Putting together first uke.

Hi,

Before I start I must confess to having zero woodworking skills so I will not so much be building a uke but rather putting one together from parts I will purchase. Last week I assembled a Wolfelele and based on the parts from that kit there isnt a great deal to it so I think I can perhaps do something similar based on parts I like to match the shape/colour I want.

What I want to build is a Tenor Uke and about to purchase the neck/fretboard (26"), Bridge, nut, saddle and tuning pegs to suit. For the body I plan to use a Cigar box which is almost identical in height to the neck. (there may be about 2mm which I can sand down to match).

My concern is, is there an exact formula to length. The cigar box is approx 8 and 1/4" long? Will that be too short to make the correct intonation. I plan to put the Aquila Nylgut strings on it.

Sorry, for the lack of technical ability but I guess I have to start somewhere.

Also, rather than a centrally mounted soundhole I plan to put 4 small (1/2") brass screen holes in (one in each corner) as well as a pickup/tuner

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Acoustic...670?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f1a60caee

I have noticed a lot of pictures of Ukes without the soundhole centrally located so I am guessing that the sound is produced by a combination of the strings and the vibration passed through the body. I dont care if its not overly loud acoustically as I can then play it unplugged at night..and when I need extra sound I can plug it into an amp.

Are there any major flaws to my thinking? I am not aiming to obtain the sweetest sounding uke at first attempt...I will just be glad if it is playable. All up cost is only going to be around $100

Cheers

Michael

Hi Michael and welcome to the forums. First a disclaimer, I am by no means an expert so take the following with a pinch of salt!

An 8 1/4 inch box may be too short for a tenor uke. Assuming a 12th fret neck to body join the bridge would be hanging over the heel end by half an inch! Assuming a 14th fret join as is popular with tenor ukes, the bridge may still be too close to the end of the box to allow proper transfer of vibration from the strings. Can you source a larger box to begin with?
Sound holes in the corners are not a problem, however I have never seen them in the lower bout corners before, so I have no idea what effect this would have on the sound. I suspect I haven't seen this configuration for a reason so it may be worth researching some more before committing to it, or maybe just stick with four holes in the upper bout corners.
Are you sure you have the correct neck/fretboard measurements? 26" is awful long for a uke. A tenor scale is usually around 17 inches, with some of that length over the body, so your fretboard should only be around 9 - 10 inches. Obviously the neck would be a little longer to include the peghead, but still nowhere near 26 inches.
If you have limited woodworking skills have you considered a StewMac tenor uke kit? A lot of the critical tasks have been completed for you with these, such as neck shaping, fret spacing etc. They are pretty straightforward to put together and can produce a really good quality instrument when finished. May be something to keep in mind.
Whatever you decide, keep us up to speed with your progress!

Here are some common uke dimensions from a really good website. read through it all.

http://www.ukuleles.com/Technology/sounds.html

Rule of thumb- have the bridge in the middle area of the lower bout.

Re the 26" neck...I think I misinterpreted the site...I believe it is a tenor neck to fit overall dimensions of 26" which is allegedly a standard size...thanks for the info...yes I am trying to source a larger box..and yes definitely will read everything in that link prior to rushing in.