Building the Youthalele

BuzzBD

Well-known member
Joined
May 4, 2018
Messages
553
Reaction score
770
Location
Kekaha, Kauai
This project got started some years ago, a teacher from California wanted to get some ukulele in his students hands. The problem was they were mostly poor, with very little resources. I told him I would try and design a ukulele that could be built with under $10 in parts and materials, by some one with modest woodworking skills and tools. The primary inspiration came from the Northern Ukulele, made in Canada for the Canadian school system some decades ago and still being used by students today. After some fits and starts I came up with a design and sent it to him. He built 25 of them for his students, they individually decorated their ukulele and I got a picture of the entire class with their instruments and a thank you note from every student. Since then, I have had several teachers from around the world do the same thing.
Over the years I have tweaked the design as I discovered new ideas and materials. My goal for this is to provide a design template for anyone wishing to build a simple but very serviceable ukulele. They will be able to choose the size and various design details based on their skills and tools available. In its simplest form, this is a plywood box with a neck and fretboard attached, but there are a myriad ways of upgrading the design. Here are some sample pics showing some of the design concepts.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iER7brpQTNwPWXSz7

More to follow
Brad
 
Thanks sequoia, that’s the plan, I will be posting plans for the ukuleles and fixtures, pictures of instruments under construction and how to build instructions. Hopefully we can get some people building along and work out the problems and design details as we go.
Brad
 
That is so cool. Truly making the world a better place.
 
I made a 24" small bodied guitar out of a 2x4 and a fence board once and did a complete pictorial for it. I wanted to build with the least amount of tools, it would be interesting to do a ukulele.
 
Thanks Jerry, I bent the wood on my StewMac bending iron. The two big decisions the builders will need to make are whether they want to bend the sides on a hot pipe and what kind of neck joint they want to do. Originally the Youthalele was designed to be made without any bending, with the sides only gently curved on the work board. I found that it takes a fair amount of force for a gentle curve and gluing things up could be awkward. So having a bending iron, I thought I would save myself some fumbling around and prebend the sides. I discovered to my surprise that this plywood bends really easily at low temperatures. After that I came up with the boat paddle design. There are several ways of making an inexpensive bending iron and I will be discussing that as we go along.
Brad
 
In the past, I've used an ordinary domestic steam iron (over a thick cloth) then quickly wrapped the side around a former. It works well, but I never managed it without getting a few minor burns! Best to wear gloves, perhaps?

John Colter
 
A clothes iron may be a very good idea to try! Thanks printer2 and John.
Brad
 
Great John, this should be fun. I appreciate everyone bearing with me a bit as I set things up. Currently I am tweaking my work boards and building a few Youthalele as I take pics of the process. I have used several types of assembly forms in the past, but I have not been totally satisfied with them. I think I have come up with something simple that does the job.
Brad
 
Thanks Jerry, I bent the wood on my StewMac bending iron. The two big decisions the builders will need to make are whether they want to bend the sides on a hot pipe and what kind of neck joint they want to do. Originally the Youthalele was designed to be made without any bending, with the sides only gently curved on the work board. I found that it takes a fair amount of force for a gentle curve and gluing things up could be awkward. So having a bending iron, I thought I would save myself some fumbling around and prebend the sides. I discovered to my surprise that this plywood bends really easily at low temperatures. After that I came up with the boat paddle design. There are several ways of making an inexpensive bending iron and I will be discussing that as we go along.
Brad

My "bending iron" is a section of chain-link fence rail held in a vice with a propane torch stuck into one end. I use a laser thermometer to keep it from getting too hot - like over 700°F. For an occasional build, I can't justify $250 for a bending iron.
 
My "bending iron" is a section of chain-link fence rail held in a vice with a propane torch stuck into one end. I use a laser thermometer to keep it from getting too hot - like over 700°F. For an occasional build, I can't justify $250 for a bending iron.

Jerry, I heard that galvanized pipe should not be used since it can release zinc fumes and make you sick. Not sure if the fence post you use is, but it could be... I switched to the "black iron" pipe.
 
Jerry, I heard that galvanized pipe should not be used since it can release zinc fumes and make you sick. Not sure if the fence post you use is, but it could be... I switched to the "black iron" pipe.

Yeah. I held my breath the whole time, and didn't take my zinc supplements that day. ;)

Maybe I should wrap it in asbestos.
 
This is a picture of me bending sides using a steam iron. It's from The Big Red Book of American Lutherie #6, and the shot is 18-20 years ago. Click on the pic, then double click to enlarge it again, and you can read the caption. This is from a hurdy-gurdy kit review, but it is a viable way the bend for any kind of tear drop instrument.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0853.jpg
    IMG_0853.jpg
    97.2 KB · Views: 76
I used an iron to help out in some of mu bends. The sides do not need to be wrapped in foil, parchment paper works fine. On a galvanized pip, I doubt you get it hot enough to vaporize any of the zinc. More a problem when welding.
 
In the past, I've used an ordinary domestic steam iron (over a thick cloth) then quickly wrapped the side around a former. It works well, but I never managed it without getting a few minor burns! Best to wear gloves, perhaps?

John Colter

I always use leather gloves when bending on a pipe, I use a damp cloth draped on it and then the wood. No longer burn stubborn wood but the hands are a little more tender.

I am thinking of trying one out of a door skin. I took some mahogany doors apart. Might do the spruce neck as I have some blanks made up.
 
Last edited:
I used an iron to help out in some of mu bends. The sides do not need to be wrapped in foil, parchment paper works fine. On a galvanized pip, I doubt you get it hot enough to vaporize any of the zinc. More a problem when welding.

It's a pretty fast operation, too.
 
Top Bottom