Foldable ukulele latch

UkeyLukey · Jul 4, 2013

I am in the process of making a foldable ukulele. I was wondering if anyone knows of any latches that would work to keep the instrument open from the back. It is going to fold where the neck reaches the body and i have a hinge but i am not sure what to use to keep it open since there is a lot of tension from the strings trying to fold it. Are there any links you could send me with a latch that might be good for this? Thanks!

Timbuck · Jul 4, 2013

I did an experiment once with a folding soprano..I used a couple of those folding barrel hinges that are concealed in holes in the joint ..I latched it in the open postion with some 3/4" dia rare earth magnets embeded in the joint.. ..it held well enough to tune the uke up to standard "C"

Barrel Hinges

Pondoro · Jul 4, 2013

Timbuck, I salute you - you make old-school ukuleles that look dead on traditional, but are also willing to try some pretty weird stuff.

UkeyLukey · Jul 4, 2013

Timbuck, Thank you for your reply. Did you use two magnets for this? or did you use one magnet and one metal piece?

Apprenti L'Artisan · Jul 4, 2013

For my woodwork GCSE, I made a folding acoustic guitar. The hinge was hidden in the heel, and the neck folded down the back. Basically, you slacken the strings and lock them in place with a capo, then unhook them from a tailpiece and slot then into a hole in the top.

Didn't need any locks, the strings held the neck straight. You can do a lot with very little, so make sure you don't over-complicate unnecessarily.

Timbuck · Jul 4, 2013

UkeyLukey said:
Timbuck, Thank you for your reply. Did you use two magnets for this? or did you use one magnet and one metal piece?

Two magnets... the bigger the better i used four 20mm dia X 5mm glued together in pairs ..but if you look on ebay there are lots of other sizes and shapes to consider.

Kayak Jim · Jul 4, 2013

Very interesting idea! Might just give this a go on an old laminate uke.

You can boost the power of rare earth magnets four fold by putting them in a steel cup if there's room. See here...

http://www.leevalley.com/en/shopping/TechInfo.aspx?p=42106

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32066&cat=1,42363,42348

oldjazznut · Jul 5, 2013

As is Ukuleles weren't compact enough? Maybe someone can do an inflatable uke?

lauburu · Jul 5, 2013

As is Ukuleles weren't compact enough? Maybe someone can do an inflatable uke?

Too slow! Instant uke!! Just add water

Foldable ukulele latch

UkeyLukey

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