Hi
Here’s my first Ukulele
First - a huge thanks to everyone on this forum whose advice and willingness to share their knowledge has helped me along the way - and some of the builds that people have shared have been inspirational - I have a long way to go - but - I’ve made a start.
More pics on next post
Don’t look too close - This is my first - and I'm seeing this as my prototype.
The Ukulele has had lots of major surgeries and fixes to correct my errors on the way - the most obvious sign is the rosewood piece in front of the bridge where I masked out on the wrong side of my mark for the bridge when french polishing - I could’t face stripping back to re-polish - measure twice cut once ! ! or in this case - measure about 20 times - and still bugger up - I could have cried lol
There is certainly room for improvement - But the best way to learn - try it - if it goes wrong - fix it - and understand what went wrong in the first place - then of course try to remember not to make the same mistake in future.
This is a plain little thing but I’m chuffed that I’ve managed to build something that makes a decent sound.
Wood:
Engleman Spruce top - 1.8mm thick
Mahogany Back and sides - 2.2mm thick
Sapele neck - single piece
Fretboard, Binding and Bridge are Rosewood
Fret dots from a piece of local oak
Nut and bridge are from a corian off cut
Finish:
French polish all round. The neck has only a couple of coats to ring out the grain and I rubbed back with wire wool to keep it smooth so it's not too ‘grabby’
I wanted a decent shine - but tried to keep the texture of the wood
I also wanted an antique tone - so there are a couple of coats of 2LB button shellac to add some depth.
There are a few scratches already - As we had a visit from our lovely 3 year old granddaughter who took a liking to it and dragged it around the garden whilst strumming and singing - difficult to get it back whilst keeping a 2 metre lockdown distance…….
Neck:
Is a bit wider than modern ones - I have a 1930’s Spanish soprano - it sounds like an old windup gramophone - it’s more of a decorative piece so doesn’t get much play time. - but I like the wide neck - the extra space extra space seems to make up for the narrow frets
My only ‘real’ ukulele is a Kala tenor and I like the tone etc but the neck is a bit tight for my tastes - hence trying out a slightly wider form.
Strings:
Cheap fluorocarbons from eBay. - they sound okay - but I'll try some alternatives when money permits.
First impressions
I like the tone - it has loads of resonance and sounds bright, the neck width is spot on for me, it does seem a tiny bit top heavy which might because of the tuners so in future might try friction pegs.
Design:
I've come up with my own design - I wanted to see if was possible to design the body using a compass (well - a circle tool in Illustrator)
I'm putting this together into a real plan - that's going to take some time - if I get time to do it - I'll gladly share
See it in Action:
A quick vid clip is here - please excuse a few things:
1. The lockdown hair - I’m in desperate need of the barbers ! !
2. Background noise - it’s very rural here and the birds are going mental at this time of year - and the sodding dog across the village was having a yap.
3. The crap playing - I’ve only been playing for a few months - and I usually play a Tenor so the lower tension strings take a bit of getting used to -
4. This is literally the first playing - so just trying out for size - since then - I’ve unstrung - adjusted the nut and bridge to fix the intonation - and the insanely buzzing ‘C’ -
Tidied the fret ends so they're smoother and levelled a fret wire and lowered the action - setting up is a bit (lot!!) of a mystery - but I think I'm working it out.
https://youtu.be/IBk6hgKNGxM
As mentioned this is my ‘prototype’ -and it’s mostly been built in the garden with second hand - hand tools - living in the NW UK - has meant that progress has sometimes been slow - we are not blessed with the finest of weather.
I have a corner of a summerhouse to call my own now - which has meant that I’ve been able to finish this first one without getting frostbite or being rained on - also I can now join in the ‘What’s Happening in My Shed’ thread
- and I’ve treated myself to a new fretsaw, a new chisel - and Oh joy - a router - no more cutting binding channels by hand - things are hotting up.
I’m building three instruments side by side - this one as a test piece to work out what to do - and two more which should be better all round - they are going to be gifts - so I’ve saved the best wood for them and have (hopefully) made my mistakes with this one.
