Novices review: The Uke Book Illustrated

One thing that beginning luthiers don't understand is that if you don't have the tools to make a design reasonably easy to accomplish it is better to change your design rather than wait until you can afford more tools, build a shop, and invest in a raft of jigs, fixtures, and machinery. If impressing your friends with your mastery of traditional techniques is high on your list then you will have to take the long way around, invest in tools, and develop an extensive skill set. However, if you can erase your preconceptions you will find that making fine-sounding instruments is probably within your reach. I am including some photographic examples, though only one is a uke. Does this interest anyone?
 

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One thing that beginning luthiers don't understand is that if you don't have the tools to make a design reasonably easy to accomplish it is better to change your design rather than wait until you can afford more tools, build a shop, and invest in a raft of jigs, fixtures, and machinery. If impressing your friends with your mastery of traditional techniques is high on your list then you will have to take the long way around, invest in tools, and develop an extensive skill set. However, if you can erase your preconceptions you will find that making fine-sounding instruments is probably within your reach. I am including some photographic examples, though only one is a uke. Does this interest anyone?

I thought your instruments interesting and like the concept of changing a design to suit your skills and equipment ... well just so long as you end up with something worth playing. Of course design simplification can go wrong and hence a good guide (book) saves wasted time and effort. I’d like to see more people building Ukes for themselves and friends, and that’s something that I hope to do myself in the fullness of time. Currently my own experience base widens as I try to set-up second hand instruments properly (it’s amazing how much better even a basic instrument can be made to sound and play) and restore damaged Ukes to playing order.
 
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Some years ago I designed and made plans available for teachers with little resources to be able to build in quantity ukuleles for their students and have sent these plans all over the world. Over the years, the plans have evolved considerably. Here’s a link to some pics of what they look like now and if there is any interest, I can put together some plans and instructions on how to build them.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mJKRLiCTyQpJPRWw7

Brad
 
Some years ago I designed and made plans available for teachers with little resources to be able to build in quantity ukuleles for their students and have sent these plans all over the world. Over the years, the plans have evolved considerably. Here’s a link to some pics of what they look like now and if there is any interest, I can put together some plans and instructions on how to build them.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mJKRLiCTyQpJPRWw7

Brad

Great idea, Brad. But even bent sides might be too much for some folks. Your uke is a pretty one. I hope some people take advantage of your offer.
 
One thing that beginning luthiers don't understand is that if you don't have the tools to make a design reasonably easy to accomplish it is better to change your design rather than wait until you can afford more tools...


Very nice designs your have there.

I use the need for special tools as an excuse to buy them. Of course, I'm not talking about high-priced specialized tools. If I know I'll be using a specialized tool in the future, and the price is reasonable, I'll buy it - for ukulele or anything else.
 
I’ve been wanting to build a Uke for awhile. I don’t have a lot of building skills but think it would be fun. Sound is most important to me, not impressing people with my wood working skills. Of course everyone wants to do a good job and who know I maybe I like building. So, I’m of the camp that would like plans of simple tenor build to get my feet wet and see if I enjoy it. I’d like to try different woods to see what I like.

I’ve thought that a Fluke type look in wood would be simpler to build. I know Pete did a wooden version at one time and I think he sold off design. I like simple, but have not a lot of knowledge for building. So, reading and following this section of forum has been helpful to see what is out there. Thanks all. I’d be interested in a simple design and definitely like the look of that tear drop Uke.
 
I’d be interested in a simple design and definitely like the look of that tear drop Uke.

You might want to take a look at a kit from Stewart MacDonald. You get all the parts with instructions. You have to trim and shape the wood and get the measurements right. It's a challenge, believe me.
 
