StewMac ukulele kit build

bazuku · Nov 9, 2019

Tung Oil is very nice finish for decorative woodwork that will be infrequently handled. It enhances the grain and gives a lovely natural look. I found it slow to dry and too soft for the rigours of musical instrument handling. The Tung Oil finish available commercially is a brew of quite a few ingredients blended to compensate for the shortcomings of the natural nut extract.
Many years ago, I naively applied the pure oil to a classical guitar, but ended up scraping it off when finger nail scratches showed after minimal careful handling. I then blended a few other ingredients into it, as suggested in woodworking magazine articles, but found the results were not much improved over the pure oil.
My bottle of pure oil is still as fluid and clear as when I bought it ~ 30 years ago. The only sign of age is a thin crystallised ring around the top.
I like the idea of using natural oils, but all that I have tried have come up short for the requirements of musical instrument making.

sequoia · Nov 9, 2019

beerbelly said:
is that a good finish material?

I used to use tung oil on some dulcimers I built and 30 years later the things still look and sound pretty good. Caveat: Not all "tung oils" are created equal. And they long ago became a synthetic product. Witches brews. I used Formby's. But as far as "fool proof" you can hardly muck up a tung oil finish. Probably the easiest finish to apply. One big problem is that it is hard to go back once an instrument is oiled and do a different finish. More ominously, there are those that point to a "damping effect" from oiled finishes. I'm not sure I buy into that one, but it is a consideration. Welcome to the murky world of instrument finishing!

beerbelly · Nov 9, 2019

Before glueing the neck, I mocked up bridge placement and final heel fit; everything looks good.

Question about scale length: The instructions say 16-31/32" from body side of nut to center of saddle. I've heard 17" and beyond. Any recommendations?

sequoia · Nov 9, 2019

beerbelly said:
Question about scale length: The instructions say 16-31/32" from body side of nut to center of saddle. I've heard 17" and beyond. Any recommendations?

I address this question in a previous post. There is an error there.

https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...lele-Kit-Instructions&highlight=stewmac+tenor

beerbelly · Nov 9, 2019

Thanks for saving my bacon Sequoia! It would be tragic to have an un-adjustable bridge in the wrong spot.

beerbelly · Nov 9, 2019

I can confirm the 8.47" measurement to the 12th fret in this kit, so I'm going to set my bridge at 17-1/32".

Just glued the neck on, another major step, and I just remembered to breathe!

sequoia · Nov 9, 2019

beerbelly said:
I'm going to set my bridge at 17-1/32".

Perfect. That is the number to the saddle giving you 3/32 compensation.

beerbelly · Nov 10, 2019

Neck is on! I'll be adding a personal touch, a piece of Mother of Pearl at the bottom of the neck heel:

beerbelly · Nov 10, 2019

First coat of finish; I went with Arm-R-Seal, a wipe-on oil/poly.

Steve in Kent · Nov 10, 2019

That mahogany is looking fantastic, nice build.

beerbelly · Nov 13, 2019

Well, I'm learning a few things about brush-on finishes, in particular Arm-R-Seal. I used a cotton ball inside a clean cotton cloth for the first application, which soaked in quickly. I let it dry 24 hours, then scuffed with 320 and applied a second coat with a foam brush. It went on WAY too heavy, resulting in runs that magically appeared overnight; it appears that the foam brush holds way more material than it looks like.

So I waited another 24 hours and sanded it flat with 320, then applied a coat using the cotton ball/cloth technique. MUCH better; a thinner, smoother coat that won't require much scuffing at all. I think one more coat should be enough, then I'll buff with 0000 steel wool for a satiny finish.

keenonuke · Nov 14, 2019

Wow it looks great

plunker · Nov 16, 2019

Wonderful, I read the thread and studied the pictures, a lot of work.

beerbelly · Nov 18, 2019

Getting a nice satiny reflection after 4 coats of Arm-R-Seal sanded with 400 between coats, and buffed with 0000 steel wool. Bridge will be glued on later today.

beerbelly · Nov 18, 2019

Glueing bridge:

beerbelly · Nov 19, 2019

Almost done. Bridge is on and strung with Martin flourocarbons. Sounds pretty good, but I'll know more after the strings settle in.

John Colter · Nov 19, 2019

That looks mighty fine! When you first put strings on a newly built uke, they sound OK, but some strange and wonderful magic happens in the first twenty four hours. You'll see!

John Colter

beerbelly · Nov 19, 2019

Well it's done, and I'm VERY happy with the construction. It has a silky smooth satin finish, nice action, no buzzes, and projects sound well. I'm less happy with the intonation, since I'm used to fully adjustable bridges on my electric guitars. The high G and A strings intonate fine at the 12th, but the C and E are sharp. The scale is set at exactly 17-1/32", so I'm sure the bridge is in the proper spot. If the bridge was placed incorrectly, wouldn't all the strings be sharp?

So please school me on strings. I'm using Martin M620 flourocarbons, mainly because I've heard they stretch less & stay in tune longer. My bigger question is can different brands and string material affect intonation?

Arcy · Nov 19, 2019

Looks gorgeous!

Not an expert, but throwing out my understanding for somebody else to correct

Different strings will intonate slightly differently. Thicker (lower) strings often need to be slightly longer the the higher strings. You might be able to file the bridge so the C and E strings cross at the back instead of the middle to slightly flatten them.

sequoia · Nov 20, 2019

Imagine what the intonation would have been like if you had not used compensation. Remember that compensation does not eliminate intonation error but only minimizes it. It is just a compromise. Whenever you have a saddle parallel to the nut in reentrant tuning you will have intonation error. That is just the nature of the beast. You can only minimize it but not eliminate it. To eliminate it you would have to use non-reentrant tuning and angle your saddle to compensate for the different string thicknesses. Lowering the action will further minimize the error but sacrifices volume. Again, it is a series of compromises. My advice is to just play your new ukulele and enjoy it.

When I use flurocarbon strings I use the Martin M620's and I like the sound and the way they feel. However to get a little more punch, I use the ugly Nylaguts from Aquila... Also, don't forget to remove the white plastic protective patches on your tuner machines. They are just on there to keep the chrome shiny during installation. To leave them on is just tacky.

StewMac ukulele kit build

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