First time build beginning

Hi! My name is Mark and I am undertaking my first ukulele building project. I am by no means a wood worker, but I am very excited about the prospect of making and playing my own ukulele (by this I mean that I have no interest in building a kit). I am hoping this is the place where I can bounce off ideas or ask questions when I get stuck.

What I have done so far:
- I have decided I am going to attempt to make a Tenor. If I succeed without too much misery I will attempt to make two more for my daughters.
- I have done a lot of preliminary research to figure out the order of processes involved: watching videos of many uke makers in their basements and shops, and reading a myriad of blogs and forums.
- I created a design based on an amalgam of information I dug up here and there: Tear drop box, spanish heel neck with a scarf jointed headstock.
- Did a lot of research of specs (some of which I referenced from notes on this forum) and set to drafting my design in actual size layouts of the front w/ bracing, the back with bracing, the neck from above as well as in profile, and plans for the “pre-bended sides”.

My next step:
- I think my next step is going to be making a solara and/or some kind of mold to hold my piece together when I assemble it.
- Also looking at designing the form for bending the sides and designing appropriate jigs and cauls for the assembly.
I have a good deal of patience and a benign obsessive drive which should facilitate working through this project in stages as I can afford it, but because I am not looking to set up a luthier’s workshop (just yet!) I want to spend a minimal amount of money on tools I don’t have etc. I am looking at investing in a couple of planes to start and some kind of sharp carving knife, (I already have a table saw, miter saw capable of rough cuts, a drill and several clamps, chisels, files (but maybe not the right kinds), and gouges.)

What basic tools are absolutely essential to start with?

The two things I am most worried about are thicknessing the wood and side bending. I’m not sure what the skill-less/tool-less solutions to those problems are going to be.

Okay, I won’t go on anymore. That’s where I’m at. I don't know if this is against etiquette posting such a vague thread (I've already learned a lot from lurking here for a while). I want to thank you guys for putting all of the info and thoughts out there already for me to garner.

IMO, your best bet at this point is to buy Hana Lima's ukulele construction manual, which will give you step by step instructions on how to go about building with a Spanish heel. Although you say you don't want a kit, keep an open mind when checking out Hana Lima's kits, which provide parts that are roughly dimensioned but leave the body profile, side bending and neck shaping up to you.

thanks for the suggestion, I will look into it and keep an open mind, If I can't manage what I want to do with the tools I have I may just need to step back to a kit. Stew Mac has a kit and I've read the manual and keep it on hand as a reference, but it's not a course in lutherie by any means.

Hi Mark.
I hear you that you don't want to build from a kit and can appreciate the sentiment. I've built only a couple of ukes, all from kits. Even keeping my tool purchases to a minimum of cheapies, I'm sure i've spent at least several hundred on tools alone.

If you opt to do everything on your own, I think the challenging bits will be:
- thicknessing (I bought a piece of spruce to use as a top, modifying a stewmac kit. I tried to find someone in my city (of 100,000+ people) who I could get to thickness it for me. I contacted everyone I could think of with no success. I ended up using my (crappy) hand plane and ending up with a rather unevenly thick, though still usable top, after a great deal of struggle.)
- bending
- fretboard, cutting frets and hammering frets in (Cutting is easy, assuming you've got the specialized tools/blades to do it. Perhaps with the right blade on your table saw... Hammering frets in is my least favourite activity. I was so happy to buy a cheap arbor press for my second kit build - it made my life so much better.)

As mzuch said, it's worth keeping an open mind on kits. There way well be a reason why the pros suggest we amateurs start there.

One way ot get access to equipment you don't want to buy yet might be to enrol in a woodworking evening class (I know someone who did a model making class years ago to machine an unobtainable piston for his vintage motorbike - its still going). You might also get some useful instruction in using it and woodworking in general.

hcp said:

One way ot get access to equipment you don't want to buy yet might be to enrol in a woodworking evening class (I know someone who did a model making class years ago to machine an unobtainable piston for his vintage motorbike - its still going). You might also get some useful instruction in using it and woodworking in general.

Click to expand...

I have a few friends who have equipment I may be able to use (a few beers make good compensation) but they are not exactly teachers. I have been pouring this over for a month or so, and really I think it is time to start doing now.

starting

Hi Mark "get stuck in" I have just made my first Tenor uk. using wood I had in stock, former was made from three lots of wood one bit was from a toilet seat lid + oddments, the soundboard from a battery box Beech , sides from Oak,and neck from pine, like u I struggled thicknessing, but made a drum sander for my milling machine great and the wood is very even through out, I am learning as I go but MK 2 is well on the way, My workshop is geared up for engineering not woodwork but all machines have to be universal, happy days ! keep going all will be well, and we are learning lots , if you scrap a bit it is only time and wood, from Les U. K.

When I started my Stewmac kit build I already had an extensive set of handtools--enough to build pretty much any kind of traditional woodworking project, from small boxes to large case goods. However, even though I tried to keep extra tool purchases down to a minimum I have still purchased quite a lot of tools for this first build. I'm sure some of that is the result of inexperience, but some of it is because there really isn't much information out there about traditional building techniques from the days before fancy power tools. Cumpiano's book helps a bit. You can also pick up some tips from members of this forum who work with more minimalist tool sets.

Hi Mark,
A worthwhile endeavour! I'm brand new to Uke, and I'm the author of the current "New Slot Head" topic. I have only recently become interested in Uke construction but I've been building instruments of many types for coming up on 45 years now. Although I've built several instruments that would have many similarities to Uke I can suggest to you that a good solid plan will go a long way toward achiving a successful outcome.

Although I actually design and CAD many of the instruments that I build I'm fully aware that diving in without prior experiance can be difficult. I don't see any reason not to start with a tried and true design and work with slight modifications within that to suit my own needs. Given that, I've ordered the Hana Lima plan and construction manual. The small price you pay for something like that will be re-couped many times over in mistakes not made by felling your way into instrument construction. I haven't even seen it yet and I already know it was a good investment.

Took some early advice and got a bunch of books from the library, including Cumpiano which is way better than i expected - I don't ever want to put it down. scoured the web for some simple solutions to things I am ill equipped to do - bending sides for example - and I visited a high school shop class room that my friend teaches in while his school was on spring break to get use of a thickness planer. We got the face plates book-matched and planed to .09 in (or somewhere between 1/16" and 3/32") but I ran out of time and didn't get the sides cut! Ugggg! I'll have to go back for a rematch! also working on building a "Fox" bender that uses lightbulbs instead of a heating blanket - almost done with that, and I've got my workboard/solera almost finished. Doing a lot of juggling, but I am patient - eventually all of this monkeying around will pay off also thanks to everyone on this forum who have taught me basic concepts to get me started through blogs and You tube demonstrations! You guys are great. (Pete Howlett, Timbuck and Sven come to mind here)