Thanks much John for your comments and encouragement. The Youthalele has been evolving for some years now, and originally resembled a fluke ukulele in body shape. These options will be available. My goal is to provide a design template that allows people to design and build a ukulele based on their skills and tools available. Subsequent instruments can be built, with increased complexity as ones skills mature.
Brad
 
I'm with Pete. The Spanish heel (not to mention the dovetail joint) should have vanished decades ago. It's another example of luthiers hobbling themselves to satisfy a quest to honor a questionable tradition.

I use bolt on necks and I use Spanish slipper, both on ukes and on guitars. There are lots of positives of the Spanish heel. It locks in the angle of neck and soundboard. You can make one with only a rasp/knife and a sharp saw. You don't need a drill press, or any hardware for the joint. If you only have hand tools you can still make one. You don't even need to use glue.

And yes, it is tradition. We shouldn't be so dismissive of that as we all incorporate it to a lesser or greater extent in our builds. E.g. size and shape of instruments, choices of materials, finishes etc. Otherwise I could probably run up most parts of a ukulele other than the top on a 3D printer and it would sound just fine.

I like bolt-ons also, but they aren't without their own issues. But in my experience (which admittedly isn't as extensive as Pete) the Spanish heel doesn't need the same degree of accuracy required in other methods, and yet a newbie can still get satisfactory results.

But both work, so surely there is room in the world for both?
 
I use bolt on necks and I use Spanish slipper, both on ukes and on guitars. There are lots of positives of the Spanish heel. It locks in the angle of neck and soundboard. You can make one with only a rasp/knife and a sharp saw. You don't need a drill press, or any hardware for the joint. If you only have hand tools you can still make one. You don't even need to use glue.

And yes, it is tradition. We shouldn't be so dismissive of that as we all incorporate it to a lesser or greater extent in our builds. E.g. size and shape of instruments, choices of materials, finishes etc. Otherwise I could probably run up most parts of a ukulele other than the top on a 3D printer and it would sound just fine.

I like bolt-ons also, but they aren't without their own issues. But in my experience (which admittedly isn't as extensive as Pete) the Spanish heel doesn't need the same degree of accuracy required in other methods, and yet a newbie can still get satisfactory results.

But both work, so surely there is room in the world for both?

There is room in the world for a great many things. Diversity is a good thing. The way that traditions smother diversity is what irritates me. I've learned some important things from making several hundred string instruments that the general instrument community refuses to believe or consider, things that most experienced luthiers know but don't talk about.

Given the same internal capacity, the shape of an instrument doesn't impact the way it sounds. Designing and making instruments should be fun rather than restricted to old ways of thinking. Individuality is a good thing.

Given a sensitivity to construction techniques, the type of wood used is irrelevant. Carbon fiber is probably the ideal material but I have no interest in learning how to use it at this point.

Almost no one has heard a plucked instrument sound as good as they can be because no one will make them that way. Even if they hold up for a few years they will deform to a degree that the owners won't live with. The bowed instrument community knows this and so make their instruments to easily come apart for occasional repair or modification.

The general string instrument community needs to share the same indifference to public opinion as the cigar box instrument people show. As long as the threat of embarrassment weighs heavier than the chance to try something new there will be no progress.
 
There is room in the world for a great many things. Diversity is a good thing. The way that traditions smother diversity is what irritates me. I've learned some important things from making several hundred string instruments that the general instrument community refuses to believe or consider, things that most experienced luthiers know but don't talk about.

Given the same internal capacity, the shape of an instrument doesn't impact the way it sounds. Designing and making instruments should be fun rather than restricted to old ways of thinking. Individuality is a good thing.

Given a sensitivity to construction techniques, the type of wood used is irrelevant. Carbon fiber is probably the ideal material but I have no interest in learning how to use it at this point.

Almost no one has heard a plucked instrument sound as good as they can be because no one will make them that way. Even if they hold up for a few years they will deform to a degree that the owners won't live with. The bowed instrument community knows this and so make their instruments to easily come apart for occasional repair or modification.

The general string instrument community needs to share the same indifference to public opinion as the cigar box instrument people show. As long as the threat of embarrassment weighs heavier than the chance to try something new there will be no progress.

