What's happening in your shed?

[Timbuck]

Wow - I can now add to this thread ! ! !

I've been allowed a small corner of our summerhouse (fancy shed) to use as a 'low impact' workshop - ha ha ha - until now I've been relegated to the garden which has slowed my progress over the winter.

Anyway - what have I been up to - making my first fingerboards - not too much of a challenge for many old hands - but having never made one before had me scratching my head a few times - but I eventually ended up with this ...


View attachment 126419

Made from some Rosewood - dots cut and carved from a piece of local oak - i need some finer files to finesse the frets - but to be honest I'm pretty happy so far.

Cheers
Mike

you got the dots in the correct frets 3,5,7,10

 

[Timbuck]

This Lockdown is stopping me doing lots of things like shopping bike rides and going to the coast with the family
....So in the end I’m in the shed just making ukes...and it’s getting boring.
This is only a sample. Of what’s on the go at the moment....I’m now sat at the bench making a bridge and nut for the one on the right







A376B0A0-E67C-4660-AA75-D939D37A841C by Ken Timms, on Flickr

 

[Titchtheclown]

Trying out these circuit board bits for matching nut and bridge slots to string diameters. Apart from snapping the 0.7mm rather ham fistedly, it appears to work well.
I establish the slot positions with my junior hacksaw first as always and finness the slot with the bit to get an absolutely perfect fit.

 

[mike_tatt]

you got the dots in the correct frets 3,5,7,10

... And they're just big enough for me to see with my crap eyesight

 

[Titchtheclown]

Feeling alpaccalyptic .
Second llama uke off to a new owner as soon as I sort out where the buzz in the e string is coming from.

B

 

[captain-janeway]

Boy, all these busy people! I just want my back to calm down so I can clean up a moped engine. May need to end up selling her sniff...

 

[tonyturley]

I've been jumping back and forth between projects. Uke building has become a bit of an obsession. My ukes aren't masterpieces, but I do strive to improve with each build. Here's the results of today's work on a DIY trapezoidal tenor and a cigar box soprano. The soprano peghead is going to get a matching logo, just haven't got to it yet.

 

[John Colter]

I've got one of those old "Sam'l Davis" boxes waiting for me to make a neck that joins at the 14th fret. A 12th fret join puts the bridge very close to the end of the box and could affect the sound it produces.

John Colter

 

[tonyturley]

Yeah John, the soprano was a last minute decision when I came about an extra box. I have a second box that is going to be a 14 fret concert.

 

[tonyturley]

A morning in the shop has the tiny soprano ukulele and the larger tenor in the background edging closer to completion. I'm almost ready to begin applying the finishing coats.

 

[Martinlover]

Feeling alpaccalyptic .
Second llama uke off to a new owner as soon as I sort out where the buzz in the e string is coming from.

BView attachment 126553

The llama ukulele puts a smile on my face.

 

[Timbuck]

Made some pre-bent kerfed linings...enough for another three sopranos.

2A3F8D46-B565-4BA1-85AE-0319D97758ED by Ken Timms, on Flickr

 

[tonyturley]

The necks have been permanently attached to the ukulele boxes. Next is finish sanding, followed by applying the finish coats and attaching the bridges. This is the satisfying part of a build where the scattered bits have come together to form a tangible instrument. Not long now.

 

[Tukanu]

Looks good Tony. Love that little Davis.

 

[tonyturley]

Looks good Tony. Love that little Davis.

Thanks David. I decided to flip it over and thin the back, using that as the soundboard. I considered thinning the inside of the lid, too, but I sort of like looking in the soundhole and seeing the graphics on what is now the back. I'm going to do the same with the other 1886 box, but I'm going to make it a concert with a Kamaka-style paddle head. I wish Davis made a bigger box, because I have a tenor neck I want to use. I haven't researched cigar boxes enough to know which ones are really good. My first CBU looks good, but the sound is rather thin due to the unmodified plywood box.

 

[John Colter]

Tony, see if you can find a "La Paz, Gran Corona" box. They are made of solid wood, 1/8" thick, with interlocking corners, and measure 10 3/4" x 6 7/8" x 1 7/8". They are a bit large for a soprano, but might suit a tenor nicely.

John Colter

 

[Tukanu]

My other favorite box is the Torano...solid Spanish cedar.

 

[Sam.R.B]

Just started finishing this all mahogany, soprano pineapple ukulele

 

[John Colter]

Hey Tony T. The Torano cigar boxes that I've seen are built like a piece of furniture. Much too heavy for my purposes. Try a La Paz, solid wood but light as a feather - well, a very large wet feather.

John Colter

 

[tonyturley]

Thanks John and David. I'll see what I can find. And Sam, that's a nice looking pineapple.