New guy to the forum...attempting wood veneer laminate build!

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josh.kattelman

josh.kattelman

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Hi All,

I found this forum via a google search for ukulele building, where I found an old thread about building one using wood veneer. I decided to take the plunge, knowing the first one will probably be crap. =P

Anyhow, I am Josh from Minneapolis, MN. I can post pics about the progress if anybody is interested, including a modified version of the mold in the original post.

Best,

-josh
 
Hi Josh,
By all means, please post what you build. I started the original thread trying to provide a pathway for the adventurous to a scratch build. I will be interested in how you do.

Brad
 
Thanks Brad!

Right now I have a side marinating on the kitchen counter...I keep having to remind myself to "measure twice, cut once"...It's a lot harder to "fix it in post" with wood. =)

Pics to come soon, and THANK YOU for helping me get my foot in the door.

-josh
 
Not to hijack, but --

I'm Sukie from Burnsville. Ever been to StrumMn?
 
Hey Josh,
Yes, please post pics and drop in to a StrumMn meeting sometime.
I've built a couple ukes too and we can share notes.
 
I have to just pose the question...

Why do you want to build a laminate uke rather than a solid wood one?

I ask that knowing that there are some good reasons. I just want to know if you know them.

Bear in mind that laminates have a bad reputation, and that only through superior craftsmanship, tonal results, and playability will you be able to convince anyone that your uke is good.

But, as Chris Martin once told me at breakfast in Yokohama, Japan, "Well, our competition makes their cheap imports out of plywood. We, however, use laminates!" He had the biggest grin on his face when he said that. Chris is not without a sense of humor...and reality...

But seriously, why do you choose to make plywood?
 
Sorry to dig this old thread up, but to Josh (which by coincidence is my real name too):
If it helps, I also built a wood veneer based uke this summer as a high school student and documented the process fairly thoroughly here on the forums. It was my first uke and it turned out pretty nicely :), so don't be discouraged for your first one either, haha. I came across a few bumps in the road working with the veneer that you might want to be aware of, so you might want to take a look at my thread and avoid my mistakes. Good luck!!

p.s. it was such an experience building this that I'm already dreaming about making another one... this time all solid -- sides, back, and top -- and with a flashier wood with grain that pops out nicely (not koa, though, as I can't afford it at the moment).
 
Why not?

I live in a tiny apartment with little room for tools (such as a hot-bender...) Building an instrument out of veneer allows me to mold the sides with little more than a homemade mold, some rubberbands and some painters tape. Everything fits under the couch at the end of the night so wifey and I can enjoy some cocktails and "American Pickers" without having to stare at tools and sawdust. I'm not building it for anyone but myself. More than likely I'll give it to a friend so I can make room for the next, hopefully less janky, one.

"I ask that knowing that there are some good reasons. I just want to know if you know them."

Since when do I have to prove anything to anyone? Can't a guy have a hobby without having to run afoul of the solid-wood police?
 
@smerdy

Thanks dude! This whole thing is a lot of fun. I just need something to do now that I'm done with school. =)
 
@ukulele-melee

Will do! Hopefully nobody will have to leave the room because I didn't bring an all-solid Koa uke belched from a volcano during a full-moon during low-tide while a rare comet passed within inches of earth.
 
I'd still like to know why?. If you're going to make your own high quality laminates, that is really much more difficult than building in solid wood...to say nothing of the danger of sanding through a layer of veneer when finish sanding the uke. Is it to avoid heat bending?
 
My thoughts also - althouhg Brad's method produces a laminate it is very low tech and not really 'sound' from an acoutic instrument making perspective. I used to design and build veneered furniture for a living, flat and shaped work. Even using a vacuum bag press it is possible to get unevenness in the pressing. Laminating I have done loads of; specialist stuff like producing tapered slats for chair back, machining the tapers and then forming in a press. Getting stuff like this right requires good machinery and an ability to duplicate measurement and shape exactly. I'd heat bend sides any day over laminating and would say that it is an easier and surefire way of getting good sides. Downside is the cost of a good heat bender. Professional luthiers 'need' them. I'm sure a local lutheir would sell you some time on his bender - please... no pun or double entendre intended - I know what you guys are like ;)
 
Rick, et. al.,

You've obviously missed the point of my project. But, again, I am under no obligation to explain myself to you or anyone.

Cheers,

-jlk
 
I think we got it... you want to chose the most difficult route to achieve the simplest result. BTW, I am not being facetious since you have admitted that you want to build a 'crap' instrument (opening post).When people like Rick and myself, experienced builders of many years comment on threads like this it is to offer advice and help. Being sarcastic and confrontational is going to get you digging that hole you have already placed yourself in much deeper so CHILL (is that still a word?) and read what we are saying instead of reacting to it. In the adult world which I see you are part, this is called discussion and debate. We participate because we want amateurs and enthusiasts to avoid the mistakes we made - at the college where I studied we used very sophisticated forms to laminate sides. I saw the difficulties engendered by the process and heat bent my sides. Been there, done that! My resonator project has solid sides and laminated top and back. This design consideration was arriverd at through experience and not the arbotary process that often leads entusiasts like yourself down strange paths... We are your friends, not your enemy.
 
Pete Howlett said:
We are your friends, not your enemy.
Click to expand...

Anyone who doubts this ought to do what I am doing - read the threads in the lutherie subforum back as far as they go. The reaction of some might be that this is too time-consuming an exercise. The folly of that line of thinking is that rushing ahead of one's own knowledge and making mistakes is far more costly.

The Gurus, in addition to being consistently helpful and mostly patient, have clearly marked out the trail for the beginning luthier. What I have heard and taken to heart is that trying to reinvent the wheel almost guarantees that you will roll backward.
 
I wasn't attempting to build a "crap" instrument any more than I was trying to be confrontational or sarcastic. I merely realized that before I invest in a shop full of tools and nowhere to put them, I'd give this a try, knowing full well that the a.) I don't have any idea what I'm doing b.) the learning curve is tremendous and c.) I don't have the money to keep destroying expensive wood. Of COURSE this isn't an ideal way to build an instrument; I'm just looking for something to do that doesn't involve watching television. Fifteen minutes into this project I realized that I might as well learn how to do it the right way, but I intend to see this through nonetheless.

You "gurus" have a way coming off as snide and imposing to newbs, especially creating a rarified air around instrument building. A quick glance at Brad's OP shows no wheels being reinvented. Is it refined? Probably not. Is it fun? Of course! I'm going to give myself credit for bothering to try at all. =)

And, yes, Pete, I am quite aware of the concepts of "discussion" and "debate"; I haven't seen much of either here. I also know how to spell "arbitrary".
 
There you go again. Methinks you are a troll. I can build ukes but I can't spell. So what! At least I know my limitations...
 
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