Tradition can certainly get in the way of progress.

But I suspect it isn't the embarrassment that holds many builders back but the risk of not being able to feed their family if their progressive ideas don't sell.
 
Tradition can certainly get in the way of progress.

But I suspect it isn't the embarrassment that holds many builders back but the risk of not being able to feed their family if their progressive ideas don't sell.

I'm not concerned about professionals, they know what they are doing and what they have to do. Neither do I want or expect to change the world. Humans are herd animals after all. Rather, I would like to encourage beginners and home builders in general to try construction methods that will release them from the difficulties of conventional work and thought. In tonal terms, their instruments need not suffer one bit. I've been writing about this in "American Lutherie" magazine for 29 years and it has been catching on in recent years. The magazine used to be for and about professional workers but this is changing somewhat. Others have also contributed articles about simplifying lutherie and my editor has requested that I keep working in this vein. A number of UU members seem to be having a hard time learning to make ukes. It requires an open mind in design, but there's no reason that making satisfying instruments should be so difficult.
 
I'm not concerned about professionals, they know what they are doing and what they have to do. Neither do I want or expect to change the world. Humans are herd animals after all. Rather, I would like to encourage beginners and home builders in general to try construction methods that will release them from the difficulties of conventional work and thought. In tonal terms, their instruments need not suffer one bit. I've been writing about this in "American Lutherie" magazine for 29 years and it has been catching on in recent years. The magazine used to be for and about professional workers but this is changing somewhat. Others have also contributed articles about simplifying lutherie and my editor has requested that I keep working in this vein. A number of UU members seem to be having a hard time learning to make ukes. It requires an open mind in design, but there's no reason that making satisfying instruments should be so difficult.

I think those sentiments are admirable, and I agree that opening up instrument making is a good thing. But within that there will still be different markets and needs.

Some may benefit from a simpler approach, others may not wish to do that and prefer making traditional instruments.

Analogies aren't generally my thing, but one comes to mind. I'm not really a furniture maker. But i wanted to make a table for my hallway. Now there are simpler ways to make a table than with cabriole legs and dovetail joints, using modern techniques, fixings and screws, and I dare say the table would be just as good and functional as the one I made. But that would have missed the point. Sometimes it is about the challenge of replicating traditional methods, to show (yourself mainly) that you can be every bit as good as craftspeople in the past, and in doing so acquiring new skills. My table clearly does not represent progress in table design or methods. And if you want a table that works, and it is simple to make then that is fine. But I wanted the cabriole legs and dovetails.

Each to their own I guess, and good luck with your mission, I am sure it will benefit a great number of people.
 
I think those sentiments are admirable, and I agree that opening up instrument making is a good thing. But within that there will still be different markets and needs.

Some may benefit from a simpler approach, others may not wish to do that and prefer making traditional instruments.

Analogies aren't generally my thing, but one comes to mind. I'm not really a furniture maker. But i wanted to make a table for my hallway. Now there are simpler ways to make a table than with cabriole legs and dovetail joints, using modern techniques, fixings and screws, and I dare say the table would be just as good and functional as the one I made. But that would have missed the point. Sometimes it is about the challenge of replicating traditional methods, to show (yourself mainly) that you can be every bit as good as craftspeople in the past, and in doing so acquiring new skills. My table clearly does not represent progress in table design or methods. And if you want a table that works, and it is simple to make then that is fine. But I wanted the cabriole legs and dovetails.

Each to their own I guess, and good luck with your mission, I am sure it will benefit a great number of people.

Sounds like you have some woodworking chops. Good for you! I spend most of my lutherie time making higher-end ukes and guitars for "normal" people. But the simplified instruments I come up with for my stories are way more fun to make and are invariably the ones I keep for my own playing. I'm not trying to talk anyone into or out of anything, but I enjoy the company of mavericks who don't want to hang with the herd. They are the people I write for and the readers who kindly respond.
 
