Struggling with a tenor

Timbuck

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Just to make first time builders feel better.....it’s been about 3-4 years since I made a tenor uke and I have to admit I’m having a bad time putting this one together. After churning out Sopranos month after month with a ready made jig for every operation and a stock of ready made parts it became 2nd nature for me and it became easy...I don’t have many jigs for the tenor size so I’m having to use my hands and brain and memory...making silly mistakes as I go along ,but slowly getting there.:( I’ve bent the sides and made and fitted the end blocks...next I have to make some tenor size kerfed linings...and then dig out the radius dishes.
 
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I feel you paying Ken. I’ve recently decided to build a few baritones. I spent a couple of days making all the necessary molds and jigs only to realize that I’d forgotten a few during the building process, like having to make my endgraft jig bigger and maker a new bridge locator jig. It’s good to have to think in the shop Now and then. ;)
 
Steady on Chuck! You'll be making guitars next (or are you secretly sneaking some lap steels under the uke radar....)
 
Steady on Chuck! You'll be making guitars next (or are you secretly sneaking some lap steels under the uke radar....)

Pete, even though I have indeed built some lap steels I am alway conscious of crossing into that dark territory. For a dozen years I’ve had plans lying around for a Weissenborn steel. The other day I was looking at the plans and the koa intended for them and had the sudden realization that I could built 3 or 4 tenor ukes with that wood. I rolled up the plans an put them back on the shelf. ;)
 
For a dozen years I’ve had plans lying around for a Weissenborn steel.

Funny, but I too have always been thinking of building a Weissenborn type instrument. Still have not gotten around to it either and probably never will, but it looks like a fun build.

Local David Dart builds them and offers plans I believe. He used to post on here but I have not seen him in years.

https://luthier.com/about/

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I have everything gathered up to build myself a lap steel, like I need another, but haven't found time to get started.
 
Hi Ken, I live in Billingham. I would appreciate the opportunity to visit and have a chat, perhaps with the prospect of buying your first tenor.
Cheers
Brian Grantham.
 
I think that wood figure is just gonna leap off of there when you put a finish to it. Gonna be nice... Are you going to do binding? Seems I remember you struggled with that in the past. Just don't use plastic please. Or just do whatever you want to do. But not white plastic. I hate white plastic binding...
 
From the looks I'd say that you're on top of it. I love the wood already.
 
Skipping back to the Weissenborn posts, I have built a number of them. They were a popular item back inthe 1990's and 2,000's. I called them Weiseenbornagains and 1 of mine was on the cover of an ASIA Quarterly. They are amazing, aesthetically and musically, especially with koa, but are physically a difficult beast to conquer. A really big instrument to have on your bench or in the spray booth! Whatever you think you know about guitar making, does not necessarily apply. Unless you get lucky, it takes a few to get it right. Not that easy to play, unless you are Leo Kottke. What ever happened to him anyway. I remember seeing him about 1970 on stage at my college, oblivious to the audience, playing feverishly, with several still lit cigarette butts burning their way into the stage floor around him! Go build Weissenborns!
 
The Weissenborns seem like a daunting task to me. With the hollow necks and just the pure size of the thing I just don't think I want to tackle that. The lap steels, no prob. The Wessies, no way
 
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