yes another "first uke"

ksgjlg · Jun 11, 2012

Ok, Ive been asking questions directly from several of you so here is my first uke build, a tenor. I do not have a plan but do own a Washburn tenor that I have taken some basic measurements from. I like the way it plays and for the most part its layout. I have also built more jigs and tools than I thought I would need for a little ukulele. Build a jig or two for a few hours, use it to make the part I need in five minutes, spend another two days reading how everyone else does it, modify the jig to my tastes, build the jig in an hour or two and spend another five minutes making the part. can't wait for the next build so I can just build the ukulele. Of course I'll probably decide to make some changes to the design and will need to make half of the fixtures again to match that one.

here are some of my forms, tools and jigs

ksgjlg · Jun 11, 2012

More jigs and tools

ksgjlg · Jun 11, 2012

Tried my hand at bending the sides on my nifty side bender which got to about 320 degrees. Only problem was the heat burned the screw holes in the wood base. I'll go back and put a silicone or ceramic spacer in there to prevent the wood from burning and try again.

built a quick form bender similar to David Hurd but used a piece of two inch pipe to pull the waist down. I preheated the pipe with a heat gun so the waist would get some heat prior to getting to the form. My bender is pretty crude but I always look around the shop to see what is laying around to build with before I go out to buy.

ksgjlg · Jun 11, 2012

I'm not sure how this attachment thing works as of yet so some of the shots are out of order. One of the pics shows Petes favorite way of jointing panels. Instead of buying the Luthier Supply jig, I used my very flat table saw table and the fence over some sand paper.

ksgjlg · Jun 11, 2012

Here is a picture of my kerfing installed. I am using some mahogany with a rounded edge, done on my belt sander (thanks Bradford) and cut in my kerfing gizmo. I have it glued slightly proud and then sanded in the 15' radius back dish and the .125 arch top form.

I decided to do something different or at least not as common and instead of a radius dish on the front I have a single curve. This gives some strength to the top without changing the plane of the fretboard and top.

also built an adjustable circle jig that will cut a little less than a 2" diameter.

ksgjlg · Jun 11, 2012

cut the rosette channel and the neck. Used some maple as a lamination in the neck and added a graphite rod. Had some JB Weld laying around and used that for the rod glue.

Hobo · Jun 11, 2012

Enjoyed your photos and descriptions. You have a very nice shop and keen eye for resourcefulness.

Timbuck · Jun 11, 2012

I'm enjoying this thread as well ..it's like going back in time and re-living the last five years since my first build

..I can see you don't intend stopping building after this one.

ksgjlg · Jun 12, 2012

You can't afford to stop. The first has to be amortized over the next fifty to break even!

saltytri · Jun 12, 2012

I'm loving your methodical approach. You'll do some things right, then something wrong, then back up and do it right, then do some more things right. And then repeat the cycle until you have a nice ukulele!

Keep up the good work and keep the photos coming. I always like to see how others solve the many problems that are part of the process.

Beau Hannam Ukuleles · Jun 20, 2012

Crafty fellow aren't you! Great ideas to save $$$ among these photos. Cheers

ksgjlg · Jun 22, 2012

Haven't had much time to work on the tenor. Spent the fathers day weekend working on my plane stuck out in a field.

Here are some pictures of my rosette. I can tell this is my bottle neck. I finally just did something to move the build forward. Thanks to Chuck for the advice on the CA glue. Now I can at least put some bracing on and get the body finished.

ksgjlg · Jun 25, 2012

Finally got the time to work on the uke. Finished the top and glued it on the sides. Attached is the first picture of the body out of the mold. I'm pretty pleased with the progress. Thanks to Chuck for help with the rosette. One of the pics shows the 1/8 curve in the top instead of a dish. If there is one thing I am going to do in the near future it is to rearrange my shop to have the 6x48 belt sander more accessible. Thanks to Brad Donaldson I am using it for a multitude of tasks and like it so much I am going to take a small belt sander and set it up with finer grit paper for other tasks. Its so useful, if someone asks what tools they need for lutherie one of the top two would be a bandsaw and a sander.

