I hung my Martin sopranos.

I wanted to hang my soprano Martins. I looked high and low online and then spent an hour at a home big box store. I kept coming back to simple is better.

The 15/16th inch eye hooks screw directly into sheet rock...no muss, no fuss. Seem very strong, no play, no wall anchor. I used thin, soft leather strapping (by the spool at Amazon.com) and tied an overhand knot at one end. The length of the piece of leather is exactly 12 inches, and is tied in a loop. The loop slips into the eye with no need to tie to it (thus, I can pull it out and remove it in a second). I was lucky--my wallpaper has a pattern that is perfect for spacing (otherwise, I'd have to measure carefully). If I need to hang more ukes, I can use the pattern middle lower between two existing ukes for an offset look and to save wall space. The sopranos are hung by their lower friction pegs, thus concealing the leather strap and the hook eyes. There is typically a cabinet against that wall, lower, that I moved to put these up and is not in the photos; when I replace it, it'll keep a person from walking along and bumping the ukuleles (although they are almost six feet up at the bottoms). They are more securely attached than meets the eye--I don't think I could bump one off if I tried.

The total cost was 10 cents each for the hook eyes, and about 10 cents for each leather strap loop. Little, if any, noticeable damage to the wall if I decide to remove the whole thing. The ukuleles seem secure, and remain on the wall until the autumn furnace on; then, like little teddy bears, they hibernate, humidified, until springtime thaw.



Hope this helps someone looking to display ukuleles on a wall.

Wow , what a nice collection of Martin sopranos . Gotta get me more of those , I'm only up to four. I'm gonna show this pic to my wife and say " See , everyone else has seven , I need three more." Hope it works . Thanks for the great pics.
As far as hanging them on the wall , I'm alittle paranoid about that , although I do keep my Martin SO either hanging on my wall or on my coffee table.
I made some hangers a few years ago , if I can find the pic I'll post it. The ones I made wont allow the uke to fall off , it has to be rotated a quarter turn to release the uke. Sorry cant find the pics.

Lovely!

I used the grey plastic u-bolts from Home Depot. They fit ukes perfectly.

They come in two sizes/colors. Black is the perfect size for guitar necks. and grey os perfect for ukuleles. Basically a plastic coated "U" with a screw attached to the bottom-center for wall mounting.



BTW,

You have a very nice collection there!

Pukulele Pete said:

Wow , what a nice collection of Martin sopranos . Gotta get me more of those , I'm only up to four. I'm gonna show this pic to my wife and say " See , everyone else has seven , I need three more." Hope it works . Thanks for the great pics.

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LOL Good thinking, Pete. I actually have 8 -- a 1948 Martin 3M that I'm playing is in the family room. Four is an odd number--Martin teddy bears must be in round tens. I thought you knew that. Ten, twenty, thirty, etc. Tell the Missus.

allanr said:

Lovely!

I used the grey plastic u-bolts from Home Depot. They fit ukes perfectly.

I can't find a picture just yet, but they come in two sizes/colors. Black is the perfect size for guitar necks. and grey os perfect for ukuleles. Basically a plastic coated "U" with a screw attached to the bottom-center for wall mounting.

BTW,

You have a very nice collection there!

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You have many fine vintage ukes, Allan. Would love to see a photo of the U-bolts on this thread. That might help someone looking who has a different type of wall or needs. Thanks, friend. ** edit: thx for the pics!

coolkayaker1 said:

LOL Good thinking, Pete. I actually have 8 -- a 1948 Martin 3M that I'm playing is in the family room. Four is an odd number--Martin teddy bears must be in round tens. Ten, twenty, thirty, etc. Tell the Missus. (*Yes, the photos of your wall system with the quarter turn thingy would be fun to see)

You have many fine vintage ukes, Allan. Would love to see a photo of the U-bolts on this thread. That might help someone looking who has a different type of wall or needs. Thanks, friend.

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I edited my initial post to add pictures of the hook and my uke wall.

Oh, my Lord that's nice! Little gray U bolts. Do you need a rubber band leash around the neck, or are they pretty secure simply hung? Nice, Allan. Sweet ukuleles! Wendall Hall tenor and all!

I know France's Philippe Krouk uses some sort of friction peg resting on flat wall shelf system (would give P.Pete a heart attack lol).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X3tqfuKhw4

He, literally, just picks up the ukulele off the shelf, as in the video. I still can't figure out how that one really works. Is there a gryoscope in each uke? lol

Here is a pic of the prototype

Its just the prototype but you get the idea.

