question

brad32593 said:

if i just carved one block of wood into the whole body including neck and head without having to glue anything together

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Bradford said:

If I were to undertake this project, here is how I would do it. Cut the wood into desired shape, then saw off both the top and the back. This will allow you to remove the interior in one piece, using either a band saw (entry cut covered by an end graft) or the hard way with a coping saw. The secret to a nearly invisible glue line is to not disturb the original saw lines when gluing the top and back on. As Chuck pointed out, the end grain portions will need to be left thick. Expanding on the concept, instead of gluing the top on, you could hinge it. Take the off cut from the center and make nesting ukuleles from one piece of wood.

Brad

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Bradford said:

You are welcome. Let me add that I share some of the misgivings of some of the others from previous posts about the difficulty of this project. My main concern would be neck stability. It takes very little neck movement to render an instrument unplayable. At the very least I would route out the center of the fretboard area and install a carbon fiber strip, and cover that with a contrasting strip of wood. You also asked about koa. A piece of plain koa in the size requested could be several hundred dollars. I recently purchased some myrtlewood about that size for $44.00. You would do well to consider that as an alternative. The variations of color and grain patterns would make a striking instrument.

Brad

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