said:
That's really cool! I'm running out of space, and when my new one comes I'm not sure where she'll go..they're kept in the space between my desk and my oxygen machine, and it's getting smaller, just a mass of gig bags!

Yeah, the good thing is that since it's not drilled onto the wall, I can rearrange it anyway I want. And it is more sturdy than it looks!

joeybug · Jul 3, 2011

redBee said:
Yeah, the good thing is that since it's not drilled onto the wall, I can rearrange it anyway I want. And it is more sturdy than it looks!

That's great to hear, don't want your Kamaka falling off in the night...eek, doesn't bear thinking about! May have to do something similar if I can find the space for the piece of wood and such...

arashi_nero · Jul 3, 2011

this is a really good idea. i`m actually in hiroshima right now and had been thinking about how i`m going to hang my ukes when we eventually move here. most walls in japan (even in houses) are a mix of cement and bamboo/steel and drilling holes in the wall to hang pictures, etc is a chore. however, most rooms have those kamoi. i`ll have to remember this for when we move here. thanks for the great idea!!

redBee · Jul 3, 2011

arashi_nero said:
this is a really good idea. i`m actually in hiroshima right now and had been thinking about how i`m going to hang my ukes when we eventually move here. most walls in japan (even in houses) are a mix of cement and bamboo/steel and drilling holes in the wall to hang pictures, etc is a chore. however, most rooms have those kamoi. i`ll have to remember this for when we move here. thanks for the great idea!!

Ah, I didn't know you were here!
(This year's Ukulele Picnic is in Yokohama on August 8th and 9th. )

In order to get back most of the deposit money, it is very important to return the apartment without any extra holes on the walls!
As you said, most apartments with Japanese style rooms have kamoi, so it shouldn't be a problem.
I bought the ukulele hanger for about 500 yens on amazon.co.jp and the screws and the "L" shape metal for a few hundred yens at the local Hardware Store.

For other things, you can use those 3M double sided tapes, which can be easily removed later (it is a special product).
I think ukes are too heavy/expensive to rely on those, but for pictures, calendars and hooks, those tapes are pretty handy!
http://www.mmm.co.jp/diy/command/tab/

redBee · Jul 3, 2011

joeybug said:
That's great to hear, don't want your Kamaka falling off in the night...eek, doesn't bear thinking about! May have to do something similar if I can find the space for the piece of wood and such...

I'm not hanging the Kamaka right now, because I like to keep it inside the case with a humidity stabilizer.
But I guess it is good enough not to drop any ukes during regular earthquakes. The hanger itself has a swiveling motion, so it would move sideways. (unless we are talking about a catastrophic one, but then, I guess I would have even bigger things to be worried about!)

roxhum · Jul 3, 2011

Great way to hang your ukes. And how very clever to have Kamoi's in every room.

redBee · Jul 3, 2011

roxhum said:
Great way to hang your ukes. And how very clever to have Kamoi's in every room.

They can be pretty handy to hang wires for Art Frames and hooks for clothes!

arashi_nero · Jul 3, 2011

redBee said:
Ah, I didn't know you were here!
(This year's Ukulele Picnic is in Yokohama on August 8th and 9th. )

In order to get back most of the deposit money, it is very important to return the apartment without any extra holes on the walls!
As you said, most apartments with Japanese style rooms have kamoi, so it shouldn't be a problem.
I bought the ukulele hanger for about 500 yens on amazon.co.jp and the screws and the "L" shape metal for a few hundred yens at the local Hardware Store.

For other things, you can use those 3M double sided tapes, which can be easily removed later (it is a special product).
I think ukes are too heavy/expensive to rely on those, but for pictures, calendars and hooks, those tapes are pretty handy!
http://www.mmm.co.jp/diy/command/tab/

yeah, i wish i was going to be here long enough to go to the uke picnic. i`m only here for two weeks. just long enough to see the family and go back to work. i have been jamming out tho. there`s a hawaiian teaching english here in my wife`s home town and he and i jammed the entire day today. it was a blast. when we finally move here, i will for sure make it to the uke picnic.

DWUke · Dec 28, 2011

Another way to store/show your ukes

I bought some swing string ukulele hangers and put them on a curtain rod. Works well!

http://www.music123.com/search/search.jsp?sB=r&question=swing+string

Plainsong · Dec 28, 2011

Not rental friendly, but if you want decorative, there's Toucanmango on Ebay to make something like this ('scuse the mess, we were moving back in and clearing out the mess from the new water pipe install in the building)

The bigger ones are my husband's. ATM the Sailor soprano, Ohana sk38, and the Kala Mighty Uke are hanging out there. The humidifier is on the table that almost made it into the frame.

Ukes that need to live in their cases over winter, the Koaloha and Kanile'a, are in cases sitting on the middle-bottom shelves of the bookcase that almost made it into the frame.

Are they really that strict in Japan that you can't hang stuff on walls in a rental?

Rental friendly ukulele hanger (at least for Japanese style rooms)

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