Beerbelly's SG ukulele build

beerbelly

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Thanks for stopping by. I mentioned in the Introductions forum that I'm building a ukulele-size Gibson SG Junior, based on my old '64.

I scaled down some online drawings and decided a tenor size with 17" scale seemed to translate pretty well. The body and neck will be Sapele, with a black single coil pickup, a wraparound bass bridge, and Kluson-style white button tuners.

All the parts have arrived, and yesterday I cut and sanded the scarf joint for the tilt-back Gibson-style headstock. Here are a few photos:
 

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Got the neck blank glued up & the headstock thickness cut. It seems like glueing and clamping the scarf cut can be kind of tricky; the two pieces want to slide apart as you apply clamping pressure. A guy online showed how he screws the parts together (outside of any finished area) before glueing, then backs out the screws, applies the glue, and then screws the parts back together to set up; it worked great. I'm going to use a carbon fiber rod in the neck to help keep it straight and true.
 

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I always find it interesting when coincidences happen. I've been wanting an SG bass uke for a while and found a builder in South Africa who is now making one for me. He's about half way through, just sent me a couple of progress photos. It's 22.8" scale, African mahogany, natural finish.

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This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 11 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 35)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
That's a beauty! I can only hope mine turns out that well. Mine will be the classic Heritage Cherry with a black headstock.
I always find it interesting when coincidences happen. I've been wanting an SG bass uke for a while and found a builder in South Africa who is now making one for me. He's about half way through, just sent me a couple of progress photos. It's 22.8" scale, African mahogany, natural finish.

SG progress 1 front 1024.jpg

SG progress 2 back 1024.jpg



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 11 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 35)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
A friend of mine is planing the body blank for me, so while I'm waiting, I'm determining the neck pocket angle. I believe the angles on a Gibson are 15˚ at the headstock, with a 4˚ neck angle.

I put a 1/4" spacer under the bridge to allow for the stud & bushing thicknesses, plus a little for adjustment. Then I set a board across the top of the nut & bridge and set my angle finder on it. Looks like it wants to be a 2.30˚ angle in the neck pocket for this scaled-down version.
 

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Got the body blank planed and cut out, and finished the routing and wiring channel drilling today. I'm using a mini-pot volume control, so all the wiring channels converge in a simple 1" dia. control cavity. I'm holding off on the neck pocket; waiting for an 1/8" dia. bit to route the CF rod channel so I can finish the neck first.

My bridge doesn't have the adjusting screws that the Gibson bridges do, but it does have starter hole inside the wings; I'm going to drill & tap those so I have more adjustability.
 

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Doing some mocking up today to check fit. I had to Dremel out a little clearance for the lugs on the volume pot- it's tight in there, but the pot & jack fit in there without bumping into each other. I've drawn out the edge details, and I'll be working on chamfering the edges today.
 

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Edges chamfered today; photos show sanded and also with naptha.
 

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That's looking really good, very nice work. Now I'm thinking of doing a bass uke in the style of Brian May's (Queen) guitar, 22.75" scale with my own two hands instead of having it done by a builder.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 11 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 35)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
You have an impressive collection of basses! Did you make any of them?

No, but I did convert a few of them from guitar to bass. They're ready mades that I have modified. Oh, and not being able to sleep last night, I surfed the web and discovered that Brian May makes a mini BM guitar that would be perfect for me to convert to bass, so that eliminates me making it.
 
It's looking really good, beerbelly. I am enjoying watching your build progress.
 
Installed the 4mm MOP position markers on the fretboard. Glued in with water-thin superglue, then sanded flush to the board.
 

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Drilled & tapped bridge for adjusting screws today.
 

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Well, one step back.... As I was routing the channel for the carbon fiber rod, the bit loosened up and poked through the back of the neck. I got some more material, made another neck blank, and was successful the second time around.
 

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