Hey John, I am going to do the thread on building my Youthalele, as there seems to be some interest in it. I certainly would appreciate any comments you may wish to share as things go along. Thanks
Brad
 
I found a reference to me in a vanity search. You don't expect me to have weighed in do you? I get flamed nearly every time I publish my unvarnished version of the truth... Graham's book is important because along side all the others there will be something for you I don't doubt. As for me, I'm busy putting the final touches on my Revelator model, trying to re-write my rules and will be publishing an 'auto biography' of sorts in the form of a series of essays over the next few years. Might even collate them into a slim booklet.
 
I found a reference to me in a vanity search. You don't expect me to have weighed in do you? I get flamed nearly every time I publish my unvarnished version of the truth...

Well it’s good that you responded to the prompt, thank you. You don’t seem to be impressed by the Uke Book Illustrated and that is of course just fine, you were never the target audience for that book and in my experience it is rare for one book on any subject to tick all the boxes.

Yep, I can’t dispute it, at times your version of the truth is ‘unvarnished’. I find that at times that’s destructive and that it gets in the way of the points that you’re trying to make. Sometimes you seem to be expressing frustration too which again isn’t particularly helpful to the point that you’re trying to make. I appreciate that your poor health must make life very difficult for you and that as a man of considerable experience you’re thinking on a different level to most folks on UU.

I’ve bought a copy of the Uke Book Illustrated, I don’t think that it will be the perfect guide but it’s a start and a book from which to pick information and ideas from. Hobby builders, starters, repairers and enthusiasts need a bit of help so if you’ve got in mind a better simple book (or books) for them then do please say - or say that no such book has ever crossed your path. Such folk know that they cannot build to professional levels but are happy enough to make something that looks and sounds good enough for home and club use. Is that too much of an ask?
 
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Graham - don't look for excuses for me. My health has not made me a grumpy old man. I've always been that way. I do however get vexed when people do not do some basic research, ask inane questions or worse still ask for advice when they really want their already solidified ideas ratified. You notice I've stepped way back from all of the discussions these days and only occassionally chime in.

My view about books on building is not dismissive. They serve a good purpose and I wish all authors who have the time to do something like this well. I couldn't do it. What I can do is show people how I do it and when I do, I make sure that I emphasise that this is MY method and there are many ways to approach and solve problems. What I do take issue with is inaccurate and clearly wqrong information.

This is pertinent to how I view information: You may not remember the thread but way back, Mathias Wandell, a YouTube content maker of the most extraordinary kind did a series on making a ukulele. This community totally trashed his content because it was so off the bench. He used no reference points except a local friend who was a builder. In one stunning episode he showed how to calculate 'spring-back' using math even I could understand. The same process took Taylor guitars 9 months to ace. He did it in a couple of hours. I devour information and when it is good, celebrate it. When it is false to me, I also mention it. There is a whole world of difference between criticism and critique and the line so subtle most people trip over it before they see it.
 
I loved Mathias Wandell's Uke build series and I re-watch it often. Shame to hear it got trashed on here. He had some really unique and creative ideas and it was refreshing to see a mechanically minded person do what made sense to them (and what they could understand) rather than just someone who could follow steps to copy someone else without really understanding what they were doing.
 
You may not remember the thread but way back, Mathias Wandell, a YouTube content maker of the most extraordinary kind did a series on making a ukulele. This community totally trashed his content because it was so off the bench.

I actually remember that video when it was posted in the Lounge. I thought it was... odd but oddly entertaining. The part on finishing was odd and actually made me feel a little ill. Using floor poly wasn't the best idea. I really liked his attempts at getting proper intonation which took a lot of thought. I think it was Rick Turner who went ballistic on the guy and it was one of the reasons he quit posting on UU. Anyway, it was a harmless video of a harmless guy making an ukulele. But maybe as a tutorial, not the best.

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