Sound ports update

Pete Howlett

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For the past 5 years, I have resisted putting sound ports on my tenors. Our last 15 instruments have had ports and I am now preparing a hat casserole - they really do work :) Apologies for naysaying...

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and so on...

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For the past 5 years, I have resisted putting sound ports on my tenors. Our last 15 instruments have had ports and I am now preparing a hat casserole - they really do work :) Apologies for naysaying...

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Not that I have a chance of ever affording one of your ukes, Pete, but...

What wood is this instrument made from? That is just incredibly beautiful! (Well, they all are, but this one even more so!)
 
"Hat casserole" ???
 
"Hat casserole" ???

Not a native English speaker myself, but I believe it relates to the idiom "to eat one's hat". Pete probably said in the past that he would never do soundports, and he has changed his mind.
 
I have changed my mind - I am not the sort of person who resists change; I am more wary of change for change's sake.

When I visited Hawaii and played one of Chuck's ported instruments, that's when I decided to stop being an ostrich and really look seriously at this. I can now say through empirical study, "It works without compromising tone or volume. Try it! " I will do a video tomorrow (I am away Saturday) showing you how we do it in our shop using the working method of Shelley Park. Takes 30 seconds...
 
Mmm , ............hat casserole ,........:drool:
 
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"Hat casserole" ???

Not a native English speaker myself, but I believe it relates to the idiom "to eat one's hat". Pete probably said in the past that he would never do soundports, and he has changed his mind.

Thank you - I honestly thought it was some clever acoustical device he was going to add......maybe related to a banjo 'pot'?!

:rotfl:
 
Sorry if this derails, but how do I put a sound port on one of my ukes (cheaper)? Can I just go to home Depot and do a little work (with some care and elbow grease I'm sure) ?

Nice uke by the way. The oak is amazing
 
Sorry if this derails, but how do I put a sound port on one of my ukes (cheaper)? Can I just go to home Depot and do a little work (with some care and elbow grease I'm sure) ?

Nice uke by the way. The oak is amazing
If it's a laminate, you shouldnt have any issues. With a solid side, you might. There might be tension in the side. Some of the luthiers here know much better than me, but I reinforced the area around the sound port to be sure on my latest build.
 
Try it! " I will do a video tomorrow (I am away Saturday) showing you how we do it in our shop using the working method of Shelley Park. Takes 30 seconds...

I certainly would like to.
I have no idea how to produce one though so look forward to seeing how it is done. Thank you
 
I certainly would like to.
I have no idea how to produce one though so look forward to seeing how it is done. Thank you
No idea how Pete did but it's a simple job compared to most tasks on a uke. I simply drilled a few holes in an oval and finished with the dremel. As Pete wrote, just a few minutes of work. I did reinforce the side beforehand though, and the binding of the sound port was a little fiddly.
 
If it's a laminate, you shouldnt have any issues. With a solid side, you might. There might be tension in the side. Some of the luthiers here know much better than me, but I reinforced the area around the sound port to be sure on my latest build.

Thanks it would be a laminate (islander I have for sale, I'll have to pull it off Sale) and if I make a mistake it is only 80 bux so no big loss. At least I get an education.
 
I don't think there is any tension in a solid side - not that we have noticed anyway. In my opinion, the holes in the side of a ukulele are generally small enough to be structurally sound without the need for reinforcing.

With stuff like this, it is always best to use a template to get an accurate start point. My routing jig is made from an ellipse template used for quilting or crafting. CNC cut with accurate axis lines - very important, it produces a consistent ellipse every time using a router fitted with a guide bush. Will shoot and edit video for you tomorrow. If we get our CNC machine working I'll be producing this prototype jig as a tool....
 
Pete, when you mention "using the working method of Shelly Park". Is that Shelly from North Vancouver making her Moodyville ukuleles. If so, she is terrific and very talented. Looking forward to your video. I have one Pono I'd like to add a sound port to. There was Also a thread of a UU member who put a Dog print looking sound port in both his Kanilea soproano (first) and then his tenor.....it look great when done and UU member like the sound results. Can't wait to see how it's done. Thanks for posting and comments on the whole sound port thing. I want to try one but am too far away from anyone or a seller that has them.
 
I'm no luthier or woodworker by any means, but I have installed preamps and battery holders in the side of a few of my ukes, mostly that are solid wood. I first measured and drew the cutout, then clamped the uke sideways between two pieces of wood, used my Dremel with a cutting bit to rough cut the openings, then a finer sanding tube to finish the opening. Didn't take long and after about 2-3 years, no consequences at all. Seems to me making a sound hole that way would work perfectly fine.
 
If we get our CNC machine working I'll be producing this prototype jig as a tool....
PETE ..You wont get your CNC machine running until youve gone through "The breaking of cutters stage" when the machine seems to have a mind of it's own and plunges the router straight down into worktop and goes berserk.;)
 
I use flexible plastic elliptical templates made on a CNC machine to outline the hole. A Foredom tool is used with a grinding bit to open the hole and then successively finer sanding drums are used to get to the final outline. That part is fairly quick. Most of the time spent on doing a sound port goes into the reinforcement.

It is interesting that Pete doesn't see a need to reinforce the side and he could very well be right. This has come up before and I think the consensus has been that reinforcement is a good idea. Has anyone actually experienced a failure at an unreinforced sound port?
 
For the past 5 years, I have resisted putting sound ports on my tenors. Our last 15 instruments have had ports and I am now preparing a hat casserole - they really do work :) Apologies for naysaying...

A sign of a true thinker- the ability to correct oneself over time, even if new info contradicts previous statements.
 
pete

the english oak is quite handsome. the top looks thick? how does it play, both the material and the thickness into consideration?
 
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