Thanks again every one for your inspirations
Cheers
Mike
Here’s my first Ukulele
First - a huge thanks to everyone on this forum whose advice and willingness to share their knowledge has helped me along the way - and some of the builds that people have shared have been inspirational - I have a long way to go - but - I’ve made a start.
More pics on next post
Don’t look too close - This is my first - and I'm seeing this as my prototype.
The Ukulele has had lots of major surgeries and fixes to correct my errors on the way - the most obvious sign is the rosewood piece in front of the bridge where I masked out on the wrong side of my mark for the bridge when french polishing - I could’t face stripping back to re-polish - measure twice cut once ! ! or in this case - measure about 20 times - and still bugger up - I could have cried lol
There is certainly room for improvement - But the best way to learn - try it - if it goes wrong - fix it - and understand what went wrong in the first place - then of course try to remember not to make the same mistake in future.
This is a plain little thing but I’m chuffed that I’ve managed to build something that makes a decent sound.
Wood:
Engleman Spruce top - 1.8mm thick
Mahogany Back and sides - 2.2mm thick
Sapele neck - single piece
Fretboard, Binding and Bridge are Rosewood
Fret dots from a piece of local oak
Nut and bridge are from a corian off cut
Finish:
French polish all round. The neck has only a couple of coats to ring out the grain and I rubbed back with wire wool to keep it smooth so it's not too ‘grabby’
I wanted a decent shine - but tried to keep the texture of the wood
I also wanted an antique tone - so there are a couple of coats of 2LB button shellac to add some depth.
There are a few scratches already - As we had a visit from our lovely 3 year old granddaughter who took a liking to it and dragged it around the garden whilst strumming and singing - difficult to get it back whilst keeping a 2 metre lockdown distance…….
Neck:
Is a bit wider than modern ones - I have a 1930’s Spanish soprano - it sounds like an old windup gramophone - it’s more of a decorative piece so doesn’t get much play time. - but I like the wide neck - the extra space extra space seems to make up for the narrow frets
My only ‘real’ ukulele is a Kala tenor and I like the tone etc but the neck is a bit tight for my tastes - hence trying out a slightly wider form.
Strings:
Cheap fluorocarbons from eBay. - they sound okay - but I'll try some alternatives when money permits.
First impressions
I like the tone - it has loads of resonance and sounds bright, the neck width is spot on for me, it does seem a tiny bit top heavy which might because of the tuners so in future might try friction pegs.
Design:
I've come up with my own design - I wanted to see if was possible to design the body using a compass (well - a circle tool in Illustrator)
I'm putting this together into a real plan - that's going to take some time - if I get time to do it - I'll gladly share
See it in Action:
A quick vid clip is here - please excuse a few things:
1. The lockdown hair - I’m in desperate need of the barbers ! !
2. Background noise - it’s very rural here and the birds are going mental at this time of year - and the sodding dog across the village was having a yap.
3. The crap playing - I’ve only been playing for a few months - and I usually play a Tenor so the lower tension strings take a bit of getting used to -
4. This is literally the first playing - so just trying out for size - since then - I’ve unstrung - adjusted the nut and bridge to fix the intonation - and the insanely buzzing ‘C’ -
Tidied the fret ends so they're smoother and levelled a fret wire and lowered the action - setting up is a bit (lot!!) of a mystery - but I think I'm working it out.
https://youtu.be/IBk6hgKNGxM
As mentioned this is my ‘prototype’ -and it’s mostly been built in the garden with second hand - hand tools - living in the NW UK - has meant that progress has sometimes been slow - we are not blessed with the finest of weather.
I have a corner of a summerhouse to call my own now - which has meant that I’ve been able to finish this first one without getting frostbite or being rained on - also I can now join in the ‘What’s Happening in My Shed’ thread
- and I’ve treated myself to a new fretsaw, a new chisel - and Oh joy - a router - no more cutting binding channels by hand - things are hotting up.I’m building three instruments side by side - this one as a test piece to work out what to do - and two more which should be better all round - they are going to be gifts - so I’ve saved the best wood for them and have (hopefully) made my mistakes with this one.
Thanks again every one for your inspirations
Cheers
Mike
