Musicmakers Baritone Uke Kit Build

It's really starting to look like a proper instrument. I'm quite impressed so far.

Thanks for the positive feedback. There was something very satisfying about getting the back perfectly glued into place and the body closed off and finished. First of all, the build finally started to look close to being a real instrument. Second, all the very small mistakes inside the box suddenly went away because I can't see them anymore ;).
 
Yes, looking quite nice... I would install the bridge after I did the finish, not before. Find the placement of your bridge (don't forget the proper compensation!) and mask off the wood leaving a 1/16 smaller border all around. Makes for a much cleaner look and makes finishing go much smoother without having a bridge in the way.


Thanks for the tip! I was wondering when to install the bridge and how to prevent it from getting scratched from the sanding and/or messed up from the filler and finish. I'm going to do exactly what you said and then install it last. Great idea!

Given this is my first build, I'm thinking of going down the Tru-Oil route to keep it simple. The people that make Tru-Oil (Birchwood Casey) recommend you apply a few coats of their Sealer and Filler first (plus fine sanding) before starting the process to apply many thin coats of Tru-Oil, etc.

Just wondering what your thoughts are for finishing and whether this is a good way to go?

Jordan
 
Thanks for the tip! I was wondering when to install the bridge and how to prevent it from getting scratched from the sanding and/or messed up from the filler and finish. I'm going to do exactly what you said and then install it last. Great idea!

Given this is my first build, I'm thinking of going down the Tru-Oil route to keep it simple. The people that make Tru-Oil (Birchwood Casey) recommend you apply a few coats of their Sealer and Filler first (plus fine sanding) before starting the process to apply many thin coats of Tru-Oil, etc.

Just wondering what your thoughts are for finishing and whether this is a good way to go?

Jordan

Have a look at shellac. Very easy to apply, brush,pad, spray. I tried most finishes, tru oil, lacquer, and settled on Shellac, over forty banjo ukes and a few ukes, works well. Dries quickly, very forgiving, easy to repair.
 
Yes, looking quite nice... I would install the bridge after I did the finish, not before. Find the placement of your bridge (don't forget the proper compensation!) and mask off the wood leaving a 1/16 smaller border all around. Makes for a much cleaner look and makes finishing go much smoother without having a bridge in the way.
Exactly. On two of my recent builds, I decided to glue the bridge in place and mask it off, then apply the finish. It was very hard getting the finish even and smooth around the masked off bridge. Never again.
 
The people that make Tru-Oil (Birchwood Casey) recommend you apply a few coats of their Sealer and Filler first (plus fine sanding) before starting the process to apply many thin coats of Tru-Oil, etc.
Jordan

As a general rule, follow the manufacturers directions/recommendations on any product/tool/machine. They know the stuff/thing you are working with better than you do. As in RTFD. If you don't know what RTFD stands for I'm not going to tell you... ;) So to answer your question yes with the caution that I would want to know what their pore "filler" is. Sometimes the dyed porefillers can look really bad...
 
Just a short update on my project. Not much to report other than I've spent many hours hand sanding the instrument down to a very silky smooth finish. I started with 130 grit and went progressively up to 600 grit. Once I was satisfied with the smoothness of the unfinished surface I taped off the fretboard and the spot where the bridge is going to go. I decided to go the Tru-oil route and so far I'm pleased with the results. I applied the first two coats with 600 grit sandpaper and slowly wet sanded the surfaces in small sections to help fill the pores/grain. Between each coat I very lightly dry sanded with 600 grit to smooth down any surface imperfections before wiping off the surfaces and proceeding to the next coat of finish. The third coat when on sparingly with a clean cloth pad. The photo shows how it looks after the third coat of Tru-oil went on. I'm going to keep proceeding with a number of layers until I'm happy with the results. I will say that Tru-oil is very easy to work with and a little goes a long way. There is also lots instructional information on this site and many videos on YouTube to help out someone who is doing it for the first time.

JordanK

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Here are a few more photos after the fifth coat of Tru-oil was dry. With each coating, the finish gets even better and it is starting to get glossy. This baritone uke is definitely an unusual design but it certainly is turning out quite nice.

Jordan

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Looks good! Sort of "baroque.". Maybe play some Bach on it.��
 
Couple or words of advice :eek:ld: Keep going on the finish for the back and sides but stop on the top. Too much finish on the top looks great but can dampen the sound. But you can't really over do it on the backs and sides. Also you will find that when you remove the masking tape from the fretboard that the finish has creeped underneath and stained the wood. No worries! Just take a razor blade and use it like a scrapper to take off the finish and clean everything up.

Lookin' good.
 
Couple or words of advice :eek:ld: Keep going on the finish for the back and sides but stop on the top. Too much finish on the top looks great but can dampen the sound. But you can't really over do it on the backs and sides. Also you will find that when you remove the masking tape from the fretboard that the finish has creeped underneath and stained the wood. No worries! Just take a razor blade and use it like a scrapper to take off the finish and clean everything up.

Lookin' good.
Thanks for all your advice and encouragement. Your tips were very helpful!!! I’ve learned so much on this first build.

Jordan
 
Your build looks nice. I have often contemplated that kit, but I already have a lot of projects in the works, and just couldn't justify the cost of the kit. If they sold the plans only, I'd jump on it.
 
Hey everyone. My Baritone Ukulele pandemic project is now complete and I thought I would share a few photos. The instrument really turned out nice and I still can't believe that I actually built this myself. There were many lessons learned during this build that I will use on the next project. Most important one is that you are never too old to explore new interests and to tackle new challenges. This pandemic has provided all of us with some very severe restrictions but it has also opened the door to some unique opportunities. Special thanks to all the people who have contributed to this forum. Every single time I ran into a jam, a quick search on this forum solved my problem. I also want to thank the nice people at Musicmakers (www.harpkit.com) who designed and built this kit. The quality of the materials and design of the kit was incredible. This is a very easy and painless way to begin your instrument building education and I suspect that another build is on the horizon very soon.

Let me know what you think. I'm quite happy with the results.

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That looks really nice. I especially like the black tuners. Gives it some class.

Good luck on the next built. And the one after that and the one after that and...
 
Excellent result. Well done!

John Colter
 
It's fabulous! You must be very proud. I hope that you'll be able to record a sound sample one day. You've got me curious for your next build.
 
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