I think we have a similar thing the the UK except they are red

They come in pack of 2 from all of the big hardware outlets (B&Q Homebase Screwfix ect) and are usually described as tool storage hooks (they were meant for hanging shovels and things like that)
I use them to Hang the Ukuleles at Ukulele Corner but I prefer to put them into a long piece of 1 by 1 or larger wood. This a) means less holes in the wall, b) increases the distance from the back of the Ukulele to the wall so its less likely to bash into brickwork and c) allows for easier accurate drilling so you can maximise the space - You can also if you like use a wider piece of wood so it doubles as a bit of a shelf too

These ones are ok for most Ukuleles but for some big necked Baritones, Bass Ukuleles, Guitarleles and Guitars you do need the bigger size

Yikes ! I think those ukes in the pic are just resting on a short shelf hanging by the tuners. " I'm coming Elizabeth ! "

Pukulele Pete said:

Yikes ! I think those ukes in the pic are just resting on a short shelf hanging by the tuners. " I'm coming Elizabeth ! "

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So I put a picture of the "bright red" hook I'm using to hang them - describe how I use the wood and the "bright red" hooks to hang them and you still think they are hanging by the tuners? Obviously the hooks aren't as obtrusive as I thought?

Sorry , I was talking about the French guy . I've got one more pic of a "hanger" I made . This one doesnt have the quarter turn feature but it does have a fake animal eye over the screw so you dont see it.

Those look like a nice system, Lardy. I see why you'd use the wood backing. I enjoy your web data base of ukuleles. It's helpful, and I've come across it many times on google searches.

Those look nice, Pete. But, I'm not too keen on wood on wood contact at the neck. Even if you pad them, I don;t know, it just seems sort of contacty (is that a word). And a bump and they'd fall off...so you use a strap, too? Thanks for the photos. Also, doesn't it matter what type of uke you put on it...some need a wider wood slot, some smaller? Some would hit the pegs (like Pegheds) on the wood, no? I could be wrong on all points...I have never made one of those. I have tried pre-made ones for a uke from Amazon and run into some of those problems (like tuner hit).

I went around the corner with mine (it takes about 4 minutes to set one of these up) for my concert and tenor Martins.

I still see a lot of bare wall...You need to get more ukes to cover that wallpaper! HAHA I would have liked the WP back in the days I played golf

I personally wouldn't rely on a screw directly into drywall with no anchor plug. A little movement each time you remove/ replace a uke loosens the screw's bite in the plaster. One day, crash, a nice uke falls 6 feet and suddenly isn't so nice anymore.

Up to you of course.

Jim B

Those are some well hung ukes Steve. I'm with Jim on the screw into the drywall though. All it takes is one failure to create a catastrophe.

Hey Coolkayaker , I'm no expert but I think some of those those ukes will sound much better with strings on them.

Pukulele Pete said:

Sorry , I was talking about the French guy . I've got one more pic of a "hanger" I made . This one doesnt have the quarter turn feature but it does have a fake animal eye over the screw so you dont see it.View attachment 57799

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Damn Now I cant use this as evidence they are not " a bit obtrusive" when Miss Moo lectures me on interior décor

I'm familiar with drywall... many houses, many photos, many mirrors, many installed shelves. lol Decades of wife's instruction on hanging.

I appreciate your input, fellows, but it's hard to judge it by photos. They're much more secure than you imagine, Jim and Dana. The screw threads are long, the eye itself sort of digs into the wall at the final twist, and the ukes are a pound or less (even the tenor). When I remove a uke, there is absolutely no tension on the eye--it's merely lifting the uke and take the leather cordage off the tuners one at a time.

There are many people who use this system. Brother Rawuke uses one thin finish nail only, and hangs some heavy instruments. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLJrnW3hMU0

I will be the first to let you know if one detaches and falls, honestly.

@Ppete: funny. Good eyes. I'm fixing those up...little hide glue and color here and there. Lipstick on a pig principle. lol

@Daniel: Enough wall left if Mr. Mosquito begins making sops. hehe

You have seven Martin sopranos? And they all look like they're mahogany?

Wouldn't that be kinda like having seven different cartons of the same brand and flavor of ice cream in your freezer?