Ukulele rack

KevinTJH

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I've searched all over the internet for an efficient solution to store my ukuleles but could never find anything similar to a guitar rack.
So out of frustration, I decided to build my own out of PVC pipes and metal rods!
Let me know what you think!

How do you guys store your ukulele collections?
 

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Looks great! Do you worry at all about the foam affecting the finish on your instruments?
 
Nice job. I mostly store ukes in cases strewn everywhere. And there are a couple just loose.
 
Nice job Kevin. Looks great.
 
Very nicely done, I love innovative thinking like that. I enclosed a shelf in my bookcase to be a humidified place for 8 of my ukes since most of them are all solid wood (my 9th is a beater uke, all bamboo for $90). Put magnetic close plexiglass doors on the front and insulated foam tape around all the interior seams. I also put two trays on the bottom shelf with sliding tops filled with water. There's an analog and a digital hygrometer inside, the humidity stays between 45 and 55% all the time. I hang the ukes from brass hooks screwed into the shelf above using leather Martin straps around the lower 2 tuning knobs (no, that doesn't hurt the ukes because of how light they are).

Shelf recent 1.jpg



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)

• 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
 
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Very nicely done, I love innovative thinking like that. I enclosed a shelf in my bookcase to be a humidified place for 8 of my ukes since most of them are all solid wood (my 9th is a beater uke, all bamboo for $90). Put magnetic close plexiglass doors on the front and insulated foam tape around all the interior seams. I also put two trays on the bottom shelf with sliding tops filled with water. There's an analog and a digital hygrometer inside, the humidity stays between 45 and 55% all the time. I hang the ukes form brass hooks screwed into the shelf above using leather Martin straps around the lower 2 tuning knobs (no, that doesn't hurt the ukes because of how light they are).

That is really nice storage system, Michael. If only I could bear to part with enough books to do this myself!
 
That is really nice storage system, Michael. If only I could bear to part with enough books to do this myself!

Thanks all. Yes, but I've become 99% digital, so it was not difficult to donate the books. I did keep all my coffee table picture and other photography books.
 
Looks great! Do you worry at all about the foam affecting the finish on your instruments?
Not particularly. It's pretty decent quality foam but they do get marked after a long time. If it's bothersome enough, it's cheap to replace the foam at any detachable part.
 
Not particularly. It's pretty decent quality foam but they do get marked after a long time. If it's bothersome enough, it's cheap to replace the foam at any detachable part.

Wait, the ukes get marked after a while? I just ask because on guitar forums there's all sorts of discussions about different guitar stand foam chemically reacting with nitrocellulose finishes. I got paranoid enough that I just wrapped the foam on my guitar stand in cloth. Plus I needed the extra padding because the stand was too big for my smallest ukes.
 
I have a Les Paul that was eaten clean through to the wood by some cheapo stand that had something like surgical tubing as cushion. That wasn’t me, though, but the previous owner.

Anyway, when I started putting together my uke hangers, I asked a guitar builder and he said if I’m worried, to wrap the hanger in nylon string and it would be fine. Some of the hangers have nylon wrapping and others don’t - so far no difference, but if you’re thinking of making your own and it’s a concern of yours, nylon string is cheap and easy. ;-)
 
Kevin, I really like your innovative DIY rack!
Where/how did you purchase the foam?
Thanks for sharing!
 
Kevin love the look. Did you use that paint that can go over things including plastic? The black and red looks good. Would it work to hold cases and gig bags with ukes in them or does it need more spacing between? Thanks for sharing.
 
I took a normal rack for e-guitars and and moved the bottom pipes closer at one end and lowered the top pipe in one end. Now I can store instruments of different sizes. The last one is a Cordoba travelguitar, the others soprano, concert, tenor , tipple.

I sized it for soprano to a romantic size guitar, as I only had two ukuleles at that time.

The rack has been wrapped in cotton handlebar tape for roadbikes, to protect the finish.

For only one size would be much easier, as then all angles would be 90 degrees


Why was the photo rotated??

2020-03-29 13.14.26.jpg 2020-05-28 23.52.29.jpg
 
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I took a normal rack for e-guitars and and moved the bottom pipes closer at one end and lowered the top pipe in one end. Now I can store instruments of different sizes. The last one is a Cordoba travelguitar, the others soprano, concert, tenor , tipple.

I sized it for soprano to a romantic size guitar, as I only had two ukuleles at that time.

The rack has been wrapped in cotton handlebar tape for roadbikes, to protect the finish.

For only one size would be much easier, as then all angles would be 90 degrees


Why was the photo rotated??

View attachment 127415 View attachment 127416

That's pretty cool! And bar tape! Why didn't I think of that?
 
Wait, the ukes get marked after a while? I just ask because on guitar forums there's all sorts of discussions about different guitar stand foam chemically reacting with nitrocellulose finishes. I got paranoid enough that I just wrapped the foam on my guitar stand in cloth. Plus I needed the extra padding because the stand was too big for my smallest ukes.
Sorry, I should've clarified. I meant marks on the foam, as in indents over time. This is no different to pretty much all guitar racks I know of, with solid-body electric guitars having sharp edges and weighing 3-5kg each.

Kevin, I really like your innovative DIY rack!
Where/how did you purchase the foam?
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! All materials (including foam) were purchased from a hardware store. In Australia, we have Bunnings which is basically a hardware warehouse chain that monopolised that industry, but they do have everything you need in one store.

Kevin love the look. Did you use that paint that can go over things including plastic? The black and red looks good. Would it work to hold cases and gig bags with ukes in them or does it need more spacing between? Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! It's paint by Rust-O-Leum that works on plastic as well. My biggest mistake was not scuffing up the smooth PVC surface areas, so the paint looks okay, but easily chipped off if bumped. Since it was built from scratch, you can of course, adjust the spacing any way you like. The metal rod inside is an absolute must to keep each short piece of PVC sturdy enough.

The stand fits Sopranos perfectly, but the Uke Bass turned out to be a giant. Thankfully nothing is glued on so I could still move the pieces to accommodate.
I may look at building a sturdier one made out of wood that can accommodate different sizes.
 
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