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I'd like to see a collection of instruments that contributors here make for their own entertainment and enjoyment. A thin-body version of this guitar would be my choice. I enjoyed playing it for years and when my house became too cluttered I took off the tuners and threw it away. I have a fear...

For those who haven't seen it yet in a book, here's a nice way to profile a guitar neck using a 10" table saw blade. To get enough curve on a banjo or uke neck I would use the bottom slot and switch to a 7 1/4" blade. If you aren't using a truss rod the guide pins can be set directing into the neck.

I instantly thought of the Robo-Sander. I've made so many jigs that take advantage of its possibilities that I couldn't count them. I think of it as a poor man's shaper, much slower but also much safer. It only comes in 2" and 3" widths that are 3" tall. A 4" tall version would be nice, as well...

I've only used Doug fir for solidbody guitars, but I built a uke completely out of white pine. It was VERY cooperative. Rather than spring back, it sprang into tighter bends as it came off the bender. When cut to the proper length the sides snapped into the mold perfectly. I swapped away the...

I've never known bubinga to have cavernous pores. Every employee who stays with Huss & Dalton for five years gets a free guitar of their choice. I received mine in 2002, and I chose bubinga for the back and sides. Somehow I didn't take a picture of the back, but here's some shots that feature...

I started buying Chinese binding/purfling off eBay because of the color options. One source is The Pure Store, though I suspect that the celluloid all comes from the same factory. The colors can add a lot of zing to a uke.

This is just a few photos of my pine uke in progress for those who care. Note how a 100w bulb lit up the back. It did that everywhere.

It's so much easier to glue it in as part of the center seam that I would never rout the back to put one in. In the very beginning I used to rout them in to hide/reinforce a poor back joint, but these days a back just looks unfinished without one.

If my end blocks have to fit curved sides I laminate thin pieces of vertical grain wood pressed against the sides/mold. The resulting piece gets sanded flat on the interior side, then is glued to a larger block of horizontal grained wood. I use a butt joint, no mortise and no tenon.

Java Bishop wood. I've used more than 30 varieties of wood for instruments.

I built this over two years ago, then I got hurt two Februaries ago and am just now getting back in my shop. So it's a little shop-worn, I've already abandoned the headstock shape, and I haven't had time to make my own bridges yet. But it sounds wonderful and plays great, so I guess I'll keep it...

Here are two methods to glue on plates. The first uses cam clamps (just one pic). What you can't see is a small auxiliary table that raises everything off the bench to make room for the bottom arms of the clamps. The radius dish sits on the table, the back on the dish, The sides/mold on the...

I like to make parts in batches of however many I feel like. So I fit necks like this. Its not new on UU but I haven't seen it lately. I hope they make sense without captions. Individual fitting is seldom necessary.

Here's a simple router jig for end grafts. I made a simpler table saw jig for making the graft pieces.

I made the neck adapter and the tailpiece in a similar fashion. I only used ebony to add a bit of weight, but I also enjoy the look. I double-stick taped thin ebony, sized to fit the rim beneath the head ribbon, to a block of wood and sanded the radius of the rim into it. To that I glued a piece...

I've done work similar to yours on a hand drum banjo. I added neck and tail blocks first (don't let them touch the head). I made a back for it rather than use a dowel stick to add some weight to improve the balance since mine had a banjo neck. I used a similar neck adaptor to speed things along...

Oak makes a great acoustic guitar. I made this one some time ago. Quartered white oak with a dark pore filler. There's no reason it shouldn't make a fine uke. Selling them might be a different matter.

Sets are either all mahogany or mahogany/spruce. Plates are joined, all parts are thinned to @.070". $35 per set, ppd. to Lower 48 states.

I can't find a source for reconstituted stone. Anyone care to share a source?

I've made "mountain banjos" with hand drum skin heads. The bridges do sink making them unplayable, but they shrink back if tension is released. Problem solved by making a light pencil line on the head where the bridge sits. When the instrument was put up I flipped down the bridge to remove...