Saddlebag Ukulele

D

dhoenisch

Guest
Good morning all. It's been a while since I've been on here, and I might have to disappear again. I just have too much to do and not enough time to do it, for the most part. But, I just thought I'd jump on here and share an idea I came up with.

I recently purchased a new-to-me motorcycle in January and have been daydreaming of motorcycle camping, all whilst purchasing minor replacement camping stuff. Anyhow, on a motorcycle you kind of have to pack small to fit everything, so I was pondering how I can pack small and still bring a ukulele with me. So, I started thinking of ways to build one and make it headless. So, I started working on it as time allowed. To make a long story short, after a couple of attempts, I came up with a cigar box type uke. I made the body out of birch plywood, though using the mahogany ply top and fingerboard from a Grizzly kit I've been hacking apart (I used and will use plywood since this will be in the elements all the time, so I don't want solid wood to split on me or anything). The neck is hand carved from mahogany I picked up at the hardware store. The tuning pegs are actually 5th string banjo friction pegs. The strings are held with fishing lure beads I had laying around. The bridge is carved from some ebony I had in the shop. I finished it to match my bike (I know, I'm a dork) using colored lacquer.

This is more of a prototype, so it isn't perfect. I just wanted to see how it would turn out. It sounds like a uke, though thin, of course since the body is. It's not very loud, but not too quiet. I do want to make another one, but arching the back as I feel it will project the sound much better, kind of like Kala's travel tenor uke. But, this one is finished and perfectly playable in case I can't get the second one finished before camping/riding season hits Chicagoland.

Here are some pictures of it, using my bike to model it. I took pictures of it next to a Makala Dolphin, but when I got the thub drive here, those images were corrupt, but I'll try to get comparison pictures of it for comparison later on. Maybe I'll even figure out how to record it, though I'd rather wait until I finish the second one with the arched back.

Dan

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WOW!!! My two greatest passions all in one! If I send you photos of my Goldwing......?
 
Yes , it does look cool. I like the way you matched the paint on your bike. I imagine it was fun building it.
 
That's very cool. Here's MY saddlebag ukulele (or more accurately, my ukulele saddlebag):
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Thanks all. It really was fun building it. I was kind of winging it and had to do a couple of do-overs, but I really enjoyed making something "different," though I'm sure others may have thought of it already. I do have to build some Youthalele's for a school soon for their summer program (thanks again, Mr. Donaldson), but in any spare time I do have, I do want to further perfect the design. Hopefully before camping season, but who knows.

Steve, being a fellow Oak Parker, I very well may make one for you to match your bike as soon as I get these things perfected. Heck, there may be a small market for them, huh? Hmmm...

Dan
 
That is one damned cool uke! Great job. Show is how you did the neck/tuners/etc. so we can build one~:drool:
 
Fantastic job. I don't know if you replaced the thick bridge plate on the Grizzly but that might help with the volume, the original is really too thick. Or you can tune it up to D to get more volume.
 
Fantastic job. I don't know if you replaced the thick bridge plate on the Grizzly but that might help with the volume, the original is really too thick. Or you can tune it up to D to get more volume.

I did take the bridge plate and everything else off. Tuning it to D might be a good idea. I think if I arched the back a bit though, it will help a lot. That will be my second one.

Oh, and I will definitely get shots of the second one. I didn't take any of the first one since it was a work in progress, but now that I know what I could have done better, I definitely will this next time around. Maybe like Mr. Donaldson, I'll draw up some plans and offer them up. It's a pretty simple build and really, no special tools were needed. Since the neck was mahogany, I just used some rasps and wood files to get that done. The rest of it is just building a box with some bracing and a hole. Then simply drill the holes for the tuning pegs, a nut, fingerboard (the next one will probably be one I make from scratch though), a bridge and she's good to go. I mean, I did use my nut files and the files and rasps I have are made for this sort of thing, but you can get away with hardware store tools. The most expensive thing was the tuning pegs. I think they ended up being $38 with shipping along with the two strap buttons. The rest was cheap.

Again, I'll take some detailed pictures of the second one and at least give you all measurements so you can make your own.

Dan
 
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