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
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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