ksgjlg · Jul 1, 2012

Glued the back on the body today. Sometimes you just have to do it and move forward. Once the doing was done I started fitting the neck. In assessing the work, I am not very pleased on the shape of the back but I'm finding that the little issues I obsess over are not significant even to me after I move forward. I think the back needs more curve from heel block to tail block, just doesn't look the way I think it should. After a review by Brad Donaldson, I thinned the bridge plate and then thinned the braces beyond the bridge plate. I also thinned the back braces a bit before gluing it on. One thing I found about working without a plan is that I have to understand why something has been done. Why are braces placed where they are and so on. The understanding of the process and design is worth the extra time it takes.

ksgjlg · Jul 2, 2012

Another long day in the shop. Got the neck fitted using my tablesaw table and its slots. There's got to be a better way to make the neck fit, I spent about two solid hours sanding but hey, got to make another jig. Also made a fretboard template and built a new router jig to cut the binding. I'm using a jig rather than bearings. I don't know what size bindings I'm going to use and the jig gives me unlimited sizes. Also glued on a peghead veneer.

Nickie · Jul 2, 2012

Wow, this is all pretty gosh darn interesting!

The Village Woodworker · Jul 2, 2012

ksgjlg said:
Another long day in the shop. Got the neck fitted using my tablesaw table and its slots. There's got to be a better way to make the neck fit, I spent about two solid hours sanding but hey, got to make another jig. Also made a fretboard template and built a new router jig to cut the binding. I'm using a jig rather than bearings. I don't know what size bindings I'm going to use and the jig gives me unlimited sizes. Also glued on a peghead veneer.

I have been following your build with much interest. Thanks for sharing it with us.
How did you attach the neck to the body - I am puzzling over how to do this myself in my first uke build - also a tenor.
Cheers
Tom

ksgjlg · Jul 2, 2012

.No question about it, use the bolt on method. the furniture bolt and barrel is readily available and easy to use. There is absolutely no reason, other than authenticity, to do anything else. I would drill the hole very slightly oversize to allow some adjustment. It does nothing but hold the neck on and once the glue drys the neck won't move. If Chuck Moore and Pete Howlet use it, it will probably work fine. Pete has a couple of good videos on using them. I bought a brown colored bolt so it won't look so stark inside the body. I also like the plywood neck and tail blocks, I have a lot of birch plywood scrap and just grabbed some. Rick Turner, I believe is also a fan of the plywood block. Your bolt will have little chance of spliting the block or the block expanding or contracting and loosening the bolt.

Good luck with your build and post some progress reports

The Village Woodworker · Jul 2, 2012

ksgjlg said:
.No question about it, use the bolt on method. the furniture bolt and barrel is readily available and easy to use. There is absolutely no reason, other than authenticity, to do anything else. I would drill the hole very slightly oversize to allow some adjustment. It does nothing but hold the neck on and once the glue drys the neck won't move. If Chuck Moore and Pete Howlet use it, it will probably work fine. Pete has a couple of good videos on using them. I bought a brown colored bolt so it won't look so stark inside the body. I also like the plywood neck and tail blocks, I have a lot of birch plywood scrap and just grabbed some. Rick Turner, I believe is also a fan of the plywood block. Your bolt will have little chance of spliting the block or the block expanding or contracting and loosening the bolt.

Good luck with your build and post some progress reports

Many thanks for the input.
I have laminated the neck and it has a kind of built in spline/tongue that I am thinking of using as a sort of glued tenon. Haven't made the body yet - still making the mould. I'll post some pictures as I go.
Mucho Gratias
Tom

ksgjlg · Jul 2, 2012

The tenon is going to require a thicker neck block and will make final fitting much more difficult with no benefit

yes another "first uke"

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